Claire Dowdall, a local marketing mentor, has been working with solo and micro businesses across the county since 2011 and discovered that a barrier to marketing success is actually making decisions and putting ideas into action. She has been running her ‘Marketing Plan in a Morning’ workshop in Shifnal, just outside Telford, since November 2012 and one of the key questions she addresses is ‘what stops people from writing and using a marketing plan’? With many people citing lack of time, budget and an easy to understand format as their main reasons.

The workshop, which now has a new venue at the Shropshire Chamber Business Academy just off Old Potts Way in Shrewsbury, involves working through a specially written workbook. Delegates bring their laptops, work through easy activities and have Claire, a CIM qualified marketer with 10 years of industry experience, to answer any questions and provide guidance. For £45, not only do you get a 3 hour workshop with the workbook, but you also get a follow up 30 minute Skype call to keep you on track, plus tea, coffee and homemade cupcakes (which are always very popular!)

Claire also runs #focusonmarketing masterminding events across the county, where she has been getting to know the challenges facing small enterprises over the last 2 years, with close to 200 people having attended a session.

“I love working with small businesses because what they may lack in time and budget, they make up for in creativity and versatility so that they can react positively to changes in their environment and customer needs. But sometimes, making decisions, prioritising and putting ideas into action can be difficult. So I designed this workshop to help them to push forward and remove those barriers. So far, I’ve had excellent feedback and it’s great to see everyone making progress!”

To register your interest in future Shifnal and Shrewsbury workshops during September email hello@clairedowdall.co.uk with ‘Workshop Enquiry’ in the header.

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