Podcast: The truth about building a business people actually trust

The Truth About Building a Business People Actually Trust | Adam Willcox 55 Group Interview

Energy suppliers are about as trusted as politicians. Most businesses in a low-trust industry accept that and compete on price. Adam Willcox built his business to do the opposite.

Adam runs 55 Group, a family-run energy business with 12 staff that has grown to almost £10 million.

In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he explains how his team lifted customer retention from 84% to 92%, won a customer service award, and why he now attends just four meetings a month. The secret? Deliver what customers expect, plus a little bit more. Then let your team own it.

What You'll Learn:

• Agility as an advantage: Why a small team that can decide on Monday and deliver by Tuesday afternoon beats big competitors tied up in red tape.
• The WhatsApp service system: How customer WhatsApp groups with directors, sales and service staff mean a message at 9:30pm still gets a reply.
• Good is not world-class: How Geoff Ramm's "celebrity customer service" talk at BizX 2025 showed Adam's team they were good but not yet world-class.
• Team-led change: Why the improvements came from the whole team, not management demanding from the top, and what that did for the culture.
• Retention economics: Why moving retention from 84% to 92% matters so much when onboarding a new customer is expensive and margins are tight.
• Relationship-first rules: Why 55 Group won't take on a customer it hasn't met face to face, and how six days of personal Christmas videos reached almost 1,000 customers.
• Stepping back: How hiring an MD with an energy auditing background moved the business beyond a pricing desk and gave Adam the option to step away.
• Enter the award: Why putting yourself forward for recognition can be the catalyst that changes the business.