A History Lesson

Many people think DrivenByQ is my first attempt at a private hire company. In fact it is my second. My first effort was two years previous with the UK's first Internet licenced private hire company. It was aimed at passengers outside Great Britain travelling in to the UK.

Ten years ago if you built a web site, it was fairly easy to rank high on the search results in Google. The bookings received from the web site I built were fantastic! I met a string of celebrities, VIPs and businessmen. It didn't last long though because Google was unpredictable.

The algorithm Google used for ranking web sites changed regularly. One day a web page could be #1 and the next #101. To make anything of such an erratic business it would need supporting by something more stable: One business for bread and butter income and the other as icing on the cake.

That was where the idea for DrivenByQ came from: A local businesses marketing offline with the intention of volume bookings from smaller numbers of customers. After eight years of growth and slowly establishing a reputable business, I think it is now time to revisit the original idea.

If I Was An Executive Assistant – Part One

Sometimes I cringe when I see a driver representing a £multi-million business and they don’t have the first clue on etiquette or I know their car is not correctly insured. I ask myself who made the booking and do they realise how bad a job someone is doing? I often wonder if the person responsible for hiring the driver just didn't know what questions to ask?

If I was investigating a new (or existing) chauffeur supplier, the very first question I would ask is if they have an operators licence and if so, how many vehicles does it cover? The reason for this is that some smaller (one-man-band) operators will sub work to other drivers but if their licence doesn’t permit this, those drivers are not insured and neither is your passenger!

I would then ask the operator if they are registered under the Data Protection Act. If so, how do they manage their information – is it secure or do they leave it in a diary in a car with all the names, home addresses, telephone numbers and away dates of your key staff? Also, do they have a disaster management plan? What if the diary (or records) is lost, stolen, destroyed or even eaten by the dog? Will they still turn up on time? And what if the operator is taken ill or goes on holiday?

After the basic questions, I would then go on to ask about safety. How does the operator regulate the drivers hours and how much time off do their drivers take? Legally in the UK, there is nothing to stop a private hire driver completing a straight 36-hour shift. I know of people who will do it, especially if their prices are so low other drivers will not work for them. After all, how can you be sure a driver is not full of caffeine with the reaction speeds of a tortoise?

Upgraded Optional Extras

Twice this year our online booking software has been updated. Each time we've gained new interfaces, better functionality or advanced features.

Last time we integrated Google Maps – it made price calculations quicker and it worked with navigation in our vehicles too.

On our latest update we've improved the quoting process. A simple one-click (automated) operation has replaced multiple steps.

Enquiries from travel agents used to be time consuming. Now they are quick and easy and we can do more of them in even less time!

The Legend

This week, Wales Rally GB rolled in to town. I was lucky enough to drive some sponsors to a special stage. I was privileged to watch a display of fantastic vehicles too.

Despite the cars from the current World Championship being driven at Chirk Castle, there was only one car I wanted to see because it is something I've never witnessed before.

I have always loved the Audi Quattro and what it achieved. To see (and hear) it on a stage in the flesh was every bit as exhilarating as I had hoped!

I believe DrivenByQ will follow the Audi’s example. By believing in technology and embracing it, our competitive advantage will leave others far behind.

Customer Complaints

Over the last few months I’ve had a number of occasions to feel disappointed in the service I’ve received from other people. Typical things include a meal arriving late in a restaurant or when a car-wash doesn’t clean part of the car.

I understand that sometimes things go wrong – it can happen to anyone and sometimes all the planning in the world cannot prevent incidents occurring. What is most important though is how you deal with a situation after the event.

Great customer service is understanding your customer's emotional state and doing everything possible to make things right. This is where you earn your reputation and people talk about what you did to put something right rather than what went wrong.

At DrivenByQ mistakes don’t happen very often. If they do, we commit a lot of resources on fixing them. We take a deliberate approach in delivering the very best customer service. First we apologise, next we investigate and then we do something exceptional.

Formulating A Plan

For the last few weeks I’ve been discussing commission rates. The way we control these is through a formula in a spread sheet which is applied at the end of the month when our drivers are paid.

