Business is booming for a Bishop Auckland holiday home company after the owner booked some free training to improve her digital marketing skills.
Katrina Love, who runs Sandy Farr Cottages in Tow Law, has been putting theory into practice, using her new found digital marketing expertise to her advantage, with an online sales campaign that’s generated plenty of extra income.
She estimates that the skills gained on the ‘Boost Your Business’ course have contributed to a 25% increase in holiday cottage lettings in the last six months.
Led by North East Enterprise Agency, ‘Boost Your Business’ is part of a £1m package of training support being rolled out to local organisations, as part of the regional skills and enterprise programme, Go>Grow.
Katrina’s new digital marketing skills are also helping to generate extra enquiries for a service she launched in February 2018.
On the back of new Twitter and Facebook activity, she’s picking-up more customers for her afternoon tea delivery business, which she expects to grow over the summer as demand soars.
Katrina, who found the course a real confidence booster, said: “Boost Your Business was excellent. I gained some great skills that are proving priceless in securing additional revenue.
“It’s also opened up opportunities for networking with other local businesses, which is proving beneficial. My diary is the busiest it’s been for months, and I’m now really excited about the opportunities for growth across all my businesses.”
The ‘Boost Your Business’ course provides an insight in understanding social media, producing digital content, measuring the success of digital promotion, and enterprise techniques.
Adam Clemerson, skills project manager for North East Enterprise Agency, said: “Katrina’s a wonderful example of how start-ups and small businesses can tap into our courses to acquire new skills and win more work.
“She’s got a great portfolio of businesses so, armed with new skills, she has the tools, knowledge and confidence to go on to achieve even more and realise her ambitions for growth.”
