How To Make £7 million In Revenue

A True Story

8 years ago, I was introduced to the Finance Director of a family run business in the construction sector. At that time, the business had been going for 29 years, and as a small business, had become successful in its niche and reasonably profitable.

It was started by the father in central Scotland and they had grown through word-of-mouth and traditional marketing methods. By delivering a great service, repeat custom followed.

In the days when the father ran the business, marketing consisted of networking on the golf course, posting out glossy brochures or sending trinkets such as pens, notepads and mugs. When the internet came along, any dabbling in online or digital marketing was performed by their “IT company”.

When the business was passed down to the sons, they too followed the same philosophy – “Dad built the company up doing that, so we must do it too”.

The problem for me, and their potential growth: they were loyal to their existing suppliers – commendable, but outdated and limiting.

Two Years Later

If it wasn’t for the persistence of the FD to get me in front of the eldest son, who was the MD, I would never have been able to help them change their fortunes.

Sitting across the desk from the MD, I realised that he was uncomfortable with the idea of digital marketing. Why? He didn’t really understand it. Even though each and every day, he was on the receiving end of someone else’s digital marketing campaign.

He understood traditional marketing, printing brochures was easy. Although at that time, the large letter format postage prices had just been introduced, and the cost of postage was spiralling out of control.

When I asked:
“What do you do with promotional brochures or leaflets that land on your desk?”

The response was:
“I put them in the bin.”

So then I asked:
“What do you do if you are looking for something for the business, or for your family, say a new TV, or you want to see what your competitors are offering?”

Quick as a flash, he responded:
“I go to the internet and I google what I am looking for and then see what comes back. I normally only click on the websites at the top, as the ones below can’t be as good.”

He was a classic case of using “digital marketing” for his own knowledge, but not for his business.

So then I asked:
“What is so special about your brochures that the recipients read them?”

To this day, I have still to receive a reply.

Making Some Progress

We agreed there and then, that I would help them put a new digital marketing strategy in place to grow their business.

To build a level of trust, I offered a reduced fee for the first 3 months, on the proviso that if he noticed a difference after 90 days, he would pay the difference between my normal rate and the reduced fee. From then on, we would then continue at my normal rates.

At that point, their turnover was around £2 million per annum.

Six Years Later

As the levels of trust developed and the digital marketing results came flooding in, we grew the turnover over the following years. £2 million pa became £3.2 million, which rose to £4.8 million and then onto figures in the region of £7 million per annum.

"29 years to reach £2 million annual turnover and only 6 years to achieve £7 million"

Back in the early days, the MD was cautious. Protecting his kingdom and wanting to know where every “digital marketing” penny was spent. Always questioning “why?”.

As time progressed he could see that for every £1 spent, he was being rewarded by a £x multiple in sales and profits.

And so the tables turned. He started suggesting we spend more on digital marketing. The dynamics had well and truly changed.

All he required was to be educated on the pros of performing digital marketing correctly. Over time, the results will come.

Trying to get quick results in marketing, budgeting too little, or using an IT company to do it, will end in tears.

Trusted Partners - Why They Are So Important

Please allow me to go off on a small tangent so I can give you some background.

At the time, the company banked with RBS and fell into the portfolio of one of the commercial banking relationship directors. This director looked after companies with turnovers in the £2 million to £25 million range.

He noticed the growth and the increases in the company’s balances. He called the FD and asked what they were doing differently to achieve this. The FD had no hesitation in telling him that they were continuing to invest in a new digital marketing strategy and that he must speak with David Reid.

For the relationship director, it was important for him to help the other companies in his portfolio increase their turnover. In his mind, the bigger they are, the more banking facilities they use.

Ultimately, the bank benefits as a result.

So an introduction was quickly made.

Since then, together we have helped many of his clients, and in turn I have introduced him to several of mine. I now consider him one of my trusted partners.

Why Am I Sharing This Story With You

In my mind, every company can benefit from digital marketing when done correctly. The important phrase is "done correctly".

In my experience, especially when acting as an expert witness for courts and legal professionals, I have seen lots of digital agencies miss the most basic of items when they are performing digital campaigns for clients.

If you have been doing your own digital marketing or have been using an agency and the results are not what you had hoped for, then you are only one step away from transforming this.

What is that one step?

It is to get in-touch with us. We can perform all your marketing services for you.

Earn More Money

So the question is, are you prepared to be a bigger success? Have you plateaued at a few £million?

Would you like to double or triple your turnover in the next few years?

If the answer is yes, here is a special bonus

If you complete our enquiry form here and mention that you have read this blog post in the message box and give an outline of your marketing problems, I will personally respond to you.

If I can help you solve your problems, then I will personally work with you to turn things around.

I Am Asking You For A Favour

It is a bit cheeky of me to ask for a favour when we don't know each other (yet).

But you will know someone that runs a company. They may be a family member or a friend, and it would be great if you can help them to be more successful.

How? Just share this post on your social media accounts or email them a link to this post - it will only take 10 seconds to make a difference.

About the author

David Reid

David previously worked with Europe’s No.1 Marketing Agency & the World’s No.6 biggest Integrated Marketing Agency, seeing first-hand how £150 million+ campaigns are executed to create household brands. Now he is the CEO of YewBiz and is focused on helping small businesses.