The truth is we love formulas at DrivenByQ. Sometimes the more intricate they are the better. They allow us to apply a degree of refinement to different areas of our operation.

One such place is our pricing. Effectively we discount longer trips relevant to the mileage someone travels. We do this in steps and level off the small idiosyncrasies between steps with another formula.

The only problem is, when someone calls for a price, we sometimes have to call back a few minutes later. This is a small price to pay though if you know the detail we go to in order to be accurate.

Manoeuvre

In the last couple of blogs, I’ve been writing about commission rates. They’re not the most exciting of things but are critical if we are to continue investing in growth and development.

In the last few months we have constantly altered and adjusted our commission rates until eventually deciding on a completely new system. Rather than a global percentage rate we have gone adaptive.

What we have come up with is a system where drivers who do just one or two jobs a month as sub-contractors pay a very low commission (just 5% in fact) – this effectively acts to motivate them and gives incentive.

As a sub-contract driver takes on more work for us and their turnover from DrivenByQ increases so too does their commission. We think this is much fairer and drivers seem to like it too. Now they all want to pay us as much as possible!

Signal

Last week I wrote about the commission rates we charge our drivers. The percentage rate was the same for years but we have been tweaking it over the last few months.

 

Initially we increased the rate by a fixed amount and everyone paid the same percentage. A month later we increased it again so it was 5% higher than the original rate.

 

In theory a driver with a turnover above £4,000 a month will have achieved numerous link-ups. For them a higher commission is largely irrelevant because they are more profitable.

 

On the other hand, drivers helping on a few occasional jobs find a higher commission a disincentive. In response we’ve ditched a fixed amount and announced an adaptive system instead!

Mirror

Since day one of trading my intention was to grow. It needed investment so I set prices to pay myself, run a vehicle and have something left.

As other drivers joined I took a slice of their payments. They had other sources of income though, my volume of work was erratic and few journeys linked up.

To encourage driver availability, I worked hard to ensure the business was as efficient as possible with no waste so I could keep my cut to a minimum.

Now we are bigger, with full-time drivers, high volumes of work and real efficiency our commission rates are under review.

Driven By Quality

Last year I wrote a blog about airport transfers and how some people compete on price for the cheapest part of the market. It is relevant again now because we have been gaining customers who have never travelled with us before. Primarily they are business passengers who book their own travel and like to pay by card.

One company close to our area had gained business because of their unbelievably low prices. They even emailed our corporate customers and offered discounted accounts! When they first launched we didn't focus on them because there was no clash with our niche, although we heard lots of concerns from other operators.

In hindsight a really cheap operator is a blessing in disguise. They seriously weaken the competitors at the bottom of the market and jeopardized their own future at the same time. Their prices are so low, nobody can compete with them and so too nobody will work with them. Eventually they struggle to meet demand and let people down.

As the downturn ends, account customers are travelling more, independent business passengers now prefer best value (not price) and holiday makers want luxury. At DrivenByQwe have always provided quality and reassurance! Gladly it seems there is a real appreciation and demand for it again.

Time For Change

With all that has happened in my personal life this year (getting engaged, married and having a baby), I have been fairly hands-off as Managing Director of DrivenByQ. That has not been such a bad thing though. The business has been steady and it has not needed any drastic changes.

Over time, you can monitor things and identify where improvements need to be made. In addition, you can fine tune the direction you want to take before making any alterations. Quite critically for us, we are also nearing a point where a restructure is needed if we are to continue growing.

Now things are settling in my personal life I want to focus and begin making the changes I believe are necessary. If we are to continue growing the first thing is to assume the Duty Manager role for more than a week a month. This is not just to understand our current requirements but also to drive projects forward too.

Top of my agenda is to revisit our social media channels. Not only do they need updating but they need to ensure a coordinated approach in reinforcing our brand. This will also help with the ranking of our new web site when it is released. It will be key to the success of our digital marketing strategy too.

