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— Retail
Nōku is a Māori clothing brand in Hawke’s Bay, founded and operated by two young māmā, Ashley and Pania in 2020.
With 90% of their sales through their online store and their physical store running internet-dependent systems, Nōku needed top-notch broadband and support to keep up and running. Nōku decided to partner with Now for their business broadband solution when they opened their first physical store in Hastings.
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Nōku is a ‘click and mortar’ business so their sales and operations are reliant on broadband to function. Like many kiwi business owners, they didn’t have an IT partner or team to call on to help them figure out what was best for their needs when they were looking to open their first stand-alone store. But they knew they wanted something simple and easy and local support and advice. After a great experience with Now as residential customers, they reached out to Now’s Business team to connect their store. It was a fast process to get Field Technician, Julian out to the store to scope, advise, and set up.
Ashley explains “He came out to the store and it was pretty quick. He asked questions to understand our internet use and needs and then hooked it up then and there. It took two hours max. When we moved stores, he came out again and in not even an hour, he was done and dusted.”
It’s not often you get to see your broadband company’s staff in person and know their names. The relationship that’s been built is awesome.
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For Nōku, the local aspect of Now was a huge selling point. As proud Hawke’s Bay wāhine, they value face-to-face communication and building relationships and use local providers wherever they can. With Now, they had a local company to support their business as it continues to grow. Earlier this year, Nōku moved their store to Napier for a bigger site incorporating storage for their growing online sales. Both were impressed with the support from Now again. Ashley says, “on opening day, Marie (Chief Customer Officer) and Te Moana (Māori Business Lead) took the time to come out and see us with a little something to say, we’re proud of you.”
Many of their operational functions, particularly servicing the large amount of online sales, rely on broadband so when choosing a business broadband provider Nōku wanted to ensure that should anything go wrong, they could get the help they needed and fast. It’s been smooth-sailing for Nōku’s broadband but they appreciate that should something come up they can trust the Now team to be there to help.
“It’s nice to know that I’m not going to sit on the phone for three hours waiting for someone or I can flick an email through to the Customer Service team or Te Moana. It’s even better that if it can’t be fixed over the phone, Now would send someone out,” says Ashley. “It’s not often you get to see your broadband company’s staff in person and know their names. The relationship that’s been built is awesome.”
Now’s Māori Business lead, Te Moana has been able to ensure Nōku receives Now’s great customer service partnered with the manaaki factor and positioned in Māori values. He says: “Nōku is an amazing example of a local Māori business resonating with the Now customer experience of timely communication and reliable service. Pania and Ashley are a testament to their marae, hapū and iwi and we are privileged that they have trusted Now with their Telco needs.”
Nōku is an amazing example of a local Māori business resonating with the Now customer experience of timely communication and reliable service. Pania and Ashley are a testament to their marae, hapū and iwi and we are privileged that they have trusted Now with their Telco needs.
Broadband plays a big part in everyday business. Nōku’s partnership with Now allows them to do business with confidence in their broadband service and the peace of mind that should anything go wrong, they have local experts to help. Being a smaller provider started in provincial New Zealand, Now values building connections with other businesses and providing them with the service they deserve.