Anderlea Butters Marketing Consultancy

25/09/2026

Good luck to all of the finalists at tonight’s The Business Hive Great Big Small Awards!

We’re especially pleased to see three businesses we work with named among this year’s finalists:

- CARS of Grimsby is a finalist in the Family Fortunes category.

- William Street Motor Services is a finalist in the Clicks & Mortar category, while Apprentice Technician Jack Watson has also been named as a finalist for the Inspiring Employee award.

- Aiden Vivins, Managing Director at V Heat Plumbing & Heating LTD is a finalist for Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

We work closely with each of these businesses, so it’s fantastic to see their hard work acknowledged.

We’d also like to wish the team at Coson It Services the very best of luck after being named as a finalist in the Strongest Link category. Coson IT supports Anderlea Butters Marketing Consultancy and plays an important role behind the scenes, so we’re very pleased to see the team recognised too.

Since Anderlea recently joined Cleethorpes Business Connections it’s also been great to see fellow members among the finalists.

Good luck to Josh Blow, Managing Director at Shine More Exterior Cleaning who is shortlisted for Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and to the team at PAL Bar & Kitchen who are finalists in both the A Team and Going Green categories.

A huge good luck to everyone shortlisted. We hope you all have a brilliant evening!

23/09/2026

A lot of automotive marketing focuses on customer acquisition.

How do we generate more enquiries? How do we convert more of those enquiries into sales?

But what happens once the customer has collected their vehicle?

Research from JudgeService involving 24,000 car buyers found that customers who were contacted after delivery recorded an NPS of 85.5%, compared with 63% among those who received no follow-up.

Yet almost a third of customers surveyed said they received no contact following delivery and that’s a huge opportunity.

A structured post-sale follow-up gives the dealership an opportunity to find out how the customer feels about their experience and address any issues early. It also creates another opportunity to continue building the relationship after the sale.

The research also found that customers introduced to someone from the service department recorded an NPS of 92%, compared with 70% among those who weren't.

That statistic stood out to me because the handover creates a natural opportunity to start building the relationship between the customer and aftersales.

This is also where CRM and process become important.

Post-sale contact shouldn't depend on someone remembering to make a call or send an email. Building it into the customer journey, with clear responsibility for who makes contact and when, creates a much more consistent experience.

Dealerships invest significant amounts of time and marketing budget in attracting customers in the first place. Continuing that relationship after they've bought the vehicle can support satisfaction today and potentially contribute to retention in the future.

The customer journey continues long after the keys have been handed over.

Contacting customers after vehicle delivery can significantly improve satisfaction and loyalty, according to JudgeService research.

16/09/2026

The automotive industry has changed significantly, but has the way we market careers in the industry changed with it?

This article from Car Dealer Magazine, featuring insights from Warranty Solutions Group Ltd raises an important point about encouraging more women to consider careers in automotive.

There are still many people whose perception of a career in the motor trade centres primarily around working in a showroom or workshop. Yet automotive businesses need expertise across marketing, data, digital retail, finance, technology, compliance, customer experience, operations and leadership, and that creates an interesting marketing challenge.

Automotive businesses put considerable thought into how they present themselves to prospective customers. The audience, their perceptions, the messages that will resonate and the customer journey are all considered as part of an effective marketing strategy.

And employer marketing warrants the same level of attention.

If we want to attract a broader range of people into automotive, we need to show them the range of careers available and the opportunities to develop within the industry.

That includes thinking carefully about careers pages, recruitment advertising, social media content, photography and video, work experience and the people chosen to represent the business.

It also means making the people already succeeding within the industry more visible. Real stories and ‘day in the life’ content can help someone see a career path they may never previously have considered.

The automotive industry is competing for talent at the same time as electrification, AI, changing customer expectations and new technology continue to reshape the skills businesses need.

How we market careers in automotive therefore is important too because if the perception of the industry doesn’t reflect the reality of working within it, there’s an opportunity to change the story we’re telling.

