Innovative entrepreneur programmes sustainability into her SME
The need
Indigo’s Managing Director, Louise Towler, joined Brunel’s Help to Grow Management Programme, seeking to sharpen Indigo’s competitive advantage in delivering untapped value for her services across the designed web industry. She wanted Indigo to be an advocate for a sustainable and responsible business.
Louise wanted help examining Indigo Tree’s business model, developing a marketing strategy, exploring segmentation and positioning, reviewing skills and training needs, improving operational efficiency and targeting a major new product launch for 2023.
The solution
Brunel’s Help to Grow Management Programme helped Louise to identify areas of the business to improve and increase the productivity of Indigo Tree. The course helped her to focus on developing strategies for growth and innovation and unlocked the potential of Indigo Tree to grow strategically in new direction.
Louise sharpened the customer value proposition of Indigo Tree and the current communication strategy; developed knowledge management processes, especially for productive flexible and remote working, and maximised the blend of people and automation brought on by advancing digital adoption.
By using financial data for decision making Louise learned to take a systemic approach to align operations with the marketing strategy of Indigo Tree.
The outcome
"I’ve learned that my value as a leader is in the impact I can have on the company. We’ve gained another two employees, and the average value of a customer project has increased by £1000–£2000. While profits have narrowed slightly, it’s only because we now have the confidence to invest more for the future."
Louise Towler, Managing Director at Indigo Tree Digital
- Louise won the 2022 Innovate UK Women in Innovation prize of £50,000 and a bespoke package of mentoring, coaching and business support from Innovate UK. She attributes her success to working closely with her mentors, facilitators and peers during the HTGM programme.
- The company committed to donating 1% of Indigo Tree’s profits to the community
- Sustainability was incorporated into the company’s values
- Indigo Tree has also stepped up its content marketing and social media efforts, achieving a significant increase in LinkedIn followers as a result
- The workforce at Indigo Tree is now over 40% female – over twice the overall industry rate.
- The average value of a customer project has increased by £1000–£2000
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Case study last modified 01/03/2023