Forrest Digital, the Teesside based digital marketing consultancy, has called upon businesses in the region to stop ignoring the benefits of digital strategies when targeting global markets.
Iain Forrest, managing director of Forrest Digital, said: “There is a huge export opportunity, but the latest Office of National Statistics report shows the North East, along with Yorkshire and The Humber, as the only English regions where export value fell in the year to December 2016, despite the value of UK trade in exported goods increasing overall by 5.6 per cent.
Given the manufacturing prowess in the region, and its importance to our economy as a whole, this is a serious problem that needs to be addressed.”
The digital firm was one of the first in the UK to recognise and bring to life the opportunities that platforms like Google offer manufacturing businesses of all sizes looking to export. Google approached the consultancy in 2013 offering their hands-on support, which has led to Forrest clients receiving additional assistance through an official Google Partnership program.
The higher levels of support, which include access to new Google features before they become publicly available, is open to the highest performing organisations and allows them to share and collaborate with the world-renowned technology company.
In 2014, Forrest Digital began working with a Teesside based manufacturer initially to develop its presence in the United States. The manufacturing company has gone on to work with Redbull F1, Siemens, Caterpillar, and Black and Decker, expanding year after year into international markets.
Forrest, the entrepreneur, concluded: “Not enough companies in the area are utilising digital marketing in their growth strategies. For us, having the Google badge of approval guarantees our customers a level of expertise, experience and trust that other firms just can’t replicate.”
