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What is retailtainment?

Retailtainment is the word I have come to use a lot over the last couple of years. People who know me will know what this word means, but for those that don’t, this is the word I like to use to describe bringing the retail space alive.

Retail has obviously changed over the years but in the last three or four years it feels like the change has been a lot more abrupt and rapid. Why is this you ask? What can retailers do? What are the challenges ahead?

All good questions, that I will give my opinion on in this blog. I am extremely passionate about retail. I started my retail career at 20 years old with B&Q and have now been in the industry for 18 years. I love it and always will.

What have been the biggest changes in the retail industry?

I believe the three biggest changes have been:

1. Declining footfall on the high street
2. The birth of omnichannel
3. Internet retailers getting bigger, stronger and smarter

Over the last four years, footfall on the high street has declined by a considerable amount which presents some real challenges for us as a business. However, we still attract customers through our passion for excellent service, finding creative solutions to help our customers and, of course, ‘retailtainment’. Getting the team to bring the retail space alive and get involved in the community, is important.

Omnichannel brings online, voice and the retail space together giving consumers a seamless experience. Some retailers have really made huge strides on this and some have yet to start, but the landscape shows if you don’t utilise a cross-channel content strategy then customers will become disconnected with your brand. Consumers expect businesses to offer this and do it well in order to build that trust, credibility and loyalty.

Successful internet businesses have really tailored their approach to work online and are using this when they move to the high street, the clicks to bricks. However, the retailers fighting to compete in the online space, the bricks to clicks, have really suffered and struggled. You only need to look at the retailers that we have lost to see this. Maplins, Toys R Us, HMV and  Blockbuster are just a few. The digital world just simply cannot be ignored or used ineffectively.

So, what do customers want in our retail space? They want you to bring the product alive and create an experience, not just a sale. On a personal note, I love watching Waterstones have the Gruffalo, Peter Rabbit and many other characters in store and bring the books to life. This is added value that you can’t get purchasing a book online or on an eBook reader. This is what retailtainment is, giving the customer an experience that makes them want to come back.

I believe that, in the race to online, so many great retailers have forgotten about the people and the bricks and mortar part of their business. Service on the high street continues to frustrate, due to non-existent cross-channel and poor customer experience. This pushes the customer away from retail stores and onto online platforms.

In the next edition of The CEO Files, I will give my predictions on what changes and challenges are on the way for retail in 2019 and beyond. To see my previous blogs click here.

Until next time…

Happy New Year to all our customers, partners and associates

2018 was an exciting, fun and successful year for MID Comms and MID Group, now the new year is here and we’re ready to do it all over again even bigger and better. We want to say Happy New Year and to thank all of you, our customers, partners and associates, for supporting us on our journey and hope that continues into 2019.

My top three highlights from 2018 

As already mentioned, 2018 was a fantastic year for myself, both personally and professionally, as well as MID Comms and the wider MID Group as a whole. Every year I set goals, something that I believe is vitally important. Without a vision and goals that you stick to, you are at risk of losing sight of everything you’re trying to achieve. In the world of business there are always highs and lows, however, I must say that last year, as a business, we achieved some incredibly big things and I am proud of all those that worked hard in order to reach our objectives. So, what were my top three standout highlights from 2018?

MID Group Formation – It’s no secret, I love the world of telecommunications. I’ve worked in the industry for over a decade now and it’s fast-paced, ever-changing and extremely rewarding. However, since I joined MID Communications back in 2009, I’ve always strived for the business to evolve and continually develop and the idea of growing beyond just a telco company is one I have held for several years. Turning this idea into reality with the formation of MID Group in May 2018 is not only one of my top highlights of last year but one of the proudest achievements for the MID brand to date. MID Group is an umbrella corporation that all current and future MID businesses will sit under which you can find out more about here.

My Ideal Destination Launched – Once MID Group came along, obviously we had to think about what the first business to join MID Comms under the Group umbrella would be. Several ideas were banded around but there was one that really excited me and my partners, especially after the conversations we had with the wonderful Hays travel. In December 2018, after months of being kept under wraps, My Ideal Destination launched and became the first sister company of MID Comms as part of MID Group. We have an experienced team on board who are now raring to go and make My Ideal a success in 2019. I am proud of everyone involved in making My Ideal Destination a reality and even prouder that it is now launched and trading. Check it out if you have not already!

MID Comms Evolution – Last but not least I can’t forget to talk about MID Comms. I will be celebrating my 10-year anniversary with the company in September and it’s quite amazing how I’ve watched the business go from strength to strength. In 2018, MID Comms really evolved in all areas. Our learning and development structure has been improved, our social media presence has grown massively and as always we’ve made sure the customer is at the heart of everything we do. I am looking forward to seeing what this year has in store for MID Communications. I know that the team will work hard and put in maximum effort to smash it in 2019.

Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of The CEO Files. There were too many highlights from last year to list them all but the three above I am especially proud of. So, fasten your seatbelt, set out your objectives and make sure you are ready to go out there and make 2019 a successful year whether that is for yourself personally or your business.

