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Author: Jackie Cook

Connect to Thrive – Courting the Customer Free Webinar

CQ Strategic Marketing are teaming up with AT Management Solutions to present a FREE ‘Connect to Thrive – Courting the Customer’ webinar for Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce on Thursday 5th November at 10am till 11am.

Throughout the challenging business times of 2020 Connecting and Communicating have been key to helping your business Thrive. To grow your business you need more customers, more potential customers and possibly more staff to provide your product or service. To achieve this you need to be marketing your business or should I say ‘courting your customer (and staff)’.

In many sectors winning new business or taking on new employees isn’t a quick process. It can be compared to dating as you go through the stages of catching someone’s attention, gaining their interest, their desire to do something about it and finally take action.

On this webinar, marketing expert, Jackie Cook from CQ Strategic Marketing and sales professional Angela Taylor from AT Management Solutions will take you through the business development funnel to create a sales and marketing pipeline for you to ‘court your customer’.

New Sales and Marketing Service for SME’s

This is the first joint project of the exciting new assocation between CQ Strategic Marketing and AT Management Solutions as Jackie and Angela have teamed up to provide a more comprehensive sales and marketing service to support businesses throughout the business development funnel.

 

Jackie Cook FCIM MSc, Managing Director – CQ Strategic Marketing

Jackie holds an MSc in Marketing Management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute in Marketing. She has 20 years’ marketing experience along with over 15 years’ experience in engineering and manufacturing companies, trade associations and 9 years’ professional services experience. Jackie went full-time as a marketing consultant setting up CQ Strategic Marketing in 2012 and has worked with businesses from start up to international groups of companies.

Angela Taylor, Director – AT Management Solutions

Angela has over 25 years of building sales for engineering and manufacturing businesses across the UK, Europe and USA and is interested in the latest developments available for world class manufacturing. She has extensive market and technical knowledge and is adept at understanding and interpreting where a business is now and proven ways to solve the challenges of client acquisition through a collaborative approach.

To book your FREE place, please visit the Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber website:

https://www.brchamber.co.uk/event/connect-to-thrive-courting-the-customer/

New marketing training launches for manufacturers

Many SME manufacturing businesses don’t have in house marketing support or have marketing representation at Board level, leading to a gap in skills sets.

Jackie Cook, Managing Director of CQ Strategic Marketing has set up CQ Marketing Academy to provide a range of training, including marketing strategy, marketing communications planning, evaluation of campaigns, international marketing and managing your tradeshow/exhibition primarily to address this gap.

The courses will be run as interactive workshops, with a maximum of 10 per course, allowing business owners and management teams to work on their own business during the course. The half day workshops will run from 10am till 1pm at Moorgate Crofts Business Centre in Rotherham in June and July with a further programme running from September to November.

The summer series dates are:

Friday 7th June 2019                       Marketing strategy

Friday 21st June 2019                     Marketing communications planning

Wednesday 26th June 2019          International marketing

Wednesday 3rd July 2019              Managing your exhibition / tradeshow

Friday 12th July 2019                      Evaluation of campaigns

Jackie Cook, Managing Director of CQ Marketing Academy said “We have put together a signature marketing strategy, communication planning and evaluation programme to provide a complete guide through defining your marketing strategy, putting together your marketing communications plan then evaluating the campaign and identifying corrective actions for future campaigns.  These will be run as three courses, one month apart to allow for time to put the learning into action and come back to ask questions.”

What attendees will get from attending these courses:

  • Access presenter with 20 years marketing experience, 9 of that in manufacturing
  • Focus on understanding who your customer is
  • Time out of your business to focus on developing your business
  • Develop a focussed marketing comms plan
  • Understand the latest marketing trends
  • Save you money by being more focussed on your marketing budget
  • Help you evaluate which marketing activity works for your business

To find out more and book your place visit: https://cqmarketingacademy.com/marketing-training/courses/

 

Leaders in Heels launches in the UK

Jackie CookRotherham based businesswoman, Jackie Cook has become a UK stockist for Leaders in Heels products.  Leaders in Heels is an Australian concept that has an online community and a stationery brand created to nurture, inspire and empower women.  They design inspirational stationery to help women develop habits of successful leaders and to encourage them to go after their dreams and make their mark on the world.

 

Jackie Cook, Managing Director and Founder of CQ Strategic Marketing and CQ Marketing Academy, said “I am delighted to promote the Leaders in Heels brand in the UK, these products have helped me identify my goals and develop actions plans to achieve success both personally and professionally, keeping me focused and positive on a day-to-day basis.”

