The Joy Club
As part of the launch of our Guide to Business Resilience, we reached out to a number of smaller business owers to find out what business resilience meant to them.
In this interview, we speak to Hannah Thomson, Founder of The joy Club, about what business resilience means in her industry.
What does business resilience mean to you?
To me, business resilience means a leadership commitment to succeed, coupled with organisational adaptability and commitment.
How do you nurture your customer relationships?
At The Joy Club, our customer acquisition strategy is primarily B2B2C.
This means that it’s important to secure and nurture customer relationships on two levels: partners and members.
When it comes to partners – for example, retirement villages - we work with providers who share a commitment to improving the lives of people in later life.
We work closely together to execute a successful launch, then continue to collaborate to deliver ongoing engagement and effectiveness.
We communicate frequently and consistently against key performance indicators and ensure that we remain a ‘must have’, by taking a problem-solving approach and adding value to the team and their customer base.
When it comes to members – average age 69 - it is ultimately the community that nurtures them.
Members enjoy a wide variety of content, including live online events, videos and articles on a vast range of topics, from creative writing to Tai Chi and criminal psychology.
Our members are content creators, as well as consumers, and so feel seen, heard and welcomed when they join.
Nine out of ten members say that The Joy Club supports a more positive attitude towards ageing – and we recently received the feedback that the community has been “life-changing”.
What measures have you taken to attract and retain talent in a tough climate?
Values and mission-alignment are key criteria in The Joy Club recruitment process.
This serves us well in good times – and in tough times – as we are all deeply committed to our work and to each other.
This strong cultural foundation, alongside decisive decision-making, and clear communication, enables us to maintain performance and morale in a difficult macroeconomic environment.
Hannah Thomson Founder CEO at The Joy Club
Hannah Thomson is the Founder CEO of The Joy Club. She was initially inspired to start the company by her Granny Jean.
For Jean, retirement was the most joyful time of her life.
Her retirement adventures included backpacking around New Zealand solo, volunteering in Bulgaria and becoming an amazing painter!
When Hannah lost Granny Jean to dementia, she wanted to pay tribute to her by bringing her sense of joy, adventure and passion for meeting new people to as many others as possible.
That’s why in 2019, Hannah left her job at a women’s health technology company to begin working on what was to become The Joy Club.
She knew from the very beginning that it was crucial to involve retired people in the creation of the company.
Within that first year, over 100 retired people were involved in making decisions on everything from the website design and the types of activities The Joy Club would offer, to the brand colours and even the name itself.
Disclaimer: We make reasonable efforts to keep the content of this article up to date, but we do not guarantee or warrant (implied or otherwise) that it is current, accurate or complete. This article is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice of any kind, including legal, financial, tax or other professional advice. You should always seek professional or specialist advice or support before doing anything on the basis of the content of this article.
Neither British Business Bank plc nor any of its subsidiaries are liable for any loss or damage (foreseeable or not) that may come from relying on this article, whether as result of our negligence, breach of contract or otherwise. “Loss” includes (but is not limited to) any direct, indirect or consequential loss, loss of income, revenue, benefits, profits, opportunity, anticipated savings, data. We do not exclude liability for any liability which cannot be excluded or limited under English law.
Tags related to content:
Focusing on customers
When times are tough it always pays to focus on your customers.
Shrinking disposable incomes mean making sure your customer service is at its best is vital.
But, knowing the right place to turn to for guidance can be a challenge.
With tips on everything from attracting customers to increasing customer spending, our Guide to Building Business Resilience could help your business prepare for the future.
Your previously read articles
Related articles
What is Innovate UK?
Read article What is Innovate UK?
What is the Business Support Service?
Read article What is the Business Support Service?