As part of Digital Drive’s first birthday celebrations on 30th January 2019, we’re profiling some of the businesses involved in the programme so far...
Company Name
Bowling Home Improvements
Your Name
Richard Bowling
What does your business do?
My business covers all aspects of building work in the Weardale area, from kitchen installations to barn conversions.
What’s your biggest success/ achievement of the past year?
Without a doubt the biggest achievement for us was being shortlisted in the Best Newcomer category at the North East Business Awards in March last year. We didn’t win the award, but even to be a finalist after 10 months of trading was phenomenal!
What’s been the best part of the Digital Drive programme for you so far?
For me, the best bit of the Digital Drive programme so far has been the online health check. I know it’s such a small simple thing but it highlighted so many areas for us that we could improve on or begin to build on. Being digital isn’t something that comes natural to me so to have someone say “this is great, so more of this” or “have you thought about doing this” was a huge help. It definitely streamlined where we were investing time and helped us to up our game, adding more content and value.
What’s the best tip you’ve picked up from attending Digital Drive workshops that you’d like to pass on to others?
The best tip that I’ve picked up from the workshops is to ensure that your authentic brand stands out and that your content in relevant. I think this is particularly important with online marketing because it’s so easy to lose a brand voice. I’m a builder by trade, I’m not at all trained in social media so attending the workshops has definitely helped with my social media and the content that has been posted. We’ve streamlined a lot of what we put out ensuring that it is relevant to both our business and target market.
What’s next for your business over the coming year?
I’m not too sure what’s next for my business over the coming year! My diary is already full until September and we’re expecting our second child in May. Hopefully our business will continue to thrive and our brand will become stronger with all the digital development help that I’ve received from Digital Durham.