QS Newsletter 40

SOLUTIONS Sales & Marketing On-Paper On-Line On-Show Engage O n e B r i e f • L e s s H a s s l e • B e t t e r R e s u l t s ISSUE 40 Ready for new normal Boosting online paint sales during lockdown by 100% 2020 has been a strange year. As if getting ready for the fallout from Brexit wasn’t enough for businesses to deal with, we’ve had the small matter of a global pandemic thrown our way too. However, as the year has progressed, the team at Quiet Storm has been busy working behind the scenes to ensure we are still able to provide a full service to our clients. During lockdown, we worked remotely to deliver key projects and help clients adapt to new ways of working. We also took advantage of our studio being empty to redecorate it from top to bottom, give it a deep clean and make it COVID-secure, ready for when we welcomed the full team back in September. Like many businesses, we have followed the Government’s latest guidelines closely, have carried out a full risk assessment and also put the necessary measures in place to protect our clients and staff. Our Managing Director, Steve Megson, said: “Rather than view lockdown as a problem, we’ve looked upon it as an opportunity to refocus our business and our ways of working. “As a management team, we used the time productively to reconfigure the office layout, so we are compliant with COVID-secure guidelines, making the studio a safe and comfortable environment for our staff and visitors. “The need to work remotely has enabled us, as a business, to become more flexible and agile, but the return to the workplace means we can reconnect the team and engage with our clients in a way that suits them, be that virtually or in-person.” With more people working from home or on furlough leave during lockdown, the country saw a significant spike in people undertaking decorating and home improvement projects. Our client, Ashby Decorator Centre, was one business which was able to take advantage, thanks to their ecommerce website built by Quiet Storm. In 2019, we designed and created a fully responsive website, www.designerpaintstore.com , which sells a wide range of leading brands including Farrow & Ball, Little Greene and Paint & Paper Library. On the site, customers can browse its full product range by brand or colour or using a custom-designed product selector. Manager Will McNeice said: “We were forced to close our doors for around seven weeks because of lockdown. Because we were able to continue trading online, it meant we were able to take advantage of the spike in demand for paint and other decorating products. It also meant that while lockdown regulations were still in force for retailers, we could offer click and collect services until we could fully reopen.”