As Head of Marketing for Feature Radiators, prior to my move into freelance work, I gained a strong grounding in providing marketing for a small business on a very small budget. Working in both B2B and B2C areas, I created many marketing strategies to help us achieve the company’s objectives. By being creative and developing relationships, I managed to create a well-recognised and respected brand which was key to the success of this thriving and profitable business.

My role here was all encompassing and we did most things in house in order to keep costs down. Consequently I have learnt to turn my hand of all sorts of things giving me a good overview of many aspects of marketing. My responsibilities at Feature Radiators included:

Merchandising

Leading the design and management of the UK’s largest designer radiator showroom; I was responsible for choosing and displaying a range of products and creating suitable context and promoting our personality to offer a “warm welcome” and a positive shopping experience.

Photography Direction

My job involved organising, designing and directing photography using professional photographers whilst sticking to a small budget.  By creating our own sets and using props from home, we were able to keep the costs down but still the resulting images have appeared in numerous homes and interiors publications as they are regularly chosen by editors.

Winning awards

Feature Radiators has a good track record when it comes to entering industry and business awards; I identified opportunities for entering awards, wrote and submitted the entries, many of which we went on to win including the overall winner in the Keighley and Aire Valley Business Awards in 2015, which I also went on to judge one year. I also presented to judges of industry awards and used my sales background to sell our product to a panel of experts.

Public and Community Relations

Following many years working in West Yorkshire and in the Home Improvement industry, I have developed a network of contacts. This led to me being able regularly obtain free publicity for Feature Radiators across a wide range of media including local and regional press, radio, commercial publications and magazines. I was also the company representative when it came to networking; I attended many industry and community events and I organised, promoted and hosted our own events. Through using my communication skills, I was able to establish and continue to maintain relationships with industry players and the local business community in and around Bradford, Bingley and Keighley.

Copywriting

A key skill I learnt at Feature Radiators was strong writing skills. I regularly wrote blog articles to increase our online presence and improve our SEO. I also wrote expert advice pieces for industry magazines and press releases for sharing our latest news or product information.

Over the years I developed relationships with many media publications and journalists with the aim of making Feature Radiators the “go-to” company for editors wanting well-written expert advice on radiators. Consequently I regularly supplied images and copy for interiors and trade magazines on heating and radiators.

Social Media

It was always important to maintain Feature Radiators’ brand, which was warm and friendly whilst being professional. Therefore social media was important to us to communicate our identify to our potential customers and to show off our beautiful products. Daily management across a wide range of platforms including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter was required to maximise reach and increase brand awareness.

Website management

Although I don’t claim to be a qualified web designer, over the years I have designed and managed a number of small websites for Feature Radiators using WordPress and drag-and-drop website builders for niche brands I created. I also worked alongside a web design agency to create and manage Feature Radiators’ main e-commerce website on Magento 2. The aim was to increase our Google presence, sales channels and leads. 

Graphic Design

Working to a small budget, we tried to do everything in-house where possible. With qualifications in graphic design and a passion for design, I was able to do a lot of the artwork Feature Radiators required without employing a graphic designer. This meant using Adobe Photoshop and Canva to create logos, adverts, flyers, business cards and social media graphics. I learnt to edit photos allowing us to produce a bigger variety of images and better content. However, when we needed to invest in high quality, glossy brochures, I worked alongside design professionals and printing companies to ensure the best results.

Sales

I feel as a marketer it is important to have a strong grasp on the sales aspect of your business and I regularly still took on sales tasks whilst at Feature Radiators’ in order to ensure I ‘kept my hand in’. This gave me a unique insight into what our customers were saying, how our sales processes worked and how our sales team were performing. This allowed me to identify opportunities for improvement whether it be through sales training, potential new customers or new product development.

For more information on my time at Feature Radiators as Head of Marketing and how it may help your business, please email helena@featureradiators.co.uk