Helen Laing Dipm Mcim Email & Phone Number

Everywhere

Independent Hotel Marketing is for the independent thinkers. I work with independently-minded hoteliers who want flexible marketing support. I manage their strategies, lead project teams, mentor teams and provide all levels of marketing support.

Torbay

Account Management – Management of client relationships across a wealth of sectors – from business services to hotels and venues. Responsible for growing client accounts through developing attractive campaigns that deliver measurable results. Clients include Headland Hotel & Spa (4*, Cornwall), Woolacombe Bay Hotel (4* Devon), Prestonfield House (5* Edinburgh - James Thomson's Collection) and Deer Park Country House Hotel (award-winning wedding and events venue).People Management – Responsible for the day-to-day management and recruitment of the marketing team (five colleagues). Accountable for defining the strategic direction of the marketing service the agency provides – evaluating pricing, approaches and core services. Marketing Consultancy – Undertaking significant strategic projects for clients to inform market positioning and campaigns. Includes detailed data analysis, profiling and budget planning.Business Development – Developing new client proposals. Manage client seminars and regular speaker at industry events. Marketing Management – Developing and co-ordinating marketing campaigns. From ad-hoc campaigns to drive business quickly, to creating and managing long-term revenue strategy, raising the bar to drive growth online and offline. Strong grasp of digital channels including PPC, email marketing, social media (paid and organic), display advertising, and SEO, as well as conversion rate optimisation techniques.Brand Management – Working alongside a team of talented designers to build brand strategies. Includes experience consultancy, brand guardianship, brand guidelines and tone-of-voice/copywriting. Responsible for considerable writing projects where tone and brand really matter. My writing enhances UX, attracts more search traffic and increases brand engagement. Examples of my work can be found at www.deerpark.co.uk, www.hebasca.co.uk and www.headlandhotel.co.uk.

Worked collaboratively with senior management and consultants to research new treatments and services before independently developing, critically analysing and submitting business cases for implementation and ensuring the profit realisation through thorough management of the marketing mix. Specifically:Evaluated treatment provision under the NHS Choices structure, assessing costs and supply implications in order to develop a profitable portfolio of treatments.Responsible for the development and management of the hospital marketing strategy to include advertising, customer events and educational conferences, stakeholder newsletters and website management. Integral role in the collection and analysis of data to support customer segmentation, communication planning and the realisation of the return on investment from new projects.Provided an in-depth monthly analysis of the trends apparent in hospital activity. Held specialty meetings with consultants to discuss any developing trends and identify areas for increased revenue generation.Managed the customer helpline team, acting as a point of contact and sales manager for cosmetic surgery enquiries. Developed and maintained a CRM system to help target communication and drive conversion.Co-ordinated and implemented a GP education programme which features fortnightly consultant-led learning seminars. This has brought about an increase in medical referrals and enhanced interaction with GPs.

Responsible for the design and implementation of the communications and marketing strategy to support the launch of the company and raise the profile via appropriate channels including press releases and new media such as blogs, social networking and article marketing.Preparing and issuing key messages to clients about new products and service offerings. Responsible for relaying technical information to clients in a digestible format through collateral and PR activity. Writing and presenting information on the website including formatting the online member’s magazine thus requiring an in depth knowledge of Microsoft Word, various imaging packages and the ability to write entertaining and informative articles.Designing and preparing audio presentations/pitches including guided tours of the site, product sales reviews and interviews. This required a flair for design, an eye for detail and an in-depth knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint.

Business Development Coach on the staff innovation scheme - Angels & Dragons. Travelled around the UK meeting staff who had ideas to increase effectiveness, collect additional tax yield etc.Specialisd in equipping individuals with all the right tools and skills to make a "Dragon's Den" style pitch to a board of top HMRC executives to secure project funding. If successful, the role became one of project management in order to ensure the initiatives were delivered on time, to specification and were on course to satisy the ROI commitments.Projects could be value anything from £5k to £1m with business cases offering a minimum of 110% ROI.Subsequently worked with other government departments to roll out similar initiatives.

Professional Diploma, Marketing

Activities and Societies: Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Professional Certificate, Marketing

Activities and Societies: Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Education record