Get out...

It's been a while since my last email - who says these things need to be regular and frequent anyway?*

It's been a busy few months where I've been working intensively not just on a client project (currently working with Which?), but also on my own business.

As a marketer, it's surprisingly difficult to market yourself. Call it modesty, imposter syndrome or the inner critic. Whatever it is, it can be challenging. I'm not going to say I've cracked it, but I've made some headway and have a programme of work for myself over the next few months.

*I say - but, you know...

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One of the areas of my practice I find most rewarding is mentorship. It's life-affirming to see someone progress, particularly through a difficult time.

Recently I've helped people at a career crossroads, those who've faced a crisis of confidence and people returning to work from serious illness. I also think it's super-helpful for busy, stressed senior leaders to get some time to decompress and reflect.

I'm drawn to the idea of outdoor walking mentorship. It makes perfect sense, combining physical activity with mental work, fresh air and space.

In-office or video-conference mentorship is great, but people feel the need to fill gaps. Sometimes, you need a moment of silence to reflect, think and feel. Being outdoors helps - there's always something to look at and silence doesn't feel awkward. (Note this is great when you're in the countryside in wide open spaces, but it can work just as well in the city.)

Let me know if you're in London or the South East and would like to discuss a 1:1 walking mentorship programme for you or one of your team.

?? In the next few months, I'm thinking about leading a group walking mentorship weekend somewhere in the south of the UK. It's really a trial for a bigger idea I'm working on, so I'd love to get 4-6 people together at cost (accommodation and food) to see how we get on. If nothing else, we'll have a nice weekend of walking (approx. 15km per day) and a decent pub dinner...

Let me know if you'd like to be included.

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Going back to my original point about it being difficult to market yourself... Ordinarily, if a business I was working with received a glowing review from a customer, I'd whack it straight in the newsletter. So why was I hesitant to do this? My thanks to Hannah, formerly Head of Marketing at Fluidly for the following:

"Richard is a brilliant marketer who helped us hugely with our digital strategy. He helped us understand our audience, developed the most effective ways to reach them and assisted us with setting up the correct reporting processes. I would recommend him as someone who can develop a marketing strategy with huge amounts of customer empathy and translate that into an actionable plan."

Aw... shucks...

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SOPE Framework

One of the areas of my work I've put time into recently is formalising the framework I use when I approach a business.

Marketing and growth are everything machines, by which I mean they have an impact on - and are influenced by - every element of the business. It's important not to get lost in the weeds and to think about the framework:

Strategy | Organisation | Process | Execution

>> More here

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As ever, come find me at https://fractionalcmo.uk or drop me a mail on [email protected]