Sioned Yates on Access Marketing’s first two years

Access Marketing is celebrating two years in business. Founded by Sioned Yates (SY) to provide practical, strategic marketing support for businesses across the fenestration, construction and building sectors, the business has worked with manufacturers, suppliers, trade organisations and industry events.

In the first of a three-part Q&A, Sioned reflects on why Access Marketing was launched, the first two years, where Access Marketing sits in the sector, and personal highlights so far.

 

How would you describe the last two years of Access Marketing?

SY: Exciting, challenging and probably a much bigger learning curve than I expected!

I’d spent more than 30 years working in marketing and holding senior in-house roles, but running your own business is very different. Suddenly, you’re responsible for absolutely everything, as well as actually doing the work you love.

I’ve loved the variety. I’ve worked with businesses of very different sizes and at very different stages, from large international brands to family-run businesses and industry organisations.

I’m also really proud that so much of my work has come through recommendations and relationships I’ve built over many years in the industry.

Two years in, I feel like I’ve found the way I want Access Marketing to work. I don’t want to build a marketing agency. I want to work closely with businesses where I can genuinely make a difference.

What gap did you want the business to fill when you launched?

SY: I’d spent years sitting on the client side of the table, so I knew there was a gap between employing a senior marketing person full-time and outsourcing everything to an agency.

There are some brilliant businesses in our industry that know they need marketing support but don’t necessarily need, or can’t justify, a full-time Marketing Director.

That’s where I wanted Access Marketing to sit.

I can come into a business, understand where it’s trying to go, look at what is and isn’t working and help put some strategy and structure around the marketing.

Because I’ve been the client, I understand the pressures too. I’m not interested in doing marketing activity just for the sake of doing it. There needs to be a reason for it and ultimately, it needs to help the business gain sales.

What types of brands and organisations have you worked with, and which projects have been the highlights so far?

SY: It’s been a real mix, and that’s one of the things I enjoy most about what I do. I’ve worked with global manufacturers, national and regional businesses, fabricators, installers, industry organisations, events and networks across construction and fenestration.

I’ve worked right across the supply chain over the years, which gives me a good understanding of how the different parts of our industry work together.

The challenges can look very different depending on the size of the business and where it sits in the market, but quite often the underlying marketing problems are actually very similar.

There have been a few projects I’m particularly proud of. Delivering the first VELUX Commercial UK&I press visit was definitely one. It was a first for the business, and being trusted to create and deliver it through Access Marketing felt like a real milestone.

Another was developing VELUX Commercial’s first brand campaign since the VELUX acquisitions in 2019. Bringing the different businesses together under one story and helping establish what VELUX Commercial stood for was a fantastic project to work on.

I’ve also loved the more strategic projects where I can really get under the skin of a business and help shape where its marketing needs to go. I’ve been delivering lots of these.

And then there’s Women in Fenestration. That’s different again because it isn’t just another project for me. It’s something I’ve become personally very invested in and I’m incredibly proud of what we’re building.

For more information about Access Marketing, visit: Access Marketing