Business Engage Profiles

A digital marketing agency based in the West Midlands has expanded to meet the growing demand from businesses looking to strengthen their online presence.

AIM Internet, which was established 25 years ago, has taken on two new full-time members of staff as Covid has seen businesses realise the importance of going digital.

Excitingly, the company is also actively looking for apprentices.

The AIM Internet team offers a number of services including search engine optimisation, content production, digital advertising, strategic consulting, social media marketing and website design and development.

Business growth for digital marketing agency

They provide strategic advice to help clients to determine the most effective channels for growing their market, generating more leads and boosting income.

The company is also very well-connected with funding streams and can assess if a business is eligible for funding for a discount of between 33 and 50 per cent, and also offer support with the application process.

Based in Birmingham, AIM Internet supports SME clients in a variety of sectors that are primarily based across the Midlands, and has a specialism of working with manufacturing and engineering businesses.

Sales Director Sarah Whitticase owns AIM Internet alongside her Coventry-based business partner Mike Raybone.

Sarah said: “We use digital marketing to help our clients to grow and future-proof their business.

“We provide digital marketing solutions to open up new market sectors, create leads, and boost revenue, assisting clients in gaining more consumers, increasing revenue, or simply increasing client loyalty.

“We also have a research team that continually tests the latest ideas and methods the internet has to offer, to identify the best digital marketing techniques available for clients.

“We’re quite different to traditional digital agencies as we like to get under the skin of a business, offering a tailored solution to our clients depending on their individual needs and budget.

“We also like to demonstrate that what we do delivers results and that we can make a difference to our clients’ bottom line. Our connection with funding streams helps us deliver an even bigger ROI.

“Although we are virtual, we are very personable and like to have face-to-face interactions with our clients.

“During Covid, businesses have realised the importance of having a strong online presence, and we have been supporting our clients to develop this.

“As a result of our ongoing growth, we have taken on two new full-time members of staff to meet this increase in demand.

“They previously worked with us as sub-contractors on a part-time basis, so it is fantastic that we have been able to expand the business and take them on full-time.”

Further information about AIM Internet is available by visiting www.aiminternet.co.uk, or by contacting Sarah directly at sarah@aiminternet.co.uk

“We’re quite different to traditional digital agencies as we like to get under the skin of a business, offering a tailored solution to our clients depending on their individual needs and budget."

Leading from the front

A leadership coaching business which was launched just months before the pandemic has had its successes recognised after being shortlisted for an award which celebrates the outstanding achievements of companies across the West Midlands.

The Leadership Coaches was launched in January 2020 by Zoe Lewis who has more than 20 years of experience in leadership and management development.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, she has since built up a diverse team of highly-accredited freelance associates who provide a range of coaching services to the business’s growing client base.

One of the services offered is one-to-one leadership coaching for executives through to frontline managers.

The programme includes a series of oneto-one sessions which help clients overcome challenges and achieve their goals, culminating in a final review to celebrate successes and look at any lessons that have been learnt.

Another service offered by the business is team coaching which helps teams to define their purpose and objectives and look at how to work together more collaboratively and efficiently to achieve their goals whilst enjoying their roles.

The Leadership Coaches also provides bespoke leadership and management training courses, bringing a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience to design, deliver and evaluate solutions that accelerate clients’ leadership and management capabilities to help them deliver results.

The business provides face-to-face services to clients across the Midlands and in London, while technology such as Zoom means it is also able to operate on a global scale and has clients in the USA.

It works with a wide range of corporate clients in sectors including financial services, manufacturing, retail and government.

The Leadership Coaches’ success has seen it shortlisted for the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Startup of the Year Award.

Zoe said: “Coaching is very different to training as it helps clients identify their own path and work through their own limiting beliefs.

“Although leadership coaching is not an accredited field, we have a very specific criteria to ensure that all of our associates are accredited so that our clients know they are working with the best of the best.

“We don’t work with just one particular industry as leadership transposes across all industries – what makes us unique is that we don’t have a one size fits all approach.

“We pride ourselves on sitting down with our clients, working out what their challenges are and spending time with them to understand what they are trying to achieve so we have the big picture.

“We also undertake systemic coaching as we often find that the problems being faced by a leadership team are systemic and are apparent in other areas of the business.

“We’re very passionate about our values, one of which is diversity and inclusion, and we provide pro bono coaching to Race Council Cymru, of which Black Lives Matter is a key part of, as well as Mind which is our current charity of the year.

“This is also brought into the heart of the business with our diverse pool of extremely talented leadership coaches.

“Launching just before the pandemic proved quite challenging, but we were able to move to a fully digital solution and have worked hard to develop our social media channels and website.

“We have also run a number of free workshops around topics such as creating a coaching culture, leading compassionately and leading in a remote or hybrid environment which has seen our client base grow.

The Leadership Coaches team

“We also conduct interviews with inspirational leaders to shine a light on some of the very best senior professionals which are published on our LinkedIn page.

“We’re extremely pleased to be shortlisted for an Asian Business Chamber of Commerce award – it’s a fantastic achievement after what has been a challenging 18 months for so many industries, and we now look forward to the ceremony.”

Further information about the business is available at https://www.theleadershipcoaches.co.uk or by visiting The Leadership Coaches LinkedIn page.

“We pride ourselves on sitting down with our clients, working out what their challenges are and spending time with them to understand what they are trying to achieve so we have the big picture."