North Wales Castle Tours

This summer we had a lot of interest in Castle Tours of Wales. In fact we had people from all over the world travelling to north Wales to see the Iron Ring of Edward I. In some respect it is a welcome alternative to our airport transfer work which accounts for some 90% of our regular business.

I suppose if you think about it, we are the ideal company for such tours. We are only one hour from Manchester International Airport and we are based in north Wales with very good knowledge of the area. Most castles are difficult to access by public transport and parking can be an issue too so all the more reason to hire us.

Taking a chauffeur-driven car across north Wales to tour the castles of Conwy, Beaumaris, Caernarfon and Harlech means you can arrive at Chester Station in the morning and be back there in the evening. So even if you are staying in London it is a feasible journey.

Maybe we should make ‘Castle Tours of North Wales’ a feature of our new web site when it is eventually completed? We could add a whole of Wales Castle Tour too and make it last a full three days. It wouldn’t be the first time we have done it!

The Link Up

Last week I wrote about airport transfers being the bulk of our work at DrivenByQ. They account for over 90% of our turnover but it has taken a long time for them to become profitable. It has taken sacrifice too.

You see, the way to make money with airport transfers is not by charging the most you possibly can but by increasing volume to the highest amount possible and charging a rate which is competitive but reasonable.

At this point mathematics and the theory relating to economies of scale kicks in. Let us say for example that an airport transfer costs £60 one-way and the amount is divided equally in to thirds for fuel, vehicle costs and driver income.

Earning £20 for two hour’s work as a self-employed individual is pretty poor in this day and age but if you consider two journeys linking together (one to the airport and another one back) you can generate £120 in turnover.

At this point, all the costs are covered by the first journey (£40) so the whole of the return trip can be considered income by a driver. This leaves £20 from the first trip and £60 from the second as income, therefore quadrupling the revenue.

Jam Butty Ahead

It is no secret that each month the three of us who own and manage DrivenByQ meet up and discuss the business. We also discuss ways of increasing the turnover or improving the profit.

At the moment we are in a good position and we have money to invest. We have also recovered from the demand on our cash-flow which was required to cope with big increase in turnover this year.

My opinion is that airport transfers to Manchester International and Liverpool John Lennon are a great way to sustain our business but they are in such a competitive market, the margins are slim.

Therefore, instead of airport transfers being our speciality, they could be viewed as a foundation on which to build. After all, who does not like a bit of jam on their bread every now and again?

Boot Space

You may have noticed it has been three weeks since my last blog. I’m pleased to announce the reason is because I took paternity leave with the arrival of our new baby boy (ten days early).

Not only did it take me a long time to find the right car seat and push-chair for him but I have been absolutely amazed at just how much equipment and luggage is required for even just a short trip out in the car.

I always thought an executive saloon was big enough to cope with more or less anything. Now I’m not so sure. When you factor in the pram, the base, the baby seat, changing bag and any blankets it becomes a lot.

This week I have been looking at new cars for either myself or my wife. It seems the list of baby items required has become bigger and so too has the cost!

The Volvo Baby Seat Conundrum

With the arrival of our new family member, I have been researching travel systems and baby seats for months. It has not been simple. There are so many manufacturers and systems it is a minefield.

 

I like the Orb (previously Spin) push-chair because it travels forwards or backwards with a twist of a handle. It is unique and exclusive to Mothercare but a separate baby seat can dock in it.

 

I drive a Volvo S80 so I explored the Volvo (birth to 13kg) baby seat. It is actually a Britax BABY-SAFEplus SHR II seat and fixes in the car using a Britax BABY-SAFE ISOFIX Base.

 

More research revealed the Britax baby seat is compatible with the Mothercare Orb pushchair. All it needs is the Mothercare Spin Britax seat adaptors. How much more simple could it be?

Forget Me Not

In my last blog I wrote about working on a business rather than in a business. If you look back to five months ago, we implemented a full-time Manager’s role so we could start responding to customers more quickly.

It was part of our new strategy to give time toward the administrative functions of DrivenByQ. In hindsight we did this at just the right time. It gave us time to carry out calculations, write reports, analyse figures, check bank accounts and chase late payments.

