Always Marketing services
We work with charities, not-for-profits and social enterprises is to strengthen the effectiveness of their marketing communications activities.
Whether you’re seeking support with strategy, digital, engagement, brand recognition, or are unsure where to begin, get in touch to discuss how we can help you meet your organisational goals.
Marketing communications strategy
Is your current marketing communications strategy working? Or do you have no active plans in place at all?
Do you struggle to find time for strategic planning and review, alongside your regular marketing activities?
Are you a small team being asked to achieve more with limited resources?
We can take the pressure off you, and your team, as your outsourced marketing director. Whether you need support during your annual planning cycle, as part of a new organisational strategy or need someone longer-term to keep your plans on track, we can help you by:
• undertaking a review of your current marketing communications activities including resources, budget, existing channels, and performance
• understanding you, your target audience and your organisation’s strategic goals
• undertake a full marketing communications audit or work with you to review your existing offer
• completing a review of your organisation and its position in the market
• creating a marketing communications strategy and plan that you can implement within your existing resources
• providing support and advice on monitoring your marketing communications activities.
Digital engagement
Do you find digital to be an overwhelming drain on your team’s resources?
Are you struggling to develop digital communications that are consistent, engaging and coordinated with other channels?
Are you struggling to reach your target audience and achieve your goals via digital channels?
Digital should be simple by design. With extensive experience in creating and implementing digital strategies across multiple platforms that enhance engagement by adopting a people-first approach, we can help you by:
• undertaking a full audit of your digital channels including your website, social media, email communications and any other services such as online communities, or chat
• completing an in-depth analysis of your audience; their needs, wants and requirements
• working with you to adopt a people-first approach by developing user personas and journeys
• creating an evaluation framework to ensure your digital engagement activities are helping you achieve your goals.
Brand management
Do you need to expand the recognition and reach of your organisation’s brand?
Is your brand outdated or becoming irrelevant?
Has your organisation experienced a reputational issue that’s harming your audience’s perception of your brand?
Your brand is much more than a logo, but it needn’t be expensive to expand reach and recognition if you have a solid foundation and brand proposition. We can help you manage, refresh or refine your brand by:
• completing a brand perception exercise with stakeholders including beneficiaries, donors, supporters, staff and strategic partners
• putting tools in place to ensure the consistent application of your brand including style guides, consistent messages and structures
• developing a clear brand proposition that appeals to your audience and stakeholders
• creating cost-effective solutions to monitor brand awareness, relevance, perception and engagement
• working with you to ensure you have a robust crisis communications management plan to manage and recover from emergencies or crises.
Strategic communications
Are you looking for ways to enhance your organisation’s narrative so that it delights, informs and engages?
Do you have a particular message or campaign ask that you’re struggling to communicate?
Are you struggling to get your message heard, compared to similar or competing organisations?
Your organisation has many great stories to tell. We can work with you to develop a compelling narrative about your people, beneficiaries and supporters to achieve your mission by:
• undertaking user-insight research focused on your audience, organisation and sector
• completing a communications audit to review your organisation’s content, channels and how they are performing
• providing advice and tools to help you define your communication goals and effectively frame, test and refine your messages
• exploring content creation techniques to suit your team and organisation such as co-production, pair-writing or user-generated content
• working with you to develop a ‘create once, publish everywhere’ content strategy to maximise your resources by creating consistent and targeted content distributed via the most effective channels
• putting an evaluation framework in place to monitor the impact and reach of your content and ensure you are allocating your resources where they will have the greatest impact.
Change communications
Are you about to undertake a significant organisational change be it restructuring, merger or expansion?
Are you struggling to engage effectively with your staff or volunteers?
Are you about to embark upon a new strategy and direction?
Change is inevitable and whether the impact is positive or negative for individuals, communicating change needs to be well thought out, sensitive and authentic. We can work with you and internal and external audiences to co-create change communications campaigns that bring people with you by:
• undertaking a review of your internal staff and/or volunteer communications
• completing research to understand your staff/volunteers and their views, perceptions and challenges
• developing a full change communications plan based on proven change management techniques
• supporting you and your leadership team throughout the change programme and complete an evaluation after its conclusion.
Workshops and training
Do you want colleagues to understand more about marketing communications and how they can help you and your organisation promote your message?
Does your organisation provide training and skills workshops to beneficiaries and stakeholders?
Are you looking for engaging yet cost-effective ways to upskill your marketing communications team?
As an experienced workplace trainer, I have provided training covering marketing basics, social media, brand, and customer service to staff and volunteers from students’ unions, regulators, and membership bodies. I apply my people-first approach to training to ensure the workshop outcomes help recipients achieve their learning goals and have a measurable impact on marketing communications activities.
We can provide topic-specific workshops or work with you to provide bespoke training that is:
• applicable to a marketing or non-marketing audience
• single-topic or a workshop series, providing practical tips and advice
• engaging, interactive and collaborative
• based on active and experiential techniques to maximise opportunities for participants to apply what they have learned
• available online or in person.
Marie Ashton
Marketing communications consultant
Owner and founder Always Marketing