Haywards Heath business owner hopes to continue to engage with local firms

This week we speak to Stuart Humphrey, managing director at Phoenix Marketing in Haywards Heath.

How did you decide on this career?

I’ve always loved working in advertising and my roots go back into local press many years ago. The work we did to help local businesses back then was amazing. Through my journey to working on magazines you would find on the shelves in WH Smiths and then to technical trade publications supporting UK manufacturing, I’ve always been at the front generating leads for my clients. I’ve always done this, so really Covid has helped me make that decision to not go back to work under an employer and start out on my own, after all I’ve run a successful dance business for many years now.

How does a normal day usually go?

I’ll get up early and go for a bike ride, this clears my head something again I only started in lockdown. It’s great to make your ‘to-do list’ as you cycle through the lanes. I’ve a few clients now, so I’ll check in with them all, usually we have something new to talk about, as the pandemic changes rapidly, so we are having to pivot on decisions sometimes weekly. This helps our clients get the most out of a flexible marketing approach. I’ll always ‘hustle’ for new business, it’s in my blood. I’ve set myself a target for ten new businesses this year. I’ve also taken on a new team to help me that I’ve employed locally, so Martha my editorial assistant is always busy checking all our social and PR releases so they are ‘pin point’ perfect and Phillipa who is a fully qualified chartered marketer, is constructing the marketing campaigns that help our clients grow organically. This simply means you really do not have to pay large sums of money to promote your business digitally. The days can be long at the moment, but this comes with the territory, businesses are having to ‘dig in’ and work harder right now for sure.

What gives you the most job satisfaction?

Delivering sales leads to my clients, that’s what all our focus is on. Whilst its nice to have brand identity and ensure you have the correct ‘tone of voice’ for your business, sales leads drive business, it’s that simple and that’s the currency we deal in here at the agency. Plus knowing I’ve over delivered on a client’s expectations is always very satisfying indeed.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Well believe it or not I have a plan for that. It’s all about ensuring our family gets the best start in life, so our roots are down as we nurture our five children from seven to 17-years-old. Business wise, I hope to continue having a thriving agency here in Haywards Heath that the local business community can engage with, should they ever need a helping hand with their sales and marketing efforts.