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A former NAB banker has used an expensive radio campaign to help turn around a struggling business he acquired 15 months ago.
George Farmer, principal of Aussie Home Loans Bundaberg, was named Rising Star at last week’s Queensland Better Business Awards.
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Mr Farmer said Bundaberg was one of Aussie’s poorest franchises and was writing just $7 million per year when he acquired it in December 2012.
He told The Adviser that volumes had grown to $22 million in his first 12 months at the helm and that he was aiming to write $44 million in his second year.
“I think the big thing for us has been re-engaging the community. The [former] owner was very disengaged and that showed. The business had a very poor reputation in our town,” he said.
Mr Farmer said he has run a radio campaign since March 2013 in which he introduces himself to listeners as the franchise’s new owner. He pays just under $1,000 per month for a minimum of 50 ads.
“For a long time we had people stopping us in the street saying, ‘I hear you on the radio all the time and it’s fantastic’. For us, it’s been very much about driving that community awareness that the business is under new management,” he said.
Mr Farmer said one reason for the success of the radio advertising is that he has the only Aussie store in Bundaberg, which means there is no other local franchise for listeners to visit.
The franchise added a second loan writer in December and is just about to add a third - Mr Farmer’s wife, who currently works the reception, has just completed her training.
A new receptionist will then be hired and a fourth writer added in the next six to 12 months, he said.
“I would like to be in a position within a couple of years to possibly be looking at another franchise. I have a fairly ambitious goal of where I want to be market share-wise,” Mr Farmer told The Adviser.
His next franchise would probably be based in a neighbouring town, he said.
