Case Study

The challenge

While the first few years have been successful for Doncaster Re-Furnish, the management team recognises that securing the long term future required strategic business planning. An analysis of market share revealed significant potential for growth – both in terms of collections and potential sales. The management team calculated that over two years they could increase the amount of waste furniture and appliances they collected and re-distributed by 30%. But recent years had actually seen a marked decrease in the amount of materials being collected - which meant that sales were down and the business was working well below its capacity.

At the same time, bulky waste items such as furniture and household appliances were continuing to be sent to landfill from households in Doncaster and the surrounding districts. If the long term future of the organisation was to be safeguarded, the trend of decreasing collections would need to be reversed. With 50% of its income coming from sales of goods (as opposed to third party funding) securing financial independence relied on increasing the throughput of furniture and appliances.

The issue Doncaster Refurnish faced was one of awareness and profile. They offer a collection service to approximately 270,000 households, but the lack of an integrated marketing strategy meant it wasn’t reaching enough of these potential customers, many of whom were unaware of the free collection service and the presence of the sales outlets. If Doncaster Re-Furnish could raise awareness of the service they offered, they could increase their collections. And if they could increase their collections, their shop floor stock could grow and sales would increase.

However the organisation had no brand identity and always conducted its marketing and advertising campaigns on the tightest of budgets. Essentially, marketing had always been conducted on an ad hoc basis and by their own admission it needed to be approached in a more professional manner if they were to achieve their growth targets.

The solution

It was at this point that Doncaster Re-Furnish contacted REalliance CIC - the delivery partner for a free Capacity Building Programme for Third Sector Organisations supported by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). With a dedicated REalliance CIC case manager in place, a professional consultant was provided through the programme to create a detailed marketing strategy for Doncaster Refurnish, identifying their key target audiences and exploring the best way to reach them. With this new plan in place, the consultant also helped them to develop a new brand and visual identity alongside a plan for its implementation.

REalliance CIC case manager, Craig Anderson, explained: “Enterprises like Doncaster Re-Furnish have all the experience they need to run their businesses effectively - but occasionally they need to call on professional consultants to fill skills gaps and help them take the next step. In this case, the programme provided free access to a professional marketing consultant, solving the problem and helping the team at Doncaster Re-Furnish to secure its long term future.”

The results

For the first time, Doncaster Re-Furnish now has a detailed marketing strategy to help guide the way it communicates its services to households and businesses in the communities where it works. The new branding has now been incorporated into a new website and marketing leaflet – both key tools for expanding the number of collections and sales.

Doncaster Re-Furnish chief executive, Jo Ward, concludes: “We now have a great brand identity and a plan for going out there and advertising our services – people can see and understand exactly what we offer. The free support we received through the Capacity Building Programme gave us a unique opportunity to work with marketing professionals and our business is in a much stronger position to make the most of its opportunity to grow.”