It was easy to think we were on to something because the manager’s time quickly filled up with lots of little jobs that needed doing. Each of us who own the business now spend a whole week as full-time Manager.

I thought we were working on the business but in reality, we have fallen in to a false sense of security. What we should really be doing is finding the time to generate new and innovative ideas which either improve efficiency or lead to measurable growth.

 

Sixth Sense Tuning

We’ve all heard the old cliché - it is more important to work on your business than in it. Over time and especially with the introduction of new business, I have fallen in to the trap of working as a driver rather than a business developer.

In some ways, I expect (and allow) this to happen because new accounts always need drivers. I also find it is beneficial to stabilise our operation before returning to the hunt for more customers.

When I talk to passengers, I am increasingly convinced we need to be developing our ‘culture’ and making it tangible. Until now, we have simply accepted our way of doing things is different.

Maybe it is time to step back from the coal face, get things in perspective and recognise our future is reliant on our brand. What is more the brand is dependent on our culture being embedded in to the very heart of it.

Breathing Space

Look at our historical data and it reveals trends. The last three to four years are erratic but previous to this, there was a clear pattern of seasonal activity. It shows when passengers used to travel with us. I believe we are currently moving back to predictability again.

Typically the next six to eight weeks should be quieter for us. This is a combination of schools closing for summer and factory shut-downs for maintenance. They inadvertently reduce the demand for business travel but increases the holiday traffic through airports.

Typically, holiday-makers don’t rush. They travel with baggage and wait at luggage carousels with lots of other people. Strangely, many companies compete for this work which is usually high-maintenance and low profit.

This time of year it is better to step back, take a deep breath, analyse where we are, discuss improvements and implement changes. Thinking long-term and waiting for the rush of business travel in September is the best option right now.

The Best Man Isn't Always The Most Expensive

Last week I missed a blog. Was this because I had nothing to write about or because I wanted a break? No. It was because I was organising a wedding – my wedding!

Arranging a venue, photographer, wedding car, wedding cake, entertainment, catering, accommodation, suits, rings and lots of other things takes time and effort.

One thing I really wanted from every supplier I approached was availability, certainty they could deliver and the reassurance that everything would be its best.

For a change I was the customer looking at suppliers and it gave me a different perspective on the importance of ‘understanding and friendly’ service.

At DrivenByQ we enjoy assisting people, its just something we do naturally. Unexpectedly, I now understand why so many people like our service so much!

The Full Package

Corporate chauffeur services are perfect for transporting employees and visitors. If they have clean cars, good drivers and great customer service it all goes well. What if their invoices are poorly formatted, difficult to read or omit cost centres though?

Plenty of times I have written about our booking system at DrivenByQ. What I have rarely mentioned however is how our information flows and how the quality of data is maintained. It is especially evident in any documents we produce.

At DrivenByQ our database automatically produces invoices. It populates a neatly formatted pdf with Purchase Order number, cost centres and a full breakdown. It then attaches it to an email, ready to send to a designated recipient.

We believe when customers receive our invoices this way, they are quicker and easier to process. After all, why would you want to save money on a chauffeur service only to cost the accounts department more processing and administration time?

Throttle Control 2

Having completed our financial trading year, I have been analysing figures. I’m glad to say that we are up again on the previous year – by some 33.5% in fact.

 

So, would we like more growth? As an ambitious company, it may seem straight forward but from another angle, accelerating growth might not be such a good idea.

 

Increasing our turnover will mean changing our VAT structure, accounting system and even tweaking the business model. Not to mention any HR challenges.

 

Maybe we should stay with our current system a bit longer and build up capital? After all implementing a new marketing plan could potentially be destabilising!

The Big Question

Over the last few months we have witnessed a sizeable increase in activity and turnover. At the moment the increase is manageable. There is seemingly more work developing though which isn’t through any marketing efforts – it is purely from our reputation.

An increase like this is fantastic but it poses an issue. For example, when demand increases our resources need to coincide. So the question is, does the increase in activity represent a spike or is it a new normal?

Should we continue working harder temporarily or should we recruit? Add the fact the recent economic conditions have distorted our historical data and you get a less than clear picture from our statistics.