Until next time…

MID Comms lending a helping hand to Mission Christmas again this year

We’re fast approaching that time of the year that we all love. I’m like a big kid when it comes to the festive period and I can’t wait to spend it with my beautiful wife and children. It’s a time for everyone to get in good spirits and spend quality time together, exchanging gifts and Christmas joy. However, not everyone has this luxury. In 2018 there are still too many children across the North-West and the UK as a whole that are underprivileged. 1 in 3 children in Manchester live in poverty and this is completely unacceptable. That is why I am proud to say that, for the fifth year running, the whole of MID Communications will be pulling together in support of Cash for Kids Mission Christmas.

Cash for Kids is a cause that is very close to my heart and I have the pleasure of being a trustee for this amazing charity that does so much to enrich the lives of less fortunate children. Last year, as a business, we managed to raise an amazing amount of money and gifts and this year we’re going to do even better. We’re asking our customers, partners and associates to do something different this year. We’re asking you to swap your Secret Santa for Mission Christmas and we’d love it if you could join in the fun. At just a small cost you could make a child’s Christmas and I personally think that is something extremely powerful, heart-warming and worthwhile.

You’ll be able to donate gifts at any of our MID Comms O2 stores across the North-West and you can find your nearest in the link below. Also, if you happen to be visiting MID House before the 18^th December visiting myself or one of my colleagues then we’d love it if you could bring a gift that we’ll ensure makes its way to Cash for Kids.

Store Locator

Engaging your workforce this Christmas

As I mentioned at the start of the blog, I absolutely love this time of year. It’s a time for us to come together as a family, both inside and outside of work. I see MID Group as one big family and, as CEO, it’s my job to make sure that all its’ wonderful employees have an enjoyable festive period and are rewarded for all the hard work they’ve put in over the year. We need to ensure that we’re all having fun inside the workplace, so that we have a great end to the year as a business and get ready for some well-deserved time off.

Supporting Cash for Kids is just one of the things we do at MID Comms to engage our staff and get them in the Christmas spirit. We decorate our head office and stores, wear some outrageous clothes for Christmas Jumper Day and more.

However, this year I wanted to bring the whole of the business together, along with their families for a special surprise I’ve been planning, with the help of my fantastic PA Ascia, for some time now. This December, the MID Group team will take over the Trafford Centre Odeon to watch a festive film together with family, friends and colleagues. It’s our way of giving back for all the effort put in across the business this year.

All in all, giving your workforce a bit of reward and recognition at this time of year spreads a positive message, boosts morale and breeds excitement for what the new year will bring. In my opinion, it’s vitally important.

What are you doing to engage your employees this festive season?

Until the next edition of The CEO Files…

Learning is crucial to development

Throughout my career, I’ve prided myself on always being willing to listen and learn. Even as the CEO of MID Group I still strive to develop and grow myself, both personally and professionally, and learning is key to this. In my opinion, you won’t get anywhere in your career if you are unable to take on advice and new information. Learning opens up new opportunities, it changes the way you do certain things for the better and rapidly improves personal growth. I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without it.

MID will always be a promoter of apprenticeships and further training

 So, the main thing I wanted to talk about in this blog is how myself and MID Group will always be an advocate for apprenticeships with one of our current brilliant apprentices having just reached a year with the business. We currently have two apprentices working with us full-time at MID Group head office and we are proud to have several employees who have graduated through apprenticeship programmes over the years. I believe that apprenticeships are extremely important. It’s fantastic that through our business we are able to train apprentices and give them relevant on-the-job skills and experience whilst they are earning money.

Around eighteen months ago I realised that what was lacking in MID Communications was someone dedicated to social media who would develop our online presence. Previously, myself along with several of my colleagues split the social media duties between us. Due to us all being busy in our own roles we couldn’t give too much attention to it. With the help of the wonderful Juice Academy, who provide a brilliant social media and digital marketing apprenticeship programme, we hired Jamie Kelly, our Social Media and Digital Marketing Coordinator, towards the end of last year.

Fast forward and Jamie has now been with the business just over a year. In this time Jamie has developed massively and done a fantastic job managing all of our social media platforms, taking on even more channels with the expansion of MID Group. Last week I had the proud moment of watching Jamie interview Sam Jones, Managing Director of Tunafish Media, at a great event put on by the Juice Academy. It was amazing to see how Jamie has progressed and grown in the space of a year, becoming a much more confident and assertive young professional.

This is the power of apprenticeships, the power of training and learning. As mentioned, we have people who have graduated through apprenticeships and currently have pivotal roles in our business. I love to watch these people flourish and better themselves with the correct training and mindset. Hiring apprentices gives young people great opportunities, brings fresh ideas to your team and allows you to mould the shape of your future workforce.

I hope this blog has given some good insights into the benefits of learning, both as a young apprentice and an experienced, established professional. I also want it to make other businesses think about hiring an apprentice when they have future roles opening up.

Thanks for reading, until the next CEO Files…