Five minutes with… Kate Strawson, Shooting Star

This story is over

CityX took five minutes to speak to Kate Strawson, Director at Lincoln-based PR, marketing and digital agency Shooting Star, to find out about the business and any plans for the future.

Tell us about the business, what is it you do?

Shooting Star is a PR, marketing and digital agency set up 14 years ago by me and my business partner Jez Ashberry to help other companies and organisations do business better and achieve their objectives.

Jez and I met at the University of Lincoln where we ran the PR office raising the university’s profile and sharing the successes of its students and academics. The aims of the university at that time were to become one of the top institutions in the country and grow their student numbers and PR and marketing were key to achieving these aims.

Being involved in its success and watching it grow and prosper was incredibly rewarding and we decided we wanted to do the same for other businesses and organisations, not just in Lincoln or Lincolnshire but UK-wide. Since 2006 we’re proud to say we’ve helped over 200 clients up and down the country to achieve their goals whether that be to grow their business, enter new markets, launch a new product or service or simply enhance their reputation as a leader in their field through the power of PR and marketing.

Although we started out as a traditional PR agency, as the tools at our disposal have developed and become digitised, we have adapted and expanded our services to include digital PR and marketing. We now employ a wide range of experts with specialisms in PR, marketing, SEO, social media and PPC.

Tell us a bit about how your business was affected by the pandemic last year?

In April when we first went into lockdown, we lost several clients in the hospitality sector many of whom are sadly still struggling today owing to the pandemic. We also had to furlough some staff but now all of these are back at work either full-time or part-time and we are so grateful that we haven’t had to lose anyone permanently. Although our team are all currently working from home and have been for most of the last nine months, they have worked incredibly hard to ensure it’s business as usual and provide the same high level of service.

While coronavirus has been difficult for some clients it has presented new opportunities for others. As a result, several of our existing clients have experienced an increased demand for their products and services and we have also won quite a few new customers. We recently won our biggest contract to date and are looking to expand the team as a result so whilst we went through some challenging times in the spring things are certainly starting to look a lot more positive going into 2021.

Are you doing anything to diversify your business in response to the pandemic?

In line with our business strategy, we’re continuing to expand our digital PR and marketing services and are investing in training existing staff and recruiting new team members with the relevant skills and experience. During the pandemic people have been spending an increasing amount of time online so a lot of organisations are having to adapt their business models accordingly. We can help them develop their online presence and cut through the ‘noise’ by creating an online strategy which looks at all available options including building a new website or improving their existing one, ensuring it is search engine optimised, setting up or enhancing social media channels, investing in online advertising and gaining coverage on high-domain authority websites.

What lessons have you learnt from last year? Have you learnt anything from previous lockdowns that you could implement in the future?

One of the main things we have learnt is that people are able to work from home and be just as productive. We have had the opportunity to test our IT systems and are confident we have the technology and systems in place to allow our business to continue to operate as normal remotely, which is reassuring in terms of continuity planning.

In the future we’ll be much more open to a more flexible way of working and have introduced a new policy as a result. However, on the flip side, we’ve also discovered how much we miss working together as a team! For a creative business like ours it is so beneficial to be able to get together in person and bounce ideas off each other so I think people are looking forward to a time when we can open the office again.

Holding virtual meetings via Zoom or Microsoft Teams has also been a revelation and I’m sure in the future, in addition to on-site visits, we will continue to keep in touch with clients in this way to reduce travel time, costs and more importantly our impact on the environment.

Can you offer advice to businesses struggling during this time, whether they are in the same industry as yours or not?

Resist the temptation to stick your head in the sand and hope that all this will soon become a distant memory and you’ll be able to get back to business as normal! Businesses which ignore or stop communicating with their customers during times of crisis do so at their peril! Chances are they may find when they reopen, their customers have migrated to one of their more proactive competitors. Even if your business is closed or you’re only able to offer a very limited service it’s important to keep your name at the forefront of people’s minds and maintain the relationship you may have spent years cultivating. Regularly posting interesting, empathetic, helpful and informative content on social media is a great way of keep in touch and providing a useful service at the same time.

Many businesses struggle to find the time to plan or work on their business rather than in it so now is the perfect time to audit your existing PR and marketing strategy, for example, and work on a new one that will carry you through the first six months of 2021 and beyond.

During times of crisis there are always opportunities so take time out to re-evaluate your business and your strategy and consider if there are any opportunities to pivot your business to meet a new customer demand or need. There have been some excellent examples of this in the county including numerous gin distilleries which have pivoted to produce hand sanitiser, printing firms which have grown exponentially during the pandemic by supplying the online personalised greetings cards and gifts market and technology businesses which have adapted their products or developed new ones to help businesses work more effectively and safely from home or on-site.

What are your future plans for the business?

Our plan is to continue to grow the business sustainably as we have done over the last 14 years by taking on more clients, expanding our geographical reach, recruiting skilled and experienced staff, investing in training and adapting to meet customer needs.

What do you think the future holds for your industry?

As the UK takes its first tentative steps towards recovery, PR and marketing will play an increasingly important role in building consumer confidence and restarting the economy. This crisis is unlike anything we have ever experienced before and presents an opportunity for brands to reconnect with their customers. With reduced budgets and fewer team resources many organisations will be stretched and will increasingly need professional PR and marketing services to help them achieve the best return on their investment.

Do you support the need for national lockdowns? Do you think the localised tiers are sufficient or do you think it’s just something we need to learn to live with?

A new national lockdown may be needed to help the UK get on top of this virus particularly in the light of the new strain. Sadly, some people continue to flout the rules or are unsure about what the restrictions apply in their tier and don’t pay any heed to basic advice like wear a face covering or stay two metres apart. Currently new cases seem to be rapidly rising and I don’t think the Government has been quick enough to impose restrictions in the past. Another national lockdown will be difficult to endure but the Government needs to take swift, decisive action as it is the last minute, seemingly knee-jerk reactions that allow little time for planning which seem to create even more hardship for people.