To compound the issue we have limited information on new accounts (gained in the last year) to analyse their trends. Perhaps we should just ditch the analysis and do something old-fashioned like rely on instinct?

My Fault, I Did It

Last week I wrote about implementing 5S and bringing problems to the surface. This week we discussed it at our monthly management meeting and it led to a much deeper conversation about our approach to mistakes.

Now, in an ideal world there would never ever be a mistake by anyone, anywhere. However, we are all human and occasionally we have to accept that introducing a new process and growing a business will possibly lead to a mistake occurring.

I personally believe the way we deal with mistakes as individuals and as an organisation is what really makes a difference in our development. It is all too easy to create a blame culture or defensive attitudes.

In contrast, creating an environment where people can hold up their hand and openly admit something went wrong without fear or blame is something I want for DrivenByQ. The reason is ultimately that culture will develop to excellence.

Muda To The Surface Please

Most people are familiar with the term ‘mass manufacture’. Henry Ford was a pioneer in implementing the production line and achieving economies of scale. However, I am not sure if as many people are as familiar with ‘lean manufacture’? Since the 1970s Toyota has been associated with its increasing popularity.

After reading ‘The Machine That Changed The World’ I became aware of lean and the effects it had in reducing costs, improving quality and enhancing performance. Terms like ‘Just-In-Time’, ‘Kaizen’ and ‘Right First Time’ have a lot of deep theory and cultural changes behind them.

Part of the ‘lean’ approach involves a practice called 5S. The five parts are Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardise and Sustain. Implementing 5S can reveal waste (or Muda) by bringing problems to the surface so they can be examined, understood and eliminated.

Our new Duty Manager System has increased our admin work and some errors have occurred. The most important thing here is to encourage the admitting of mistakes when they happen. Only then can we find solutions which standardise our approach and ensures the same mistakes cannot happen again.

Management Philosophy

When I was younger, the first time I recall someone having a business strategy was watching the BBC Trouble Shooter series with Sir John Harvey Jones. I was hooked on his objective insights and the improvements he made to businesses.

 

Later in life, I studied manufacturing and became aware of strategies in the automotive industry. ‘The Machine That Changed the World’ was a book by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology which introduced ‘The Toyota Way’.

 

Of the fourteen principles in the Toyota Production System one is Heijunka. It means work levelling. It is something we have previously tried implementing to reduce response times when processing customer information.

 

Finally with our new Duty Manager system it seems Heijunka is working for us. In hindsight all we needed was to think bigger and bolder in the implementation. With it in place we can go further and implement the 5S philosophy.

Distortion Control

For a while now I’ve been talking about the changes we are making. At some stage these take effect and we witness their impact. We haven’t implemented the new marketing plan yet but the Duty Manager system is well under way.

What we’ve realised is for the three or so weeks we spend on the road as a driver, there is a belief we need to work harder to sustain our earnings. In reality it is a distortion in the snapshot reports we are using which leads to this assumption.

Over two years ago I wrote a blog about facts and analysis. If you couple this with the figures we can extract from our database there is the potential to gain quality information. I think it is time to introduce this as reports in our monthly management meeting.

Inadvertently what has happened is a greater need for understanding of figures has developed across a wider part of our team. It is exactly what was planned before the changes. Luckily the tools built in to our software will help reach team decisions we can all be proud of.

Happy Birthday

My blogging and approach to running our business has changed you know. It goes back to last year when I became paranoid about reaching the big four-oh. I’ve still got a couple of years to go yet but even so, I have a personal belief that if I haven’t achieved something significant by the age of 40, I probably never will.

To some extent I went a bit mad last year trying to achieve rapid growth by working lots of hours and putting in effort but didn’t include the rest of the team. It came to a point where I lost my way and even came close to quitting! On reflection, it was a good thing because once I stopped trying so hard, I could observe and learn.

Getting in the car as ‘just a driver’ lead to more sincere conversations with our customers and a re-discovery of enjoyment for what we do. It made me realise I would plough on with new ideas regardless of what others thought when I was younger. Now I’m getting older, there is recognition for sensitivity toward others.