Dealers across the UK are competing for people with the skills to help their businesses adapt to new technology, changing customer expectations and

09/09/2026

Over the past two days, we’ve been at The National Entrepreneurs Convention in Birmingham, hearing from an excellent line-up of speakers including Rory Sutherland, Geoff Ramm, Helena Langdon and Simon Squibb.

And there were plenty of ideas that really stood out…

Rory Sutherland spoke about the importance of thinking differently and looking at where competitors aren’t delivering, rather than simply trying to do the same things slightly better. That level of thinking can be incredibly useful when helping clients identify where they can stand apart and improve their positioning so they avoid entering into a race to the bottom on price.

Geoff Ramm reinforced just how closely customer experience and marketing are linked, because every interaction someone has with a business affects what they think, what they remember and what they tell other people. That means considering the entire customer journey and not just focusing on campaigns and lead generation.

What happens after someone makes an enquiry? How easy is it to deal with the business? Does the experience live up to the marketing promise?

Helena Langdon shared some brilliant examples of how brands can build stronger relationships by sounding more human and creating content people want to engage with. Again, there is a great lesson for clients here. Great content comes from understanding what customers care about, using the knowledge already inside the business and communicating in a way that feels relevant and useful.

And there was also plenty of discussion around AI answer engines and the way customer search behaviour is continuing to change. It’s an area we are already paying close attention to, because clients need to think about how their businesses are being found, understood and recommended as search continues to evolve.

Events like this are always a great opportunity to step away from the day-to-day, but the value comes from applying those ideas and learnings to the work we do every day.

That might mean looking at a client’s positioning differently, considering how changes in search behaviour will affect future marketing activity, identifying a gap in the customer journey or questioning an assumption that has been there for years.

It also means we keep investing in our own learning and development, so the advice we give clients is informed by the latest thinking, changes in customer behaviour and what’s happening in the marketing industry right now.

And that is one of the reasons we make time for events like this.

Thank you to Entrepreneurs Circle for a fantastic event.

03/09/2026

When marketing becomes inconsistent, it is often a sign that the business has reached a point where a more structured approach is needed.

Dealerships, garages and automotive suppliers can easily fall into reactive marketing, especially when activity is driven by quieter periods, short-term priorities or individual campaigns rather than an overall plan.

A marketing strategy gives that activity more direction, but one of the questions we're often asked is how long it takes to create and implement one.

The answer is usually longer than people expect, because a good strategy needs proper thought, analysis and planning before implementation begins.

In this article we explain why the process takes time, how it’s structured, and what businesses see once it’s implemented.

Learn how long it takes to create and execute a marketing strategy for your automotive business. Understand each stage and how it supports your long-term goals.

01/09/2026

1st September brings with it the arrival of the new 76-registration, so now is the time for automotive businesses to focus on their plans and execute them effectively as we move into the final stretch of Q3.

New registration plate launches have changed significantly over the years, but September remains an important month across much of the automotive industry.

The industry itself continues to change quickly. AI is influencing how businesses operate and communicate with customers, the transition to electric vehicles continues to develop, and new manufacturers are establishing themselves in the UK market.

We’re looking forward to seeing what September and the rest of the year bring for our clients and the wider automotive industry.

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19/08/2026

"We tried this before and it didn’t work"

I hear this a lot from automotive business owners when we first start talking about marketing strategy.

It’s usually followed by a story about an agency, a freelancer, or a sporadic burst of in-house activity that didn’t deliver what was expected.

And there are a few reasons this happens.

Sometimes the strategy was too focused on short-term tactics without looking at the bigger picture.

Sometimes it wasn’t really a strategy at all, it was simply a list of ad-hoc tactics with no target or way to measure success (carried out only when someone in-house remembered!)

And sometimes it simply wasn’t given enough time to work before being abandoned.

A marketing strategy is about understanding your customers, knowing how to reach them, having a clear message, and keeping that consistent over time.

That’s what builds trust and keeps you front of mind when someone needs your services.

It isn’t about guessing which platform might work this month, getting distracted by the latest random viral post, or chasing trends that, quite frankly, don’t align with your business goals.

If you’ve tried ‘marketing’ before and been disappointed it doesn’t mean it can’t work.

