David Ogden, Founder and CEO of The Key Safe Company (TKSC) discusses the importance of workplace culture and its contribution to innovation in technology
Please introduce yourself and give us a brief overview of TKSC.
The Key Safe Company designs, produces and markets a wide range of security products including police preferred key safes, secure cabinets, access control systems, key cabinets and padlocks. We’ve sold more than two million products in the UK alone since I launched the business in 1996. We solve day-to-day access problems for people in all walks of life by providing ultra-safe storage space for keys at the point of need.
Our key safes have transformed social care in the UK, enabling local authorities to deliver millions of hours of care and make huge savings. They’ve quite literally made a life-or-death impact by allowing emergency workers to access properties quickly and securely.
We’re confident our class-leading products will go on to have an equally profound effect on businesses in the security industry.
What was it that made you start your business?
I initially started to import key safes from a manufacturer in the US as a sideline to my main job. I quickly realised, as sales started to take off, that I was on to something. The Key Safe Company hasn’t looked back since.
We pride ourselves on delivering excellence at every level. From the design and manufacture of products in our ISO 9001-accredited factory to our faultless interactions with customers and after-sales care.
I’ve said it all along, but it’s people who make the difference. I’m blessed to have around me a phenomenal team of experts which allows the business to flourish and thrive.
How do you nurture relationships with customers, commercial and consumer?
Providing excellent customer service is among our primary objectives. We prefer the human touch, so we try to restrict the time customers spend with bots.
All of our customer service agents are fully trained and have the capacity to answer questions knowledgably and transparently. That’s very important to us because customers are often uneducated about key safes when they first approach us. For those reasons, it’s vital that our messaging to the consumer is crystal clear. We want each and every customer to buy the Key Safe product that is right for them.
How would you describe the role technology plays in the day-to-day running of your company?
Technology affects us across the board. Online marketing, in particular, is proving very powerful. It can deliver an instant response, and you can very quickly tweak it and track it to display real-time information on the behaviour of our customers.
Our business produces products that are based on our customers’ desires and reviews. Reviews keep you honest and we absolutely listen to those customers by continually modifying and adjusting our offering. That is really powerful tech, as long as you listen.
What is your view of rivals in the market?
I absolutely love competitors. If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be pushing forward all the time. I’d have an easy life and become complacent. We evaluate competitor products at every level. As soon as a new product comes online, we’ll order one and the engineering team go through it. We discuss what, if anything, we can learn from that product. Competitors give you gold, but it’s what you do with that gold that counts.
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