Maybe I am reaching a stage in life where I appreciate leadership is required and it requires a strong and robust state of mind to take on the challenges a business will face? Leadership also needs a degree of objectivity to ensure you can see the woods for the trees. I thought it was just old age but apparently, it is known as maturity!

Easter Eggs

We have seasonal trends at DrivenByQ. You can guarantee business travel will slow down during school holidays. Christmas and New Year are very quiet and Easter has an effect which can only be measured retrospectively.

If we compare turnover figures to twelve months ago, there are dramatic differences simply because Easter was on a different week. Once it is out of the way though, we can collect interesting data.

For many of our customers, it is a new financial year and it reveals how much they plan to travel. I have always said April is a good indication for the rest of the year. This is significant because we can plan when to spend.

In previous years we have found, April can also indicate if you should not spend! This April is our eighth birthday at DrivenByQ. We are hoping it is safe to invest more money in growth than ever before.

The Key To Success

If you look back over the last few blogs they all talk about a more structured approach to the way we do things as a business. This year in particular, success and ambition are back on the menu.

The main thing which has changed in 2013 is ‘the way’ we plan for growth and development. This is backed by a new belief in what we can achieve and a concerted team effort to get there.

Many times I've been questioned about the wisdom of writing a blog. Do my thoughts and feelings about DrivenByQ coupled with strategy as a business reveal too much to the competition?

Well, I’m confident if I give away our biggest secret, it cannot be replicated or adopted by others. So what is it? Easy! The key to achieving success is our culture.

Performance Remapping Part 2

Last week, I wrote about the changes we made at the start of this year and the effect they are having. The truth is, last year we grew and branched out from our comfort zone of Wrexham Industrial Estate to target Deeside Industrial Park. It is near-by but even so, it posed a new challenge.

Initially we took the decision to run Deeside as a separate entity. In hindsight this was not a good idea because it starved our resources and isolated parts of our team. There were also constant questions about the boundaries for admin work. These were issues we needed to iron out if we were to grow bigger.

This year we are running Wrexham and Deeside as one large area (in terms of our administration work) and this has made things simpler. It has facilitated the new Duty Manager system (one driver becoming full-time manager with no driving) and the monthly management meetings have enhanced our communication.

On reflection this is starting to utilise the capacity of our booking system. As we add more customers, drivers and journeys it exploits the economies of scale our electronic systems were built for. It is reassuring as volumes increase, rather than struggling to cope, we are simply becoming more efficient, profitable and ambitious.

Performance Remapping

At the start of this year, I wanted to make changes to the way we manage DrivenByQ. As we have grown, the way we have done things in the past has not worked so well in recent times. Key decisions about our future have been harder to reach and things have felt like a chore sometimes. Our team was slowly becoming fragmented too.

The first step we took in January was to implement a monthly management meeting. The initial get together covered a lot of outstanding issues. Effectively all we did was go over old ground. The second meeting however was better, the agenda was smaller, the discussion more creative and the outlook optimistic.

As we complete the first quarter of 2013, a new team dynamic is developing. In the last week we reached decisions about a new web site and implementing an intricate software update. The big difference is how much discussion we have had as a team, the depth of understanding everyone has and how quick we reach decisions.

Last year, I worked on many projects alone and repeatedly tried to gain financial agreement at a late stage. It proved frustrating when a lengthy process of questions broke out and no decision was reached. This year however, we are being decisive, moving fast, being increasingly responsive and rediscovering real agility!

Invested Interest

Week three of our new Duty Manager System and it has become challenging. The reason for this is two-fold. First, we had three fewer drivers to call on (due to holidays and career changes) and our Duty Manager was another driver off the road. Secondly, we have been unusually busy for this time of year.

 

Maybe the conclusion of projects before the Easter break spurred people on to travel but either way we are up a full fifty per cent on this time last year (and last year was a record). In some ways it makes me feel deeply satisfied when reflecting on the strategies we implemented in recent years.

