Almost three years ago, Hotel Chocolat raised more than £4m by offering the UK’s first ever ‘chocolate bond’ to our customers.

Almost three years ago, Hotel Chocolat raised more than £4m by offering the UK’s first ever ‘chocolate bond’ to our
customers and, in January this year, they had the opportunity to redeem their original £2,000 or £4,000 investment in full.

Less than 3% of our bondholders decided to do this, with 97% choosing to reinvest in the business and receive their interest in chocolate.

Certainly it’s a good deal, paying 7% equivalent per annum in our monthly chocolate tasting boxes, but I know this terrific partnership is based on more than that.

Finding imaginative ways to connect with your customers has to be at the top of any brand’s strategy, particularly in today’s economy. True bonding, as with firm friends, has to happen at several levels to establish strong enough links that last.

Establishing those levels is difficult but, similar to any friendship worth its salt, perseverance pays off. The conflicting aims of keeping the level of ambient ‘noise’ turned down but at the same time communicating why you are a worthwhile brand to get to know better, is what makes this tricky. Relentless prioritising of messages is the only way.

But, of course, good communication only falls on fertile ground when it has been prepared with shared values and evidence of respect.

If you get these values right, then the opportunities are endless. I would go so far as to say that today is one of the best times in the history of business to start a new one.

Social networking has enabled good start-up businesses with a limited marketing budget to disseminate good news more widely. Intuitively, the instant nature of social media also brings bad businesses down faster, opening up gaps for new start-ups and fresh ideas.

Add in the pressures of austerity-polarised purchasing and the battle between the high street and the digital world and we truly have an accelerated law of the jungle driving events. If you can make a business work in today’s economy, at least you know it is resilient.

Key to everything is a strong bond with repeat customers. The idea for the chocolate bond came out of an event we put on for a group of our best Chocolate Tasting Club customers.

We had no objective other than to celebrate their loyalty by having an open day at our chocolate factory in Cambridgeshire. A day of laughs, a long lunch and open access to our key team and our hopes for the future was all that was on the agenda.

Many of the guests asked during the day if there was a way they could help with our plans and get more closely involved… thus triggering the chocolate bond concept. I learned that being open and doing things to keep your best customers happy can stimulate the best ideas.

  • Angus Thirlwell is chief executive and co-founder of Hotel Chocolat