SP Success Stories Gauteng

Business Consulting Services – Voucher

Service Provider Success Stories 2010

The Business Consulting Services Voucher programme had conducted a survey with accredited Services Providers who were active on the programme.

Communication were sent to all active service providers and based on the responses received, further interviews were conducted hence the following profiles were:

SERVICE PROVIDER: TLOU MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Tlou marketing and communications started operating in 2003 and was approved as a voucher service provider in October 2004. They heard about the voucher programme from their interactions with the UYF. Tlou marketing and communications were approved for the following services:

• HR policies and systems
• Marketing and promotional material
• Branding and design
• Marketing strategy and plan
• Web based marketing

On all the voucher services approved, Tlou marketing and communications has been more active on web based marketing and branding and design.

To market their products (approve voucher services) Tlou marketing and services has relied mostly on word of mouth as they ensured that they went an extra mile to give clients more than they were expecting from them. They involve clients as much as possible during the interventions to ensure that they understand how the end product came into being and how it is supposed to be utilized.

The strategy used by Tlou marketing and communications to market and deliver their voucher accredited products has led to a positive impact on the company and the SMMEs that have assisted. As a company, they have managed to grow and understand how various business sectors operate and how to handle or deal with young entrepreneurs at different stages, that is, wannabe entrepreneurs, start ups and existing entrepreneurs.

Since their accreditation on the voucher programme, Tlou marketing and communication has assisted over 800 clients and this has helped to improve their financial stability over the years. As indicated on their marketing strategy, due to their good service they had a lot of referrals from clients that received good service from them and this helped to keep them as one of the popular service provider in Gauteng.

The impact that Tlou marketing and communications has had on clients has come in different ways. Some of the clients they assisted with branding and website, were able to expand their businesses by buying new business equipment and establishing a second outlet. There were also clients who were assisted to acquire contracts, funding and tenders. Other clients have managed to get exposure and this has let to an increase in sales thus business expansion.

To ensure sustainability in their clients’ businesses, Tlou marketing and communication provide additional consultation to clients and also provide mentorship for at least three months after the voucher has been serviced. Some clients have also individually been assisted to complete tender document, received financial advisory as well as assisted in completing loan application documents.