2018 marks the 25th Anniversary of Shelton Associates.  We spoke to Andrew Shelton, Owner and Founder of Shelton Associates to find out how it all began, what’s changed and how he feels about the 25th Anniversary.

“We are still dealing with a number of clients that we worked with 25 years ago when we first set up the business.”  Andrew is pictured here with Wayne and Andrew, Directors at Sheffield Orthodontic Laboratories.

1. Andrew, what prompted you to set up Shelton Associates?
“Well, after initially working in Industrial Development in Northern Ireland and then in a marketing capacity for a number of professional Consultancies throughout the UK, including Touche Ross Management Consultants, I got to the stage, where I dare say a lot of us have got to, thinking ‘I’m doing it for someone else, I might as well do it for myself’ and set Shelton Associates up 25 years ago.”

2. What’s changed the most in terms of Marketing in the last 25 years?
“Clearly Digital Marketing has been the biggest change in Marketing since Shelton Associates was established, giving us fantastic opportunities to generate new leads, enquiries and sales through email marketing, websites, LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon etc. There is some evidence, though that there may be an increasing trend recently (in what’s being called the ‘Revenge of the Analogue’) back towards more ‘traditional’ forms of marketing, particularly post GDPR, to tools such as direct mail and telemarketing.”

3. What are you most proud of since setting up the business?
“Well, I never wanted Shelton Associates to be the biggest Marketing Consultancy in the world, I had been there and done that, but I did want us to be one of the best in the areas we work such as developing Marketing Plans for clients, where we are now leading UK experts. As well, we are still dealing with a number of clients that we worked with 25 years ago when we first set up the business. Being SMEs they don’t necessarily need us all the time but it is pleasing that they come back to us when they do need help with their marketing.”

4. What’s next for Shelton Associates?
“I feel that there are exciting times ahead for the business, we are running a number of ‘in company’ workshops and particularly as we are just about to fully launch our Marketing Advice Centre. I have felt for a long time, based on many years of dealing with SMEs, that Owners/Managers who don’t have any internal marketing resource would really benefit from the opportunity to discuss marketing issues relating to their business with an experienced Marketing Professional, both in terms of Marketing Strategy and the specifics of areas such as ‘How do we Generate Sales form LinkedIn, Facebook Ads, Instagram etc. The Marketing Advice Centre does just that for a modest monthly fee.”