 

“With all the media attention on the gender pay gap I see these products as great tools to support other business women, who frequently have ‘imposter syndrome’ and listen too much to their ‘inner critic’ instead of believing in themselves and pursuing their dreams.”

 

“I work in the still very male-dominated sector of manufacturing and engineering, according to the latest report from Engineering UK only 12% of those working in engineering are female.  The sector has a large skills shortage with the industry needing 203,000 people with Level 3+ engineering skills every year to meet demand through to 2024.  Many of my clients are facing this issue on a day to day basis struggling to hire the skills they need, with many of them reintroducing apprenticeship schemes to develop the skills required in-house.”

 

A report produced by WISE Campaign in June 2018 supports the business case for increasing diversity particularly in these industries includes:

  • Better choice of skilled workers
  • Better platform for innovation and creativity
  • Better workforce productivity
  • Better customer experience
  • Better financial performance

Organisations that lead the way on gender diversity so often lead on performance and even profitability. Those that ignore diversity risk losing out to the competition. This is not, of course, simple cause and effect. But the correlation between improved diversity and business results is striking.

 

Kasia Gospos, Founder of Leaders in Heels said “I created the Leaders in Heels Manifesto to bring to life the main qualities that make you a Leader in Heels, successful and good at what you do in your daily life – moving up the corporate ladder, turning passion to profit and empowering other women to also reach their potential.”

 

“Leaders in Heels content, stationery, e-books and events are inspired by our manifesto – a set of ideas and traits exemplified by the dynamic and successful women in the community.  Through our work we strive to encourage women to follow their passion, be creative and innovative in their lives, feel confident and determined in their endeavours and to maintain a kind heart on the path to success.”

 

Government figures for women on boards of FTSE companies published on 6th February by BoardEx, a business intelligence provider, show:

  • FTSE 100 is at 28.7%, up from 27.7% in October
  • FTSE 250 is at 23.4%, up from 22.8%
  • FTSE 350 is at 25.2%, up from 24.5%
  • All-male boards are down from 10 to 8

The number of women Chairs across the FTSE 350 has gone up from 17 to 20.

Cutlers’ Ambassador, Alexandra Tair’s work experience story

By Alexandra Tair, 15, Year 10, Outwood Academy City

 

I am in my second year of the Cutlers’ Ambassadors programme, engineering strand, run by The work-wise Foundation, as part of the programme I get the opportunity to take part in a work experience placement.

For my work experience, I worked with the company CQ Strategic Marketing. All week I worked with Jackie Cook, the Managing Director and Founder of the CQ Strategic Marketing and CQ Marketing Academy, she is a lovely lady and she is dedicated and passionate about her work. All throughout the week, Jackie treated me like one of her staff members rather than a student on work experience.

On the first day of my work experience, I went to Rollem in Barnsley. Throughout the time there I was treated like a work colleague not a student. The atmosphere was so warming and kind. They seemed very work-driven but they were also having a laugh and taking a few breaks here and there to ask me if I needed anything like a drink. Going to somewhere I had never been before, such as Barnsley, and meeting new people was a very scary but exciting experience. This trip took me far out of my comfort zone and this made me enjoy my day even more. The trip made me more confident in the way I act around new people. I enjoyed being in a working environment because it wasn’t something I had done before and I am grateful I had the opportunity to venture somewhere new and meet lovely new people.

In the afternoon, Jackie had a meeting at her office with a lovely lady called Lyndsey Pitchley from Rotherham and Barnsley Mind. While they were having this meeting I was working on back dating Jackie’s old news articles. The atmosphere was lovely, even though they were still working, it made me feel like they were just having a friendly catch-up. All the people I have met so far are so passionate about their jobs and they are so confident with the things they want in life. The people I met were the highlight of my day and also getting out of my comfort zone by meeting these new people.

On the second day, we ventured to Leeds to go to the LBBC Technologies. On our journey there Jackie told me about LBBC is all about and it was fascinating. I was very excited to go to Leeds as it is one of my favourite places in the country, mainly because I am a Leeds United fan. When getting to the company, it was very quiet because I knew people were working hard on all sorts of stuff, they was a few laughs here and there which made me believe that the office is a fun one, even though it may be serious work. That day I focussed on writing up and scheduling social media posts on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. I also completed backdating Jackie’s old news articles. This morning felt different from the day before because there was a lot less talking and the atmosphere was very serious. Plans had changed because we were originally supposed to go to LBBC Beechwood but events occurred which meant we couldn’t go to the office. We went to Jackie’s office and I started writing about my experience in the Cutlers’ Ambassadors Programme, which is the reason for my work placement.

