UK Shared Prosperity Fund helps business thrive

A supplier of heating oil tanks, based just outside of Stratford upon Avon, increased its turnover by more than £450,000 in twelve months after receiving advice on its marketing strategy from a free business service, funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and by Warwickshire County Council.

Quicktanks, founded by Brendan Mutton in 2019, supplies a range of heating oil tanks to both installers and private owners around the country through its website.

While trading was steady, Quicktanks appeared to be hitting a ceiling in terms of new sales coming in.

Through the help of business support programme Business Ready, Quicktanks overhauled its approach to Google advertising and saw results improve almost immediately.

Brendan said: "While our sales weren't awful, we had hit a point last year where sales growth was not where we wanted it to be.

"I'd worked with Steve Tipson at Business Ready with my other business, Muttons Country Store so I contacted him again to see if they could assist with Quicktanks.

"We sat down with Steve and looked at our current marketing strategy, and he helped us realise that diligent spending on Google advertising, as well as improving SEO and hiring an agency to look after it for us, would help with attracting more customers to the website.

"After analysing the data, we hired an agency and asked them to deliver what we had discussed, and sales enquiries surged practically overnight.

"Over the course of the year, it led to an additional £452,000 in revenue - which was an incredible result.

"Business Ready's advice and Steve's support has enabled us to make the most informed decision - they very much guided us rather than dictated to us. 

"Due to that advice, we are now thinking about branching out into further types of storage tanks, such as water and septic tanks, at a much earlier stage than before."

Steve Tipson, business support adviser at Business Ready, helped Brendan through the process of choosing a better agency and formulating the right digital marketing strategy.

"The main thing I identified when working with Quicktanks was that it was not spending money on advertising in the best way to generate new sales," he said.

"We aimed to enable a shift in mindset at Quicktanks that allowing a specialist agency to handle a lot of the heavy lifting and being selective in what you pay for makes good business sense.

"The results have been amazing for Brendan and the team, and it'll be great to see where they go from here with their expansion plans."

Councillor Martin Watson, portfolio holder for Economy at Warwickshire County Council, said:

"The Business Ready programme offers tailored support to Warwickshire's businesses, helping to support business growth across the county.

"Many local businesses have benefitted from the Business Ready programme and Quicktanks is a great example of how the programme can help businesses review their marketing strategy and best utilise the range of tools available to them."

Cllr George Cowcher, Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder at Stratford-on-Avon District Council said: "It's great to see a fast-growing new company in south Warwickshire. Using our business support services we can help ambitious companies like Quicktanks grow quickly."

Business Ready forms part of the Business Growth Warwickshire programme. It is delivered by University of Warwick Science Park on behalf of Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire's five District and Borough Councils. The support is part funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (via the District and Borough Councils), and Warwickshire County Council.

Find out what other support is available to your business by calling Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub on 0300 060 3747 or visit the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub website.