A Dunoon business is planning a new phase of expansion that is expected to double its headcount within the next two years as customers benefit from its direct mail campaigns.
CX Services – which also handles order fulfilment, call centre outsourcing, data management, and website development for clients in a variety of sectors – said its direct mail business has grown by about 20% since prior to the pandemic. Managing director Greg Girard said that with more people working from home, printed mail delivered by post has become increasingly effective at driving orders and online sales.
"One thing about mail is that it hangs around the house," he said, "and multiple people might look at that catalogue or postcard while it’s sitting there. So, it’s not like an email that disappears into your private inbox and is instantly forgotten.”
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He added: “We employ about 20 permanent staff at the moment and within the next two years we’d like to boost that to around 40 people, so a doubling of our current workforce."
Mr Girard began working for the forerunner to CX Services – a company called Database Direct – as a data inputter in 1995. He progressed up the ranks and led a management buy-out of the business in 2017, but the company ran into problems five years ago following the loss of a big client.
Mr Girard salvaged the business and rebranded it as CX Services, bringing on partners Andy Hore as operations director and John Lamont as technical services director.
Despite that setback, the business has grown turnover by more than 40% since 2017 to £1.7 million in its latest financial year. Mr Girard hopes to grow that further to £2.5m within the next five years.
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Customers include Scottish country clothing specialists House of Bruar, life insurance and investments firm Scottish Friendly, membership organisation The Scotch Malt Whisky Society and Highland Broadband, which is delivering ultrafast full-fibre broadband across rural Scotland.
The company has warehouse teams in Dunoon and Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, which services two large healthcare clients. Mr Girard said he is keen to create the new roles in the Argyll & Bute area.
“My focus has always been employee centric and I would rather employ people all year round in permanent jobs, than bring them in on six-month contracts when we're busy," he added.
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