On the third day, we went to Barnsley but this time it was to the company Red Dog Linings. Once again, on our journey there, Jackie told me about the company and the people that worked there. I didn’t really interact with people much because we were sat in a separate office and the staff were doing their jobs. As soon as I walked into the building I felt welcomed by the way the building was set out and the way it didn’t look like an business but more like a community centre. The people I did speak to were so kind and very welcoming, they also didn’t treat me like a student but like a staff member who works alongside them. In the afternoon, we had a meeting with Ash Hammond from Spotlight Studios and Elizabeth Bonfield from BMPCA. Ash and Elizabeth both very confident and that made me realise that to get places, you have to be confident and just be you and that is exactly what they were doing. They are both lovely people and they got on with Jackie really well, I was pleased to see the dedication that Ash, Elizabeth and Jackie all have for their work. This day made me realise how important time management is because of the tight schedule we had, it made me realise that you needed to plan your day if it was going to be a busy one and keeping on that schedule helps keep things organised. I also realised that being successful is how you view it, whether it be owning your own business or working away from home.

On the fourth day, we had a meeting with Alan Lyons from AMRC with Boeing and Sophie Patton from Connect Yorkshire and they are lovely people. I believe that they were both very successful people and it seemed like that because of the way they worked and they recourses and connections they had. Jackie even got Sophie to buy some Leaders in Heels products, which is a win for Jackie because she hasn’t officially announced the partnership with Leaders in Heels. From leaving the meeting I realised that in the AMRC Cafe there was only men and that made me think that you have to be strong headed and willing to push the boundaries if you want to be involved in the engineering and manufacturing industry.

On the last day, I focussed on social media for Jackie’s clients and also packaging gifts from Leaders in Heels for female leaders and that have wide networks and connections.

Over the week, I have developed my skills, met new people, learnt what it was like in a working environment and came out of my comfort zone. By the end of the week, I didn’t want to leave. The experience has been great and I want to keep in contact with Jackie to see how much progress she will make with the Leaders in Heels, CQ Strategic Marketing and CQ Strategic Marketing Academy. I want the best for everyone involved and I want to thank everyone I met over the week for making me feel welcome.

Jackie Cook, Managing Director said “Alex has been willing to learn, reliable, enthusiastic and behaved in a professional manner throughout’s the week’s work experience.  She has been a pleasure to work with and I would consider employing her if a suitable opportunity arose in the future.”

What led me to Leaders in Heels?

Jackie CookAt 16, I wanted to get married, have a family and be a PA.

At 41, I am single, own my own home, have a dog and run my own successful marketing consultancy businesses operating across South and West Yorkshire, accomplished at supporting international manufacturing businesses at board level.

To make this change I realise I’ve removed my own glass ceiling as I was expecting myself to fill a certain role that our culture is geared towards. My life has evolved, as everyone’s does, it doesn’t always go to plan, your experiences change you, relationships don’t always work out, you meet new people who inspire you, you experience health problems and overall your passions and dreams change.

I have had all the above in my life, and a lot of it in the last seven years, some challenges including the end of my relationship which meant cancelling the wedding, the realisation that the large corporate world with the senior level organisational politics that is often involved is not for me. That time in my life led me to suffer with daily anxiety attacks. Even with the low self-confidence and self-esteem I was struggling with, I recognised something had to change.

Thankfully I have some amazing business mentors, former colleagues and friends and I had an idea for a business – marketing support for SME manufacturing businesses with no in-house marketing.  So, in 2011, I took a pot of savings to live off, about half the salary I had been on, and resigned from my full-time national Marketing Manager role. It was scary, as I had no work lined up and so I set about starting my own business.

It has been a rollercoaster journey but six years later I am in business, with clients in Leeds, Barnsley, Rotherham and Sheffield. I have a team of sub-contractors who I work with to bring in expertise on particular projects.  I have brought in HR, IT, Admin and Accounts to support the business and me with these specialist skills.  I’ve had to hire and fire as work has ebbed and flowed.

There is so much help out there and so many business people and organisations willing to help another small business – it is amazing. I’ve had to take on sales, develop account management skills the list in endless of what I’ve learnt in six years and there is still so much to learn.

2014/15 was a tough year as my Dad became ill and passed away in the October and then I became ill needing surgery in April 2015, it took a few months to get back on track but by the end of 2015 and into 2016 the business went really well. I was feeling healthy and business grew, I hired staff and we doubled in turnover 2 years running.

