Local business – it’s a bit of a broad term, isn’t it? To me it means you’re a company, shop, firm or individual, selling a product or service in Gloucestershire or the South West. Perhaps you’re selling nationally but you’re based locally with a small team.

You may not be able to afford a marketing department or even a single marketing staff member, but you’re probably thinking you cannot afford to do no marketing at all. You may think hiring a marketing consultant would be expensive, and I’d say you’re wrong. Working with a consultant is very flexible and cost-effective. I have worked with many small businesses in a tailored way to suit their needs and budgets.

You might just need the building blocks (a training session, say) and to be left to carry out the work yourself, or you may be looking for someone to take on your marketing activity on a monthly basis – to allow you to do what you do best, run your business and make money.

Either way, get in touch for an informal chat and a quote. Below are a couple of sample packages and services that are popular and may fit your needs:

Monthly marketing retainer for local businesses
Press release package – got one thing you want to promote in the media, but need someone to write and send out a press release?
Start-up social media packages

There is one important aspect to marketing for the wedding and events industry – you are selling luxury, you’re selling a once in a lifetime experience, you’re selling ‘the dream’. That’s not easy, especially when all your competitors are trying to do the same.

I’ve worked within the wedding and events industry for many years, and took a catering firm from 40 weddings a year, to nearly 200 per annum over the space of two years, finishing in a Wedding Industry Awards shortlist for Best Caterer South West. It’s a highly competitive industry. That’s why marketing and PR are so vital. In the main I like to work with wedding and events companies on a bespoke basis, tailoring marketing to their needs. However below are a few fixed-fee packages that may be of interest.

Monthly marketing retainer (wedding and events)
Press release package – got one thing you want to promote in the media, but need someone to write and send out a press release?
Social media packages

If you’re selling food and drink you need to understand and love it, right? And same can be said for marketing food and drink too – you need to understand it and speak the language. You need to know your Pinot Noir from your Pinot Grigio and your flat-iron steak from your rib-eye. Having a chef as a husband helps, I’ll admit, but my passion for food started when I was very young. I worked as a feature writer for food magazines and websites at the beginning of my career, but having settled on PR and marketing there is nothing I love more than working with businesses in the food and drink industry.

It is an extremely competitive market. Restaurants and cafes particularly can struggle in a crowded marketplace. You need to stand out from the crowd, offer a perfectly delivered USP, stay true to your brand and values – oh and cook great food – not much then! You can market yourself extremely cheaply and effectively now thanks to social media, websites and email marketing, as long as you get it right. Get in touch to have a chat about ways I can help your business grow.

Monthly marketing retainer (food and drink)
Press release package – got one thing you want to promote in the media, but need someone to write and send out a press release?
Start-up social media packages

If you’re looking for PR and communications within the education sector, you really need someone who knows what they are talking about. It’s a different ball-game to business marketing. And whilst schools, colleges and universities are not businesses, they still need marketing and communications. It’s a competitive marketplace, with students and parents being cautious and careful about school choices. Most education choices are now made online via website and social media.

It may be you are a head teacher looking for some marketing support to ensure a great reputation for your school and a successful admissions process. Or you may be a larger college or university looking for some interim support with a large marketing campaign, or to fill a short-term gap in your marketing team. Either way, get in touch to discuss ways I can assist. I have worked with a range of colleges and education providers, including a 12-month communications contract with a top London sixth-form college, working with a major UK education marketing agency.

Monthly marketing and PR retainer for schools

Over the last six years I have worked on several large scale strategic communications projects with local authorities and not-for-profit organisations. Twice I have headed up communications for the implementation of a new waste and recycling service, over-seeing the creation of all printed material, direct mailing to households within the district, posters, advertising, livery, press releases and website communications.

As well as this, I’ve worked on smaller projects, you can see them in detail in the case studies and examples below. These include producing and writing a council’s 12 page annual magazine, setting up and running a Facebook advertising campaign for a careers event, and PR for a council-funded business work experience initiative.

Strategic communications for a local authority recycling service update
Facebook advertising campaign for careers event
SDC News magazine production and copywriting