As a specialist marketing adviser on a Department for Business & Trade initiative delivered by UMi, I’m helping 75+ Yorkshire businesses adopt digital — through 1:1 consultations, digital audits, tailored action plans and workshops.
Since 2007, UMi has helped more than 720,000 businesses across the UK access the information, expertise and finance they need to grow. Its business support work includes delivering government-backed programmes that give small businesses access to specialist advice they might never otherwise get.
As part of a Department for Business & Trade initiative to help small businesses adopt digital, UMi brought me in as a specialist marketing adviser to work directly with businesses across Yorkshire.
Most of the businesses taking part know digital should be doing more for them. What they don’t have is the time, the in-house expertise or the budget for senior marketing advice to work out where to start — so digital gets done in fits and starts, if it gets done at all.
Every business starts with a 1:1 consultation. I sit down with the owner to understand the business, its customers and its goals, then carry out a digital audit covering their website, social media, advertising and the tools they use to run and market the business.
Working with SMEs across retail and hospitality, manufacturing and trades, and professional services, the same gaps come up again and again: outdated websites that don’t turn visitors into customers, no marketing strategy or way of measuring what works, useful tools such as CRM, email marketing, analytics and AI going unused, and social media and advertising that isn’t pulling its weight.
Each business leaves with a tailored, prioritised digital action plan — clear, practical steps they can act on straight away, in plain English and matched to their resources. Alongside the 1:1 work I deliver workshops and webinars, so more businesses can build their skills and learn from each other.
So far I’ve supported more than 75 Yorkshire businesses through 1:1 consultations, and delivered more than five workshops and webinars as part of the programme.
The businesses I work with come away with a clear plan and the confidence to put it into practice. Many are already acting on it — improving their websites, getting more from social media and advertising, and adopting new digital tools to save time and win customers. The programme is still running, and I’m continuing to advise businesses across the region.