This meant in 2016 I managed to do what I’d been wanting to do since my relationship split 6 years earlier, I managed to buy a 2-bed house with a garden, I knew my dog would love that, but to give us both the outside space too as we had been in a 1 bed flat with no garden.

So, with this back drop at the end of 2017, after some business setbacks I was looking for something to help me with developing my goals, future direction and keep me being more positive on a day-to-day basis. This is when I found Leaders in Heels, an Australian concept with a range of products to support women identify and achieve their dreams, whatever they may be.  I recognised the values of being passionate, creative, innovative, confident, determined and kind as being a part of who I am.

These products, in particular the Phenomenal Woman Planner and the Make your Mark Journal have helped me change my mindset this year, identify and focus on my goals not just at work but in my personal life too.

As someone who has struggled with anxiety and self-confidence they have helped me recognise how much I have achieved and got in my life, personally – independence, my own home, my dog, friends and family, and professionally – set up a regional, profitable business, gained Chartered status, Fellowship of my professional body, a Masters degree, I am a mentor and marketing speaker, have great mentors, clients, colleagues and business network.  I have a clear focus on my goals along with my wider vision/legacy including:

  • Raising the profile of the manufacturing sector for the diversity, capability and careers available;
  • Increasing marketing representation at board level with a focus on ROI to prove added value;
  • Increasing gender diversity in STEM careers particularly in management and board level roles within manufacturing.

The Leaders in Heels products give you a weekly focus on the positive things – the wins, what you are grateful for.  Along with a monthly review which makes me realise how much I do and stop beating myself up for not making enough progress instead of enjoying my success!

One of my core values, that I identified on this journey, and makes me happy is helping others achieve their goals.  I do this in every part of my life, through my consultancy business, mentoring, and my friendships.  I see Leaders in Heels products as a way to leave a legacy of a way to help other women open up their thinking, consider other possibilities to…

Dream, Define and Do!

Jackie Cook

CQ Marketing Academy represented on an international stage

At the end of June, Jackie Cook, the Managing Director of CQ Marketing Academy presented a LinkedIn for B2B markets Masterclass in Budapest for The Recycler Live.

 

The Recycler Live is an annual event for the European toner and ink recycling industry meets to take stock of market trends and set the agenda for the coming year. Over the last 27 years, the Recycler has provided the platform for industry’s brightest minds and market leaders to connect, engage, inspire and transform each sector.

 

This year’s event was well attended with over 110 attendees from across Europe, the event started on Thursday 21st with an afternoon networking event and President’s cocktail reception and dinner. On Friday 22nd there was a full day agenda covering a range of topics including social media, the current EU agenda and future of the European market, single use plastics and the state of the imaging industry today.

 

At the event, Linkedin and marketing expert Jackie Cook spoke about the importance of using Linkedin as a core strategy for any business. She explored how businesses are able to build an engaging profile; develop company pages to raise the profile of your business and improve your SEO (search engine optimisation). She also explained the usefulness of identifying and engaging with groups and advancing search techniques for targeting potential customers.

 

Following the event, David Connett, President of Etira (European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association) said, “On behalf of Stefanie and The Recycler I would like to thank you for speaking at last weeks The Recycler Live conference in Budapest. Every conference has to ensure the content is relevant, topical and current. The feedback from the delegates over the weekend has been very positive and it’s clear that the topics were very much on message and well received and the venue and programme worked incredibly well.”

 

Jackie holds an MSc in Marketing Management, is a chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She has over 14 years’ experience in engineering and manufacturing companies, and 9 years’ experience in the professional service sector. She is joint head of a networking group for senior business leaders in the Sheffield City Region, and is an associate of the Institute of Directors. She has also been involved with Connect Yorkshire, a networking and personal development group for business owners since 2012.

 

My first week at work by Kate Leonard

My name is Kate Leonard,  I am 16 years old, and I have recently finished my GCSEs at Wakefield Girls’ High School. During the summer, as part of my aim to make my CV stand out to future employers, I have been working with Jackie Cook, Managing Director of CQ Strategic Marketing on a work experience placement for the past week. As well as improving my CV, I think that it is important to gain an understanding of what working life is like, so that eventually, when I finish full time education, working won’t come as a shock. I have learnt a lot during my work experience placement at CQ Strategic Marketing and feel that it has improved my confidence greatly.

