The Rural Marketing Partnership
Your business has grown, but your marketing hasn’t quite kept up.
You have a good business. Probably a great one, if you weren't so modest.
Your customers know it; your reputation reflects it; you have a team around you and plenty going on.
But your marketing? That's another story.
Maybe you've always relied on word of mouth. Maybe the business has grown quickly and marketing has been something you've been meaning to get around to. Or maybe you're doing plenty of marketing, but it all feels a bit disjointed and you're not sure what's actually working.
Perhaps you hate your social media or you have an email list sitting there doing very little. Your messaging has evolved and no longer feels quite right.
Or you're paying someone to create content without really knowing whether it's doing anything useful.
Whatever the reason, your marketing hasn't kept pace with the business you've built.
This is where I come in: to be your strategic marketing partner for a few months to get you back on track.
The Rural Marketing Partnership is four months of strategic marketing support for established rural businesses that have outgrown the way they're currently marketing themselves.
My name is Sue Emery, founder of Rural Business Matters
I've spent over 12 years building rural businesses from a veterinary physiotherapy practice to self-catering accommodation. I know that what works in a city – the volume, the noise, the constant content – doesn't work here. Rural customers buy on reputation and trust, and that's exactly what we build.
You already have something most marketers can't manufacture: a genuine place in your community, customers who trust you, and a way of doing business that people remember. What we do together is work out how to let more people see that, in a way that feels like you.
You have unique ideas, real values, and a business worth shouting about. Together, we find ways to show that to the people who haven't found you yet.
Over four months, we work across the parts of your marketing that matter most to your business right now. That might be your email strategy, your lead generation, how you show up on LinkedIn, how you use in-person events, or how you turn the reputation you already have into something people find before they even pick up the phone.
In The Rural Marketing Partnership, we spend time intentionally building the genuine, human connections that lead to enquiries, sales and recommendations.
This looks like:
Intention
Before we do anything else, we clarify exactly who you're talking to and what you want them to think, feel, and do next. We define your audience, sharpen your message, and set specific goals so that every post, email, and conversation has a real job to do. We'll review your lead magnets, what's bringing people in, and what needs to change so your marketing works consistently in the background, even when you're not fully focused on it.
Connection
You already know how to build relationships that lead to referrals and inbound leads. Together we bring that online. We'll work on how you start conversations, how you nurture new connections, and how to weave your brand values and stories into your content in a way that feels natural. We'll look at LinkedIn, email, and in-person events, finding the rhythm that works for your growing business. Everything we build is designed to work for you, whether you are taking charge of marketing yourself, or handing it over to a team member or contractor.
Visibility
We start with an audit of your current online presence: what's working, what isn't, and where the gaps are. From there, we build a consistent posting rhythm that puts sales content first, alongside content that builds trust over time. We'll also look beyond your own channels to collaborations, workshops, guest blogs and podcasting, finding the places where your expertise can reach people who haven't found you yet. By the end of four months, you'll have a strategy and a set of systems you can keep running yourself, long after we finish working together.
How does The Rural Marketing Partnership work?
The Marketing Partnership is four months of strategic marketing support for established rural businesses that have outgrown the way they're currently marketing themselves.
This isn't a marketing course, and it isn't me giving you ten homework assignments and sending you off to get on with it. I'll get under the skin of your business, work out what your marketing actually needs and help you to create the strategy and foundations to make it happen.
Then I'll stay alongside you while you put it into practice. Sometimes you'll want me to do more of the work, sometimes you'll want to draft something yourself and have me cast an experienced eye over it or sometimes you'll need a call (or voice note, if you’re on board with them) to work something through.
We'll start with an in-depth conversation about your business, what makes you different, what's already working and where your marketing has fallen behind.
Then I'll go away and do the thinking.
I'll develop the strategic foundations your marketing needs. That might include your positioning, messaging, brand voice, marketing priorities, channel strategy, content direction, email marketing approach or whatever else makes sense for your business.
Then I support you in implementing it in your business.
Investment: £1250
Book a call so we can discuss if this is the right option for you and your business (4 months is a long time if we don’t instantly hit it off!)
This is for you if:
You have a business you're proud of, and customers who love you, but your marketing hasn't caught up with how good you actually are.
You've relied heavily on word of mouth and know you need to become more deliberate about marketing.
You have a small team, but nobody really owns the overall marketing strategy.
You're doing lots of marketing activities but aren't convinced they're working together.
Your social media, email or other marketing needs an overhaul.
You want a marketing strategy that your team can actually use.
This isn’t for you if:
You're looking for someone to simply take over your social media.
Or a magic formula for getting more followers (more followers does not equate to a more successful business; that’s something we file under ‘vanity metrics’)
There are plenty of people who can do those things, but it’s not what I do.
I want to understand your business properly, work out what good marketing looks like for you and then help you put it in place.
Here's what people say about working with me
"I worked with Sue to help me develop traffic to my website, and then sales of my online course. Sue was absolutely brilliant throughout the whole process, gently guiding me through technical aspects, encouraging me and always being on hand to answer questions. I have had 100% more sales of my course since working with Sue, and am so very much looking forward to working with her again in the future!"
- Rachel Derbyshire, Wildlife Artist & Teacher
I wish I could rate Sue more than 5 stars because she truly deserves it! The service she provides is exceptional, her strategies and advice has helped me massively in marketing my business. She brings a fresh, positive and friendly perspective to every meeting and is a huge support throughout the entire process. She has made marketing less of a chore! If you’re thinking about working with her it is most definitely a decision you will not regret!
- Alice Welsh, Derwent Buyers Group