New look for dbfb

A regional, independent, communications business in Northampton has seen significant growth and is now strengthening the business further with a new look and feel.

dbfb, which specialises in flexible connectivity, IT and telephony solutions, has experienced accelerated growth over the past five years, seeing its annual revenue increase from £2.5million to £8.5million.

With a new leadership team in place, the onboarding of new team members, strategic partnerships including CityFibre, and a growing solution portfolio - dbfb’s business plan to reach £15 million per year, within the next three years, is firmly on track.

With more than 1,000 customers around the UK, the company, which launched over 20 years ago, is particularly proud of its local offering within Northampton and Milton Keynes.

It’s partnership with CityFibre, which started five years ago, has only enhanced its presence within businesses in these areas due to the world-class fibre network offering.

After working with local councils and CityFibre, dbfb facilitated multi-million pounds worth of investment in both areas via a next generation full fibre network, connecting thousands of businesses and consumers. dbfb, as an original CityFibre launch partner, is advised of where the network rollout is heading next and decided that Coventry would be the perfect location to address the connectivity available for businesses.

Simon Pickering, Managing Director at dbfb, said: “While we work with businesses around the UK, we are proud of our local presence, and we care about our local community which is why we launched CityFibre in Northampton and Milton Keynes first, to connect more businesses, but also to attract more businesses to the area.

“We are looking to enhance connectivity in the surrounding areas now, focusing on Coventry to bring faster connectivity, and enable more businesses to operate efficiently without disruption.”

As part of its growth plans, dbfb has also launched a new brand, including a strong, vibrant logo and a new website.

The company prides itself on its team and the service they offer, and wanted the new brand to reflect that.

Complimented by its impressive range of solutions and in line with its growth, the new website represents the quality of service, people and products that make up dbfb - helpful, customer-centric and vibrant.

The new brand, website and logo is still recognisable as dbfb, and its ‘old school service’ that it is proud to offer, and what differentiates the company in the market, won’t change.

The new look and feel is simply a way to reflect the company’s successful growth and to further strengthen the business within the competitive and growing telecommunications market.

Simon added: “Our rebrand isn’t about changing who we are, its simply us evolving and adapting to change. We wanted the brand to be more in keeping with the business we are today, reflect customers in both our local SME market and the wider enterprise market and enable us to challenge within the competitive market. The new website focuses more on the customer, what they need from us and how we can support them.”

While dbfb prefer to communicate with their customers over the phone, the new website provides additional contact channels for customers to reach the team. From live chat functions, to call back options, customers can contact them when they need to through the channel of their choice.

To find out more about dbfb and see the new branding in action, visit dbfb.co.uk

"Complimented by its impressive range of solutions and in line with its growth, the new website represents the quality of service, people and products that make up dbfb - helpful, customer-centric and vibrant."

Rapid growth for WA Management

A management consultancy headquartered in Leamington is moving to a bigger office after an exciting period of growth.

WA Management has experienced rapid growth since last year, with nearly half of its staff recruited after the start of the pandemic.

As a result, it is moving to a larger location with its new head office at Dormer Place, overlooking the Pump Room Gardens, from the end of November.

The health, safety, quality and environmental compliance management consultancy, which also has offices in London and the north, provides health and safety services and management system advice as well as a range of bespoke training courses.

Its new office will span two floors, and will include a dedicated meeting and training room for face-toface training, including First Aid and IOSH (Institute of Occupation Health) certified courses.

William Whittaker, Managing Consultant of WA Management, said that the new office is an exciting step forward for the business, and a great opportunity to build on the compliance and training services they offer.

He said: “We’ve loved running our online training sessions, and plan to keep offering them as some of our customers find them to be more convenient, particularly in regard to our director-level IOSH Leading Safely course.

“However, we’re very keen to host in-person First Aid sessions in our offices again and look forward to welcoming customers old and new for training courses accredited by QNUK, IOSH and other awarding bodies.”

With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, along with the new office space at its disposal, WA Management is currently looking into expanding its in-person training options.

The company’s qualified trainers offer a range of courses such as Emergency First Aid at Work and bespoke Health and Safety training, which are suitable for many different industries and can be tailored to suit the individual needs of the client.

Other areas of the business are also growing, including an online PPE retail store which is currently being developed, along with an online document portal which allows customers to access all of their important up-todate documentation conveniently and quickly.

New Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents accredited online training courses, including Mental Health Awareness Training and Abrasive Wheels Training, have also been added to WA Management’s online training shop.

William added: “We’re working hard to bring new services to our customer base.

“We pride ourselves on the long-term working relationships we establish with our clients, so we want to continue to offer services that are practical, add value to their operations, and reduce red tape, which will in turn allow their business to run more efficiently.

“As part of our management system, we are always looking for customer feedback to develop the services we provide.

“Therefore, some of the ideas we’re working on have come directly from our clients themselves, and we’re always keen to listen to our customers’ thoughts and use their feedback to drive improvement to the business.”

Alongside these new services, WA Management also offers Health and Safety support, including risk assessments, accident investigation, policies and more, assists with implementing and running ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) certified management systems and both bespoke and open certified IOSH training courses held either online, on a business’s site or in WA Management’s offices.

As an ISO certified business itself, WA Management is a compliance professional which identifies and helps implement best practice processes across client operations.

Further information is available by visiting https://www.wamanagement.co.uk

“We’ve loved running our online training sessions, and plan to keep offering them as some of our customers find them to be more convenient, particularly in regard to our director-level IOSH Leading Safely course."