It usually means the approach wasn’t right for your business or it wasn’t followed through.

When there’s a strategy and a plan that’s tailored to your goals, market, and resources, you can see what’s working, stop wasting money on what isn’t, and track the return you’re getting.

If this sounds familiar and you’d like to talk about what went wrong last time, and how to make sure it doesn’t happen again, send me a message and we can have a chat.

[email protected]
01472 869082

18/08/2026

Many people buying a home EV charger will be doing so for the first time, rather than replacing an existing unit, which is why the Concierge Service included in this new partnership between Andersen EV and John Lewis & Partners is an interesting concept.

Customers are being supported through installation, set-up and even EV tariff selection, helping to make what could be an unfamiliar purchase much easier to understand.

This reinforces the importance of understanding the whole customer journey and considering everything the customer needs to make a confident decision.

Someone buying their first home EV charger is likely to have questions about where it can be installed, what power they need, how much installation will cost and how it will work with their electricity tariff. Answering those questions and providing support helps remove some of the uncertainty surrounding the decision.

It also raises a wider point about EV infrastructure.

Businesses selling chargers without an installation service also have an opportunity to educate customers about the importance of choosing a competent electrical contractor. The quality and safety of the installation ultimately contribute to the customer’s experience with the product and, potentially, their wider experience of switching to an EV.

As I’ve said many times before, building consumer confidence around electric vehicles also means helping people understand the wider transition, including charging and installation.

This partnership shows the value of considering the entire customer journey and what people need to take the next step with confidence.

What do you think? Are we doing enough to support consumers through the wider transition to electric vehicles?

Andersen’s collection of EV home charge points are now available to purchase through premium British retailer, John Lewis & Partners.

17/08/2026

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Jack Hennessy-Smith, founder of The JAG LAB LTD in Grimsby, and it quickly becomes clear just how passionate he is about the Jaguar brand.

Jack has spent years developing his skills and building an in-depth understanding of Jaguar engineering, from classic E-Types through to the latest models.

And earlier this year, he decided to turn that knowledge and enthusiasm into his own business, launching The Jag Lab with the aim of providing Jaguar owners with specialist care that reflects the quality and heritage of their vehicles.

Based at South Humberside Industrial Estate in Grimsby, The Jag Lab combines specialist Jaguar knowledge and experience with modern diagnostic equipment and genuine or OEM-quality parts, all delivered with the friendly, professional service you would expect from someone who genuinely cares about the cars he works on.

Jack also has particular expertise in Jaguar superchargers, helping owners maintain this important high-performance component and potentially extend its working life.

He is already attracting Jaguar owners from across Greater Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and further afield to his workshop, and after spending time talking to him about the business, it is easy to understand why.

If you own a Jaguar, or know someone who does, I would certainly recommend speaking with Jack about servicing, repairs or diagnostic work. You’ll be dealing directly with a knowledgeable specialist who takes real pride in what he does.

It’s great to see this level of specialist automotive expertise being brought to Grimsby, and I’m looking forward to seeing The Jag Lab thrive and go from strength to strength as the business becomes more established.

Please do join me in supporting Jack as he continues to build his business and contribute to the wider local economy.

13/08/2026

One of the reasons I created the Knowledge Hub on my website was to give automotive business owners somewhere to find answers to common marketing questions such as:

- What marketing activity should we be prioritising?
- Why isn’t our marketing generating the results we expected?
- Do we need a marketing strategy or a marketing plan?
- Should we recruit internally, use an agency or bring in outside marketing support?

The Knowledge Hub is a growing collection of articles and downloadable guides covering questions like these, all written specifically for businesses working within the automotive industry.

There’s content for dealerships, workshops and garages, as well as businesses supplying products and services to the sector.

I’ll continue adding to it as new questions come up through conversations with clients and other automotive business owners.

If there’s a marketing question you’ve been trying to get an answer to, you might find I’ve already covered it:

https://www.anderleabutters.com/knowledge-hub

And if I haven’t, feel free to send it my way because chances are, you’re not the only one asking that same question.