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I’m A Great Believer In The Maxim That The More You Give, The More You Gain

The name, ‘In House Marketing and PR’, may not be fancy, but it works. “The people I deal with speak plain English, and so do I,” explains Bradley Walters, the company’s owner.

So when he read about Bright Marketing on the Barclays website six months ago, the refreshingly plain-English approach to an area traditionally plastered with jargon and acronyms appealed to him. He didn’t hesitate to sign up. It was, he says looking back, a great opportunity. Bright Marketing is a national programme of interactive workshops designed to help existing businesses market themselves, their products and their existing services more effectively.

Bradley says it was a really good course – and he should know. He left college at 19 and went into sales and marketing. Last year he sold his stake in a computer company and upped sticks from Worthing to rural Rutland – and not just because it’s ideal for his young family. There is, he says, work to be done there. “I’m passionate about small businesses,” he says. “I’ve got over 18 years of marketing experience and I wanted to put something back into other companies.” The result was In House Marketing and PR, which he set up in Nottingham last year.

PRACTICAL GUIDANCE

The course’s range of practical guidance impressed Bradley. It covered areas such as how to attract and keep the best customers for your business; seeing your business through customers’ eyes; and learning how to identify and satisfy customers’ needs more effectively. All these areas are more important than ever as business becomes increasingly competitive. The illustrative methods employed are also useful in helping attendees to re-evaluate their skills, and even their attitudes towards marketing a business.

"At one point the presenter got someone up to do some juggling,” he enthuses. “The balls represented finance, marketing and operations… and we had to rate the balls out of 10. I was the only person to give ‘marketing’ a rating above five – I gave it nine. The presenter asked, ‘Why not 10?’” He grins. “I replied that there’s always room for improvement.”

SPEAKING YOUR LANGUAGE

Another thing Bradley noticed about the course was the welcome absence of marketing jargon – a real pet hate of his.The course emphasised real experiences, and ideas were discussed in the language of the client. By way of contrast, Bradley shares the story of another course that he once attended. “The people around the table were mostly public sector workers,” he recalls. “At one point I got up and asked if we could stop using acronyms. They all knew what they were talking about, but I prefer to use plain English so that everyone can understand what’s going on.”

Bradley found that there were unexpected benefits too, gained from interaction with other attendees at the Bright Marketing seminar. Sharing experiences leads to friendships, and occasionally even to valuable new contacts. “It’s the single most important factor in a company’s growth – good word of mouth,” he says.

Now he is working together with his Barclays Small Business Managers, Dawn Frith and Nicola Burley, to grow the business. He says he’s “pretty busy – which is a good thing!”. The Bright Marketing workshops have made their mark too: “I’m a great believer in the maxim that the more you give, the more you gain.”

Find out more about In House Marketing and PR at www.inhouse-marketing.com, or email bradley@inhouse-marketing.com