Project: Lucion Services
“Working with Joanne was a pleasure, her input into the team allowed us all the time to think about what we wanted marketing to achieve.
Once this “concept” was understood Joanne invested time with the marketing team to build on “strategy” and “implementation”.
Upon completion of the assignment, we were left with some better foundations upon which to build.”
Commercial Director, Lucion Services
“Having worked with Joanne since summer 2017 on various projects to increase the efficiency and performance of the marketing team and activities, I would confidently recommend her services to any organisation looking to create structure and measurability to their marketing activities.
The marketing team is now in a more measurable position than ever before thanks to the work Joanne undertook with the team to refine the marketing strategy, implement systems to prioritise workloads and most importantly measure the effectiveness of activities and campaigns.
As a result of the work Joanne has undertaken with the team, there is now increased transparency with regards to board reporting as well as a bridged gap between sales and marketing.”
Marketing Manager, Lucion Services
Who
Lucion Services is a mid-size UK risk management company who specialise in asbestos management and other hazardous materials and substances, such as radon gas and legionella. They have grown significantly over the past 10 years through a strategy of mergers and acquisitions and are now a leading player in their industry.
We were invited to work with the marketing team and senior management to improve the impact of marketing on lead generation and customer retention.
Where
Joanne worked with the team at their Gateshead office and liaised with the Senior Management Team via email, phone and video conference.
When
This engagement lasted from July 2017 – June 2018. The initial involvement was weekly, tapering off to monthly face to face and email/phone updates.
Why
Through a combination of rapid growth, a recent acquisition and ‘spaghetti management’, marketing (and the team) had become out of step with the other business functions. With no regular meetings, updates or reviews, the SMT weren’t sure what the value of marketing was and the marketing team were unsure of the main business goals and how to prioritise. As a result, the two marketers were working flat out but were finding it difficult to prioritise key tasks and filter out those that were non essential.
The crunch came when the marketing manager was tasked with developing a marketing strategy to support the long-term (five year) aims of the business – something beyond their skills or experience. Joanne was approached by the marketing manager, but the commercial director and CEO gave their full support and involvement to put things on a better footing.
What
We started at the operational level helping the team prioritise activities and communicate to internal stakeholders about the role of marketing and the areas where they could/not assist going forward. This was endorsed by the SMT. This cleared space to focus on the marketing strategy.
Through a combination of consultancy, mentoring and coaching, Joanne guided the team through the strategy development process, step-by-step. This was followed by the marketing and communications plan, with division heads and commercial directors, to create a shared plan (spreadsheet) with some ideas on metrics and reporting, for all to see and understand. (Marketing was widely misunderstood across the business – a key issue we addressed through increased communication and transparency).
Over the year we also addressed skills and competencies, appraisals and KPIs, budgeting and reporting (to the board), metrics and measurement, along with a wide range of digital and traditional marketing tactics. The company host a key industry event each year as well as a programme of regular training and educational workshops. They also offer an exhaustive range of services so awareness was a key goal, both internally and to their customer base. This has been addressed by improvements to the website, content and email marketing, social media and PR.
Outcome / Outputs
One year on the team is just two full-time staff: time management has improved; clear priorities are set and shared; most outsourced marketing has been brought in-house including website, campaigns, PR and social media; the budget has been managed down; marketing can now show ROI on all digital marketing and quantify the value of lead generation. More importantly, marketing is now valued and the team are confident in their contribution and abilities.