Ballyclare business adopts ‘new normal’

Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Jim Montgomery is pictured with Lorraine McConnell, owner of Ballyclare business, Joli Clothing. The business has recently reopened with impact following Covid-19.

The Ballyclare business has adopted a ‘new normal’ to ensure it reopens with impact and to also help progress through the business recovery stages.

Joli Clothing has focused heavily on a digital transformation over the last few months, concentrating on their online offering, website and social media channels to meet the needs of customers.

They used lockdown as an opportunity to review their day-to-day processes, adapting and building networks with similar businesses to share intelligence and insights, as well as exploring online training opportunities.

Lorraine McConnell, owner of Joli Clothing said: “Lockdown has created an opportunity for us to review our relationships with suppliers and customers, to consider better ways to engage with them, and better equip our business to meet the challenges of a post-lockdown commercial environment.

“We also used the time to develop our website and social media channels, as well as our ecommerce capabilities, with significant investment made in content management and SEO.

“For us, lockdown has certainly accelerated the digital transformation of our business and we will continue to invest in that transformation, but what will make the difference between us and our competitors will be our understanding of what our customers want and our delivery of exceptional customer service every time.

“It’s what our business has been built on for the past 13 years and what will help it continue to thrive in the ‘new normal’ retail environment.”

Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Cllr Jim Montgomery added: “Businesses have had to change and adapt following the pandemic and Joli is a perfect example of one that has used this ‘new normal’ as an opportunity to rethink their processes and offering.

“If you are a business in the borough and would like to get back on track with trading, the council has a wide range of help and support available including one-to-one mentoring and business support programmes.

“This includes workshops on website development and ecommerce, strategy development, social media training and much more. I would urge local businesses to get in contact with us and take advantage of the free help and support that is available.”

For more information on the business support programmes available, text BUSINESS to 80039 or email [email protected]

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