ECO CHIC – www.ecochic.com.au

What are the three most important tasks or systems you developed for your business?

It was extremely important for us to set up systems for customer service. This included standard but personalized emails at every phase of the sale, from enquiries, to acceptance of their orders, to keeping the customer informed as to when items had shipped, and finally to follow up emails thanking them and offering a coupon for discount off future sales. People want to feel that even when they order online, they are being treated as a valued customer, not an order number. Our goal is to give people BETTER service that a traditional store.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced and solved to date?

The biggest challenge has been trying to figure out where to spend our marketing dollars to get the most impact. At first we spread capital across a number of fronts, SEO, pay per click ads, PR and traditional magazine ads. We then carefully tracked every enquiry and sale to determine where we were getting the best market penetration. In doing so, we have been able to spend money more wisely.

Our products are unique – they don’t look like the same old stuff you see at the chain stores.
Our products are eco –friendly and whether people are real eco warriors or just casually interested in the environment, most people feel better about purchasing products with a conscience.
Lastly, we offer quality at a reasonable price and back it up with great guarantees. We take god care of our customers because we want them for life!

What areas of advice did you seek from the Northern Rivers BEC?

We always believed we had a great idea, but we did not have enough money to do it properly. We went looking for a small business loan and found that traditional banks were very risk averse. The Northern Rivers BEC looked at our business plan and shepherded us through the process of getting a microenterprise loan through NAB. We got a great interest rate and would not have even been considered had NORBEC not supported us. More recently, we needed marketing advice, but being a start-up, we could not afford to hire a firm. Northern Rivers BEC did the research and put us in touch with someone who could help. They had a lot of good ideas and insight, many of which cost nothing at all to implement…all for free.

What advice proved very useful/valuable to you, and who provided this (which of our advisors)?

The advice to focus our efforts on the internet, and not on traditional advertising has been a great strategy, and saved us a lot of money. We were also given great advice on how to negotiate with advertisers should we want to do some more traditional marketing in the future.

Do you have any quotes regarding Northern Rivers BEC involvement and assistance?

The Northern Rivers BEC offers more than just good business advice for free. They are invaluable in that the advice is not compromised by any vested interest. If you go to your lawyer, an accountant, or a marketing consultant…they all want your business and may not give you the hard truth. Even friends and family can not be relied on for honest feedback. I went to Northern Rivers BEC wanting them to pick my plan apart, to show up its weaknesses and set me in the right direction or tell me to move on. The fact that they thought it was such a great idea and were willing to offer support gave me the confidence to move forward.

Will you continue to use Northern Rivers BEC’s Advisory Services and attend our management skills programs? What management skills or topics will be the top priority for you?

We will absolutely be using the Northern Rivers BEC in the future. We are still in our infancy and have a lot to learn, why not make use of the skills and expertise they have on offer that give us a leg up in our burgeoning market? Especially when their only goal is that we Thrive and Survive.