A Warkworth based Microsoft Office trainer has reaped the benefits after receiving a fully funded digital marketing campaign and marketing training through a programme launched to support businesses during Covid.

Published: 29 June 2021

Lara Mellor, owner of Lara Mellor Training and Consultancy, has worked with businesses across the North East to help them to build their Microsoft skills since establishing the business in in 2000.

Lara is an expert in her field, working with big companies including Fentimans, but as with many small businesses, Lara saw a decline in demand for her services when the pandemic hit.

She said: “Initially my business plummeted. Training was not high on the list of priorities of HR departments dealing with furlough and trying to get people set up at home or safely back to the office.”

Lara delivers the Microsoft Office training for local support programme Business Northumberland, her workshops cover PowerPoint, Excel, Word, PowerBI, Teams & Microsoft 365 packages. It was through this programme that Lara became aware of the Northumberland Covid Business Response Programme (NCBRP) also delivered by Advance Northumberland.

NCBRP is offering fully funded digital marketing campaigns to Northumberland based businesses and Lara knew this was something her business could benefit from. Having never set up or managed a digital marketing campaign, Lara worked with The Allies Group to build and establish her Google Ads campaign as well as receiving 12 hours free support working with a marketing coach appointed through Transmit.

All the support delivered was fully funded so there was no cost to her business and it was all managed and set up by a business adviser provided by the Business Northumberland programme meaning it was hassle free for Lara.

NCBRP is a new service for businesses that have been adversely affected by Covid. The Project is funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority and delivered by Advance Northumberland on behalf of Northumberland County Council and the Northumberland Business Hub.

Boasting two main elements; Digital Advantage and Business Advantage, Lara took advantage of both elements of NCBRP. She not only received a fully funded digital marketing campaign to the value of £1,000 with £500 of that going directly on a marketing campaign on Google but

The Business Advantage element saw Lara work with a coach appointed through Transmit to help give Lara the skills to build on the business marketing model through 12 hours of fully funded support.

“The marketing support helped me to target the right businesses by learning how to effectively research their details. Google Ads I was new to so it gave me the opportunity to try a campaign and see what the results were which I wouldn’t have done otherwise.”

As well as working with businesses across the region, Lara also works with the Business Northumberland programme and since its launch in 2019 was the first trainer to deliver an online workshop for the programme in 2020 just before strict lockdown rules were put in place.

Business Northumberland provides support to small and medium enterprises across the North East who are looking to sustain and grow their business online. The support programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Advance Northumberland, so there is no cost to eligible businesses when accessing the support.

The results Lara received have made a huge impact on her business and how her marketing strategy will work in the future, with the skills to now implement various marketing strategies, Lara will really ush for the marketing of her business.

“The traffic to my website went up over 80% with more enquires over the period of the adverts and 3 new bookings from clients. One of these is a large international company which could lead to a large volume of ongoing business.”

Through NCBRP, businesses are also able to receive a fully funded website for their business to help get an online presence, a fantastic offer for businesses looking to create an information site, offering a booking system for customers or sell products online.

To find out how NCBRP could support your business with a fully funded website, please go to: https://northumberlandbusinessresponse.co.uk

Find out more about how your business can take advantage of the online courses run by Lara Mellor Training & Consultancy and The Allies Group, as well as the other services through the programme by registering at: www.businessnorthumberland.co.uk  or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..