How Tech for Growth helped Pinkmans Bakery improve online presence
Pinkmans Bakery is an independent business based in Bristol, specialising in the creation and sale of sourdough products.
Recently relaunched in 2023, after a fire at the original premises, the business was seeking expert help with digital marketing and social media, to continue to build their brand online, in a strategic and consistent way.
Ross Gibbens, Co-Owner of Pinkmans Bakery explains, “After the fire, we invested heavily to restart operations, sourcing modern equipment, plus setting up new systems and infrastructure. We moved into a shared production space, but I was keen to grow so we could move into our own premises, plus expand our wholesale offering. We were working with a social media freelancer, but I knew I needed some more help with our overall approach to digital marketing. I had an idea of what I liked from other hospitality brands and their social media, plus what I wanted to get across to customers online about Pinkmans, but I lacked the skills, a cohesive plan, strategy and structure to bring it to life."
Ross had a conversation with Sian Cabera, Enterprise Executive at the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority who ran through the funded support on offer for businesses like Pinkmans and suggested Ross apply for Tech for Growth – an initiative designed to help SMEs in the region adopt technology and improve their digital skills in order to help them grow.
Ross continues, “Following applying for Tech for Growth, I was put in touch with techSPARK. They carried out a tech audit of my existing social media channels and website, discussed options with me and referred me to work with Rin Hamburgh, who specialises in copywriting, marketing and branding.Across my time with Rin, she talked through the importance of having a strong brand voice and clear and consistent messaging online, especially on social media channels, to help build an authentic picture of your business that connects with your target audience, in the places where they’re viewing your content.
We worked together to build a strategy for Pinkmans’ digital presence and online messaging, considering the background of the business, our unique selling points and our current and ideal customer base.
Rin completed a competitor analysis for us, to provide us with clarity on what our closest competition were doing online and on social media, and through in-depth discussions, we created three key pillars for our own messaging, to help us build a social media strategy and consistent narrative for our own digital presence.
We focused on the pillars of product, place, and people—shaping our ideal messaging and business angle in these areas, plus discussing ideas for valuable online content, digital marketing campaigns, and collateral that would resonate with our customers.
Before our 1-2-1 support from Rin, we didn’t have a strategy or plan as to what we were putting out on our social media channels and therefore it wasn’t as effective as it could have been. Now we have clear messaging guidelines to follow and because of this our followers and engagement have increased, which in turn has helped the business.
Our Instagram followers have increased by 15% and engagement has increased by 30%. Our mailing list has also doubled in size from 2000-4000 subscribers, and we have attracted three leads for wholesale.
We recently ran a crowdfunding campaign to help open a fourth café site in Bristol, which raised over £4,000. I don’t think it would have been as successful if we weren’t already improving our engagement with our community on social media.”
Ross concluded, “I’d recommend Tech for Growth to any business. I wouldn’t have been able to get the help we needed without the funded support. You need to have a solid marketing strategy, consistent messaging and a brand voice to keep engaging people online and working with Tech for Growth has helped me to realise that. Without the support I received, I wouldn’t be in as strong a position as I am now to strive for future business growth.”
Tech for Growth is a West of England Mayoral Combined Authority initiative, delivered in partnership with Business West and techSPARK to help SMEs in the region adopt new technologies and improve digital practices to improve productivity and sales. The West of England Growth Hub is the West of England Mayoral Combined Authorities' SME business growth support service.