Carousel Marketing directors share insight into 30 years as a successful independent

Establishing your own business is no easy task, but running a successful one for 30 years takes real knowledge, skill and fortitude.

Carousel directors, Beverley Dunn and Mark McKeever are currently celebrating three decades of running their independent marketing agency from the heart of Birmingham. Growing from humble beginnings as a one-woman project to developing into a multi-channel operation, there have been many learnings along the way that both were keen to share.

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In the early years of Carousel, the company’s ability to grow was facilitated by a desire to collaborate and network with a range of local businesses. This was a pivotal element in finding new clients and being able to offer further services. 

When asked about her initial experiences when starting Carousel, Director, Beverley Dunn recalled, “We developed our first project alongside another agency we’d partnered with. They helped me create branding and a new brochure for healthcare and supplements specialists, Jan De Vries and everything followed from there.”

At this point in the late 1990s, websites were becoming increasingly sought-after for businesses. Carousel’s collaborations with Big Room Internet to build and maintain these new innovations meant an expansion into new offices to house a team of developers. “If I could give anyone starting out advice, it would be to do your networking and make time for your partners. You never know where the next conversation can take you when you’ve got a team player’s mindset,” Director, Mark McKeever added.

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“Investing in the right people has been a key driver behind our development,” Beverley Dunn stated. “We’ve seen a lot of talented people come and go over thirty years and we can definitely say putting in the time and energy to help nurture their skills was highly beneficial.”

As Carousel offers a full suite of marketing services, including strategic planning, content and design material, custom contact databases and analytical reporting, maintaining a team that can deliver these services at a high level remains critical. 

Over 30 years, this rising tide of support and development would prove to continue to raise all of Carousel’s ships. 

“Because we’d done so much networking early on, we often had young professionals coming to us just looking for experience. We’ve always tried to give opportunities and combine that youthful energy with our more seasoned specialists who are able to guide them,” Mark added.

Beverley continued, “Not only would the personal growth of our team members help us offer the best service we could to clients, but we learnt so much ourselves in the process of acting as their mentors. To see many of them go on to different things and flourish has been really rewarding.”

30 years of experienced marketing advice and recommendations

With so much time invested into their business, a lot of lessons have been learned, opportunities taken and experience acquired. With that said, Carousel’s directors were quick to offer some final advice. 

“I think it’s been smart to find a specialism,” Mark began. “Although we work alongside all kinds of businesses, we’ve been able to stand out in the world of commercial property marketing, which has opened many doors and enabled us to find some of our most high-profile clients.”

The Carousel team are currently supporting a range of properties with their marketing requirements, including landmarks, Two Friargate in Coventry and Digbeth’s Beorma Quarter.

“Reliability has also been key to our success,” Beverley added. “We deliver a dynamic service fuelled by a range of people who can offer fresh outlooks, knowledge and perspectives. Combine this with a culture that encourages us to go the extra mile for our clients, and we’re able to build longstanding trust, provide accurate advice and ensure real return on investment.”

Currently the Carousel team are working to help businesses of all kinds with modernised branding, contemporary websites, social media coverage, email campaigns and a full range of detailed, creative marketing services – with no signs of slowing down.

If you’d like to see more from Carousel Marketing, including their prior work and the services they offer, visit carouselmarketing.com.