Launch of a New Initiative to help local SMEs improve their Marketing in the Current Crisis and Beyond - 80% Grant Funding

19th May 2020

Clearly local businesses have a lot of decisions to make at the moment, but what they do about their Marketing is one that will significantly influence how well they are able to deal with the current crisis and also take advantage...

Clearly local businesses have a lot of decisions to make at the moment, but what they do about their Marketing is one that will significantly influence how well they are able to deal with the current crisis and also take advantage of the recovery at the end of all of this…

There have been many recessions and difficult economic times over the years, including the Global Oil Crisis in the mid 70’s, Monetarism in the early 80’s, ‘Black Wednesday etc in the early 90’s and more recently the Banking Crisis in 2008 etc. What businesses are going through at the moment is quite different, but ultimately the results could be the same and how they deal with both the immediate impacts of Covid-19 and the after effects will be determined by a whole range of factors, but what to do about Marketing, will be certainly be a key one!

Historically, Marketing expenditure was one on the first activities to be cut by companies trading in difficult times as it was seen to be an ‘easy area’ to reduce spending on in the short-term. This has been shown more recently to be a ‘False Economy’ and that maintaining expenditure and possibly in some cases increasing it, tends to both protect your current position and helps to ensure that you come out of the recession better equipped to take advantage of an eventual upturn.

Given this difficult situation, we are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative by Shelton Associates and supported by Sheffield City Region Skills Bank, which has been specifically designed to help local SMEs to significantly improve the effectiveness of their marketing in this difficult time.

Andrew Shelton BA DIPM MBA, Shelton Associates says:

"The Covid-19 Marketing Transformation Programme is 80% grant-funded and helps local SMEs to develop their own Covid-19 Marketing Plan and also includes 6 Webinar Masterclasses showing them how to transform their marketing during this current crisis and beyond. As many businesses have cut back on their marketing activities, there is an opportunity for firms in the Sheffield City Region to raise their profile ‘above the noise’, stand out from the crowd and emerge stronger and fitter to exploit undoubted opportunities that will arise"

So as well as helping SMEs develop a Covid-19 Marketing Plan, advanced training is provided to develop their digital marketing skills (through 6 Webinar Masterclasses) which are essential to help them market their businesses effectively, including:

1. How to Communicate Effectively through Video, Webinars and Video Conferencing,
2. Advanced LinkedIn & LinkedIn Ads Lead Generation,
3. Facebook Advertising Lead Generation,
4. Email Marketing Success,
5. Turning your Website into a Lead Generation Machine,
6. eCommerce and On-line Selling Platforms (Amazon, eBay etc)

Those wanting more information or to take part in the Covid-19 Marketing Transformation Programme please go here https://www.sheltonassociates.co.uk/covid-19-marketing or contact Andrew Shelton, Shelton Associates 0114 2367727, a.shelton@sheltonassociates.co.uk