Talking Heads

Jamie Morley,

Business Development Director

Mark Woolgar,

Commercial Director

Talking Heads: Mark Woolgar and Jamie Morley

A conversation with Mark Woolgar, Commercial Director and Jamie Morley, Business Development Director.

Mark, talk us through the shift in how we now approach to the commercial operation of TPG.

Today, every business needs to be data-led. Across all our brands and all our systems and software platforms, we have a very large data set. Collecting this data, analysing it effectively and using it to make tangible change is at the centre of all our teams and the companies wider decision-making. We’ve been on a journey of understanding what data we have, where it is stored and how we can access it. Then we need to transform into something that makes sense and can inform decision making. That is where the tools that have emerged in the last few years allow automatic analysis, and even suggest decisions and outcomes. Ultimately, trusting that analysis and allowing the technology to make decisions is what is meant by artificial intelligence in business. We believe that we are rapidly developing towards this, and all businesses should develop their digital technology and processes to a stage where they can take a leap of faith and rely on that technology to make decisions.

Jamie, what kind of opportunity does our new CRM platform offer in terms of developing and not losing the human touch within our business?

Rather than reducing our time spent with customers and distancing us from them, data technology will allow the people in our business to spend more time on the 1:1. It will allow us to incorporate first and third-party data to help understand the unique needs of our customers and connect with them in the right way at the right time. The personalization of the experience is crucial to the overall customer experience of the future. Our CRM allows us to manage the interactions with our customers, recording outcomes and providing the information we need to be effective. Such insights allow the Business Development Team to be more proactive rather than reactive by enabling quality contact with our customers. When used and analysed properly, data offers greater, more detailed insight into the “state of business” than ever before.

Mark, what does it mean to be a ‘data-driven’ business?

We want to have a strong data-driven culture to go alongside our amazing work in sustainability. As leaders we want to set an expectation that decisions must be anchored in data — that this is normal, not novel or exceptional. From the business metrics that measure high-level financial performance right down to individual stock locations in our warehouses, we are always practicing new habits and creating expectations for what it really means to root decisions in data.

Jamie, as we navigate this new normal what would you say is the most important objective for the Business Development Team at TPG?

Most importantly is to reaffirm the importance all our customers. Having had limited communications over the last 18 months, introducing our new approach with a hybrid of traditional face to face contact, digital meetings and the old faithful telephone we can be in more regular contact with all of our customer base. The roll out of our CRM system over the next few weeks will give us the information our customers need when they need it and enable us to continually improve.