 

I was once told “Always chase the money”. It was advice I disregarded immediately because my philosophy is different. Instead I prefer to focus on the long-term. Rather than considering a customer as a route to earn money one day, I think of a passenger as an investment in a pension fund.

 

It takes persistent contributions for a pension to develop wealth but over time it grows. Many great businesses started from humble beginnings like our own and I’m sure most owners endure financial sacrifice along the way but when things come good it only serves to make the taste of success all the more sweet.

Critical Mass

Two weeks in to our new Duty Manager system, it has to be said, so far so good. The last week has been exceptionally valuable to me personally. I managed to complete projects and tasks from my ‘to do’ list and start seeking new challenges.

What I also found after a complete week off the road is I came back to driving feeling rejuvenated. In terms of planning for the future of DrivenByQ I also feel a new energy and motivation that has been missing for a while.

Implementing the new system is a calculated risk as it adds to overheads - something we have always tried to avoid. It seems the timing however is just right as it gives us the resources we need to grow bigger and increase turnover.

On reflection, we recognised a change was needed but I didn’t realise it would be so dramatic in such a short space of time. Now we have made the change and feel so confident about it, I wonder what else we will achieve.

24. The Magic Number

Over the last year I have been acutely aware that DrivenByQ has grown but our responses and response times to customer enquiries have not been what they once were. Neither have we improved our service - simply because of being too busy.

For a long-time our Duty Manager role has been slotted in between driving jobs with a different manager on each day of the week. This has made it disruptive when trying to develop our business because we have not committed resources efficiently enough.

After two months of discussion and planning, this week we implemented a new system where one of the company owners spends a week off the road being the full-time Duty Manager. For the first time in our history this is also now a paid position.

Apart from the discipline required when working from home, the first week seems to have gone well. We managed to reduce maximum response times from 24 hours to less than 24 minutes within office hours and immediately had positive feedback.

The Capital ‘A’ Of Customer Service

Since the start of 2013, my strategic thoughts have been focussed on finding a repeatable formula for growing DrivenByQ. My analytical mind has been working overtime trying to find that one magic ingredient we can replicate.

Processes and relationships have all come under scrutiny and clinically dissected to a level where there is nothing left to analyse. So moving forward with our business plan, marketing plan and everything else, what is unique about us?

When you really break down our service, anyone can do WHAT we do taking people from A to B by road in a vehicle. What we have to establish is how our business makes an emotional connection with people and influences their decisions.

Finally I have recognised it is HOW we do what we do that really matters. This is what categorically creates a difference compared to our competitors. The word for this magic ingredient quite simply, is Attitude!

Knuckling Down

I'm not an economist but from time to time, passengers ask me what business is like and how the economy is doing in the UK? It goes against my three golden rules to discuss politics but occasionally, I share observations.

Last week I was happy to divulge my interpretation of business in the UK. From the conversations I have and the general mood of passengers it seems everyone expresses their market or the economy in general is not growing.

The real drive is for increased market share. By altering market position or offering additional services, businesses are changing and people are travelling to have meetings, make acquisitions, diversify or evolve their strategies.

Last year I noticed the mood was buoyant and upbeat with excitement for new ideas and investment in new projects. This year, the hard work of implementation has begun and without doubt, people are definitely more industrious.

The Executive Private Hire Taxi Limo Chauffeur Car Service UK

A business passenger plans a trip to the UK. They book flights and hotels through a travel management company. They decline a rental car. Instead they decide a car and driver service will be better. They will cross time-zones, drive on the wrong side of the road and need to send emails, so it makes sense.

Confusion arises however in employing the correct term to find the right service. A car and driver can take so many different descriptions and interpretations. An airport taxi service may not be appropriate for a business passenger. Neither may the cost of a full-on chauffeur service offering the latest Mercedes S Class or BMW 7 series.

Instead a business passenger might look for something else. Ideally they want a clean, comfortable, modern vehicle with plenty of space and a driver who has good local knowledge, solid reliability, polite manners and mature social skills. So what is this service actually called?