 

This week, I have visited many of CQ’s clients including Rollem, LBBC Technologies, Red Dog Linings and The work-wise Foundation. I have learnt about what each company does by taking part in meetings, asking questions and being shown around the different factories. I have found this very interesting as prior to my week at CQ Strategic Marketing, I had little to no experience of the different types of manufacturing and engineering that existed. It was fascinating to learn how the companies were managed and how each one differed from the other. I have also taken part in a meeting to prepare for the Get Up to Speed event in March 2019. This has taught me about the time and effort required to prepare huge and important events such as this.  During the week, I have learnt about a number of different software packages that are used on a day to day basis in working life, such as Word Press which is used for designing websites, Adobe Illustrator for creating logos and artwork and Adobe InDesign for creating newsletters and brochures. I have written social media posts and learnt how to schedule them on a site called ‘Buffer’, and written a couple of news stories that were recently posted on the CQ Strategic Marketing website.

 

Considering I am going to Greenhead College in Huddersfield next year, to study for A -Levels in Maths, Economics, and Spanish, I am hoping that this experience will give me an advantage when looking for future work, something that some of my peers may not have.  Although I have never really had a certain idea of what I would like my career to be like, this week, I have been lucky enough to experience a world of work, giving me the information that I need to make important decisions about my future career.

 

Jackie Cook said “Kate has spent the week with myself, attending client meetings and been involved in writing news articles and social media for ours and our clients businesses. Kate is an intelligent, engaging and well presented young woman with a willingness and interest in learning.”

CQ Marketing Academy and Leaders in Heels will be exhibiting at Chamber means Business

CQ Marketing Academy and Leaders in Heels will be exhibiting at the annual Chamber means Business event on Thursday 6th September 2018, from 8am to 2:30pm at AESSEAL New York Stadium, Rotherham. The event brings together hundreds of people to network, share ideas and do business together. Guests will have the opportunity to talk to Jackie Cook, MD of CQ Marketing Academy and UK Stockist of Leaders in Heels.

 

CQ Marketing Academy provides quality, accessible marketing training, coaching and mentoring for business owners and marketing teams in B2B markets.

 

Leaders in Heels in an online community and a stationery brand created to nurture, inspire and empower women. They design inspirational stationery to help women develop habits of successful leaders and to encourage them to go after their dreams and make their mark on the world.

 

Jackie said “We are pleased to be exhibiting at this year’s Chamber means Business event, where we will  be launching our new range of marketing training courses for business owners and marketing teams. We will also be selling our new Leaders in Heels range of products for which we are the only UK stockist.”

 

To find out more and book your free place to attend the event please visit the Chamber means Business website.

http://www.chambermeansbusiness.co.uk/

The Recycler Live announces latest speaker, Jackie Cook

Jackie CookThe latest speaker at this year’s The Recycler Live annual conference in Budapest, Hungary, has been confirmed as Jackie Cook, Managing Director of CQ Marketing Academy.

The conference, which takes place at the Corinthia Hotel, Budapest, over the 21st and 22nd of June, will see a plethora of aftermarket experts and industry insiders gather to network, collaborate and share knowledge and experience. As well as various workshops, there will be a packed schedule of talks and seminars, with Jackie Cook the latest name confirmed to speak.

Jackie Cook holds an MSc in Marketing Management, is a Chartered Marketer, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute in Marketing. She has over 14 years’ experience in engineering and manufacturing companies, plus 9 years’ in the professional services sector, and is joint head of a networking group for senior business leaders in the Sheffield City Region, England.

Furthermore, Jackie Cook is an associate of the Institute of Directors, and has also been involved with Connect Yorkshire, a networking and personal development group for business owners since 2012.

Jackie Cook’s presentation in Budapest will be titled “Master Class – Is your business LinkedIn?”, and will explore how companies can build engaging profiles, develop profile-raising pages, and improve their SEO (search engine optimisation) used LinkedIn. It will also advise on how to identify and engage key audiences, and gives tips on targeting potential customers.

Please note that Jackie Cook will only be available in Budapest by appointment only, for one-to-one and small group sessions. To ensure you benefit from her knowledge and advice, email [email protected] to guarantee your place!

Cook is the latest speaker confirmed for the two-day event, following the recent announcements of Volker Kappius (Delacamp CEO)Robin Edwardes (Clover Commercial Manager), and Peter Csucska (Lexmark.)

This year’s conference will once again be hosted by Lightwords Director Peter Mayhew, and is taking place in association with ETIRA, and with the generous support of our sponsors: Biuromax, Connett & Unland, Heinz Dempski, Lightworks, Messe Frankfurt, Speed Infotech, and wta Carsten Weser.

Registration is open now and tickets can be purchased by clicking here. To read more about the conference, be sure to visit our dedicated pages, here.