Happy Birthday To…Us!

It’s official, Wilkes Wood is now 4 years old, and what a fantastic 4 years it has been. The past twelve months have been really transformative to the business, so I thought I’d quickly break down some of the highlights…

To kick things off, we welcomed Tom into the business – he’s had such a massive impact on the value we’ve been able to provide our clients that I’m not sure how we were able to cope without him.

Through Tom, we’ve been able to improve our e-commerce offering, benefiting greatly from his wealth of experience across platforms, strategy, and delivery. Tom has his own successful e-commerce stores, all on Shopify, so knows the space inside and out – who better to have on hand when you’re making the move online?

We’ve also added comprehensive SEO services to our offering, which we absolutely love. It means we’re able to support clients on a long-term basis and really drive results from their website, and the impact it’s had on our client’s organic traffic has been wonderful to see.

Here’s a blog post we’ve written all about SEO and what it can do for your business.

In other news, I’ve managed to complete my MSc degree in Digital Marketing and Data Analytics, graduating with merit. I’ve written a bit more about this experience here if you’re interested in what I learned and how I’m using this knowledge to bring benefit to our clients. 

We’ve also really kicked off our LinkedIn presence, something we’re finding great enjoyment in as we get to follow clients, and industry news and keep in the loop with the local community. You can follow Wilkes Wood here and my personal page here.

It was about time we turned our attention to our own website too, which has now been updated with a new version aiming to provide a much better user experience on our blog, which we have great plans for, as well as sitewide improvements to improve accessibility.

Of course, the real highlight here is another year working with you – our valued clients. We’ve worked on some fantastic projects over the last twelve months – take a look at our portfolio to see a bit more about them.

We couldn’t do any of this without you trusting us as your web and design partner. 

So, from all of us, thank you. We wouldn’t be here without you…

Whilst we’ve had a fantastic year of growth and development, we know the last year has not been easy for small businesses and that some of you have had a really tough time keeping your heads above the water.

We just wanted to take a moment to wish you the very best for next year, wherever you fit into the picture.

We hope the festive period has given you the time and space you need to reflect on the last 12 months, so you can return energised and determined as ever to make 2023 a productive and successful year for you, your family, and business.

For all of our clients, friends and network, thank you for supporting us – we wouldn’t be here without you, and we hope we’ve done our bit to return the favour.

We wish you a happy new year.

See you in 2023!

I’m very happy to report that I’ve now graduated with merit from my degree with an MSc in Digital Marketing and Data Analytics.

I started studying in late 2020, eager to further my industry knowledge and delve into the world of data, which is fast becoming an integral tool for businesses of any size.

Studying whilst maintaining my work responsibilities and growing the company was hard, but with the support of our fantastic team and clients I managed to get through and complete the course without too many tears…

So, What Did I Study?

My course was broken into 4 modules, along with a capstone project. 

The Modules I took were:

• Strategic Thinking in Digital Marketing

• Communicating in the Digital Age

• Driving Insight from Data Analytics

• Digital Change, Innovation and Disruption

My capstone project was on internal marketing implementation.

Each of these modules enabled me to take the theory I was learning and directly apply it to the real world of business, be that through Wilkes Wood or the various clients who were happy to be involved.

This greatly expedited my learning, and I was able to immediately see what the most useful elements of my education were, how to best wield them, and what this would mean for our clients and ourselves.

So, What Does This Mean For Our Clients?

I now have a much greater understanding of marketing strategy when it comes to the digital world – this has enabled me to think more holistically when talking to clients, and I feel like we are much better placed to help clients get the absolute most out of our services.

All we care about is helping businesses grow and succeed, and furthering my understanding of strategy and being in an environment where phenomenal mentors were advising me on implementation has already shown great returns for ourselves and our clients.

I believe the course has also enabled me to better communicate with clients regarding data, analysis and performance reporting.

I know exactly what metrics/KPIs to set for a variety of channels, goals and contexts, and feel extremely confident in accurately measuring performance and reacting positively and proactively to data reports. 

I also took the opportunity to learn as much as possible about team management, leadership and internal marketing.

I deeply care about the people I work with, whether that’s our team or our clients, and want to ensure I am always furthering my own ability to foster an environment that gets the best out of all of us whilst promoting the values, ethos and culture we are all driven by.

That’s a very long winded way of saying I think undertaking this Master’s has made me much, much better at my job. That’s good news for everyone, I hope!

What’s Next?

I will continue to push myself to learn as much about the industry as possible, but I think university is a closed book for now.

I am finding great enjoyment in learning from great mentors that I have around me, and have plenty of short courses, industry reports and tutorials at my fingertips to keep pushing me forward.

I also am blessed with a job that enables me to take a deep look inside businesses of all shapes and sizes and across nearly every sector imaginable, so the amount I am able to learn from our clients is absolutely incredible – so thank you for that!

On the topic of thanks, I’d like to extend mine to James for being the best business partner I could ask for, as well as my close friends and family who constantly encourage me to push myself and develop.

I look forward to using this knowledge and experience to bring our clients better results and, as is our mantra, help you grow.

Follow me on LinkedIn if you’d like to be kept in the loop with what I’m learning and reflecting on…