In the UK, the correct term (under licencing laws) is executive ‘private hire’. In the USA it is a limo service. In other parts of the world it is an executive car service. On the DrivenByQ business cards, we state ‘corporate chauffeur service’. Technically, it is not 100% correct but undeniably, it is recognised.

Traction Control

As part of a new marketing plan, we have considered the unique selling point that differentiates DrivenByQ against other suppliers. One possibility is the technology we use to automate many of our processes, improve quality and reduce costs.

Bill Gates once wrote “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency”. Personally I like this statement.

The quote is great if you are compiling a thesis or writing a report or even if you are conveying the principle to a customer but for marketing purposes, it is not necessarily a ‘cool’ or 'sexy' statement to include as part of your literature as it is too academic.

Perhaps technology should remain a feature of our business with the benefits highlighted. That still leaves us investigating our unique selling point though. Maybe we should concentrate on what really counts such as the personal touch with a friendly, reassuring smile.

Special Ingredients, Simple Cake, Great Taste

Last week I wrote about what to consider in overhauling our web site. In a way, I suppose it is similar to baking a cake and thinking about ‘who’ would like to eat it and what the taste would be.

Once we’ve decided who we are going to make our cake for, it is then time to see what ingredients are in the cupboard. Luckily we have been stocking the shelves with some nice items.

Compared to the last time we updated our site, we now have the DrivenByQ logo, corporate video (with testimonials), professional photographs, wider portfolio of customers and social media channels.

So far we have decided less is more and featured photos are best, accompanied with a title, brief introduction and a call to action button. Maybe it is also better to suggest technology features in our business rather than saying it too?

Screen Wash

For a while now, we have known our web site has needed a revamp. Our information is acceptable but the aesthetics need aligning with customers expectations. We need to consider the impression on potential new customers too.

An update is not easy. There is much to consider. How do we compare to competitors? Do we promote ourselves correctly? Do we position accurately in the market place? Will we attract the right customers? Do we communicate our core values?

Looking outside of DrivenByQ and investigating other providers gives an opportunity to perceive things the same way as a customer. Doing this, you quickly recognise companies making a conscious effort to engage with customers and create a connection.

From initial research one thing is clear. Not everyone providing a service like ours displays a passion for what they do. So the question is how do we demonstrate the affection for what we do and convey that message through all parts of our marketing?

Eye Of The Tiger

This week, we had our first management meeting of the year. We discussed the development a new business plan, a new marketing plan and a list of proposed updates for our bespoke cloud software.

Our original business plan defined how we would operate, what our goals were and how we planned to achieve our objectives. The new business plan however is a lot more substantial and focused on evolution rather than creation.

This time we are planning for several stages of growth that will take us from being a local company to a regional and established brand leader. This will inevitably mean some big changes in many key areas and development of our team.

The real challenge however is keeping one very important thing exactly the same - what we deliver right now to our customers. That friendly, non-assuming approach that feels comfortable, enchanting and endearing.

Project X

In November an email arrived from one of our account customers saying ‘thank you for being such a valued supplier’. It went on to declare how important our relationship was and then requested a reduction in prices by 10%. They call it Project X and are applying it to all suppliers regardless of their size, history or credibility.

From time to time customers will inevitable look at their costs and try to reduce their outgoings. At this point you have to ask yourself if you wish to retain a customer by altering your costs or if it is better to lose the customer for a short while until they recognise the quality and value you deliver is difficult to find elsewhere.

My response was to stand firm in the negotiation process but in December the customer moved their business. Coincidentally because of their complex invoicing system and extended payment terms it left one alternative supplier available to them which is a taxi firm who charge £130 per week ‘settle’ to their owner-drivers.

At DrivenByQ we don’t charge settle because our overheads are so much lower. We are a virtual company with no need for bricks and mortar and our administrative costs are reduced by our cloud system. Similar to the taxi company however, we do take a commission from each account journey.

The difference is that after commission, our drivers still receive between 20% and 50% more than a driver at the taxi firm. That means they are motivated, positive and willing to invest in proper vehicles. It ensures we attract the right people who understand the importance of quality too. I wonder how long it will take the customer to realise that?