Exploring previous lives in the worlds of transport and travel, to his passion for connecting with local communities, Adrian reflects on a colourful past and a bright future at County Broadband.
Tell us about your previous experiences and why you joined County Broadband?
I’ve worked in many sectors, varying from travel, leisure, transportation, home improvements, and financial services, but at the heart of them was that they were all B2C (business to consumer). This means my understanding of marketing has always been with the customer in mind.
Having seen the job advertisement at County Broadband, part of the attraction for me was consideration for my experience across the full marketing spectrum, but also a constant nod to the customer. It was a great fit for both parties.
Describe your role and explain its importance in delivering FTTP in rural communities
I always put myself in the customer shoes. I can, as a consumer, relate to the requirements and the need, certainly with working from home and with teenage children in the house, of digital connectivity, whether we’re gaming, streaming, or working from home.
Being able to understand what it is we do from a consumer’s perspective helped me in my in my role to bring those facets together.
What are the most important things to get right when engaging communities?
For me, it’s important that it’s a two-way street. It’s important to listen and understand what’s going on from the customer’s side. I do think we have an advantage that we’re able to win hearts because we are as local as we are.
That’s given us fantastic, evolving insight into the importance of working with and engaging your local community. I think it’s quite topical now, to say that you think globally but act locally, but I think we genuinely do.
When it comes to educating people about FTTP vs FTTC, what have you found to be effective methods?
It can be confusing but I don’t think it needs to be. I’ve always tried to live by the principle that if I can’t understand it, how can our customers? We need to get across the crucial message that modern technology cannot rely on copper-based broadband and that the solution is gigabit speed full-broadband that connections 11x faster than superfast and boasts far greater reliability.
It’s my job to communicate that. I think it’s important that we do keep it simple, that we explain it in a digestible way because the minute we create any disconnect, that can create doubt for our customers.
How do your marketing strategies and initiatives differ from national ‘big players’, if at all?
It’s an interesting question because the big players are certainly leading the way. They do have recognised brands and the deeper pockets, but I like to think that we have an advantage as the fact that we’re so local sets us apart. I think not only do we talk, but we can also act local.
By saying that I mean, we can really hone in on the local problems and connect with customers on a more personal, local level, which some of the bigger brands will really struggle to do.
How important are internal communications in the overall context of County Broadband’s mission?
It’s probably more important than ever. As a business we’re rapidly scaling, so by definition, we need more people and every week we’re seeing new colleagues join the business.
These are really exciting times but what that’s done is really placed the spotlight on our internal comms. So, internal communications for me, although it wasn’t necessarily top of my list when I first joined, has really grown and I realise more than ever the importance of keeping everyone up to speed, educated and informed.
Take a look at our revamped Careers Hub here to discover our latest vacancies!
You’re approaching your one-year anniversary at County Broadband. What have you enjoyed most? What keeps you motivated?
I’m really enjoying my time here. It’s flown by and it really has gone fast because no one day is ever the same. It’s an enjoyable, challenging position that I love. It actually goes back to our opening question as everything that I aspired to do, prior to me joining has been fulfilled and I’m really excited about continuing our journey.
Finally, can you reveal the next big thing for County Broadband from a marketing perspective?
Without revealing too many details, we are making significant investments in our digital offering and how people interact with us as a business. There will still be that ‘boots on the ground’ approach where we get to know our communities inside-out but we’re marrying this with a revamped digital offer designed to give more power to our customers
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