"Customer responsiveness fuels business success."
Welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview with Paul Webley, the Managing Director of Blaze Media, a dynamic and forward-thinking digital marketing company making waves in the UK and beyond.
In this enlightening conversation, we delve into Paul’s entrepreneurial journey and the remarkable evolution of Blaze Media, a company that’s not only achieved growth and success but has also played a vital role in the community it serves.
Paul Webley’s career path took him from business consultancy to sales director and business management roles, providing him with the insights and expertise he needed to venture into the digital marketing industry.
Over six years at the helm of Blaze Media, Paul has steered the company toward great achievements, building a dedicated team of over 10 professionals who excel in SEO, paid advertising, email marketing, and web development. Blaze Media’s services have positively impacted businesses across various industries, both locally and internationally.
This interview provides an exclusive glimpse into Paul’s insights on leadership, employee motivation, and navigating the ever-changing digital landscape, offering valuable lessons and a unique perspective on thriving in the world of digital marketing.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Paul Webley: Hello, my name is Paul Webley and I have been the Managing Director for Blaze Media for over six years. After working as a business consultant, sales director and business manager, I felt like it was the right time to try and build something of my own.
So with a background in selling software and hosting solutions, digital marketing was a market that I knew I could build on. Over six years later, I have a team of over 10 people that provide SEO, paid advertising, email marketing and web development throughout the UK and a few international markets.
The journey has been a long one with ups and downs along the way, but together with the Blaze Media team, we have built something that many people in the North West rely on to grow and expand their businesses and revenue.
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
Paul Webley: During a time when a lot of agencies have been struggling to maintain revenue, at Blaze Media we have grown and expanded our team more than we thought we could. We moved our headquarters to a new office based in Liverpool and started to discover new clients in a wide variety of industries.
Starting out, we always had a strong marketing strategy in the legal and fitness industry. But over the last twelve months, we have started to bring in different industries that are both business-to-business and business-to-consumer.
This growth has not only impacted the business, but it has also helped us create more local job opportunities within the region and provide more opportunities for work placements and apprenticeship schemes. The business has been built around being ethical, sustainable and transparent. This is something that people really value and we want to showcase that in the way that we work with our clients.
Over the last twelve months, we have started trying things we historically haven’t been able to do. But now, with new growth and solid business foundations, we are able to give back to local communities and support local people.
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, are an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle to keep talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued, and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are you adapting to the current shift we see?
Paul Webley: When it comes to keeping our team motivated, we thrive on open and honest communication.
If something is going wrong, we don’t want to play the blame game with anyone. We like to address the issues and figure out a solution as a team that benefits the majority. This helps the Blaze team feel integrated with key decisions and lets management know where the issues lie.
On a day-to-day basis, I aim to be a very approachable boss. My office is always open to everyone and the team are always more than welcome to pop in and give me their thoughts. By doing this, we can all grow together.
The team are experts in their respective fields which means that there needs to be an element of trust from both sides.
- I need to trust that the advice the team is giving me is the right advice for progression.
- The team needs to trust that I will use the information in the decision-making process.
This will provide the best results for our clients, the business itself and empower the employees to feel passionate about the work they are doing.
To help keep employees motivated and engaged, we understand that they need to see more for their time investment too. Often leaders see employees as a number and a resource rather than a person. Listening to what team members want and having an open conversation about the feasibility of these requests allows the team to feel heard and receive benefits more in line with what they expect from a company.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Paul Webley: When it comes to business online, consumers love convenience. We want to streamline the processes that are involved with running an online business.
Whether that involves generating more leads or increasing sales, the customer journey needs to be an enjoyable experience for the users. By streamlining these processes, we can help our clients stand out from the growing online landscape.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Paul Webley: The real challenge in the UK at the moment is the economy. While this is a challenge for a lot of consumers and businesses in the UK at the moment, it also presents an opportunity for us at Blaze to highlight the benefits of working with Blaze and how we can provide value for money through our expertise and services.
2020, 2021, and 2022 threw a lot of curve balls into businesses on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past years, how can businesses thrive in 2023? What lessons have you learned and what advice would you share?
Paul Webley: One thing that the struggles of the last few years have shown us is that people are extremely resilient. And customers expect to receive outstanding value for money.
This has given us the opportunity at Blaze to showcase how we go above and beyond for our clients. By opening up an easy line of communication between our clients and our team, customers know they are only a phone call away if they are in need of something urgent.
By bridging the gap between Blaze and the client allows us to nurture relationships with our customers. This creates a stronger bond and sets our business above other agencies with similar services.
Being responsive to customers makes them feel valued and shows that you are always on hand to help. Nurturing these relationships is crucial to the growth and success of a business.
What does “success” in 2023 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Paul Webley: Throughout 2023, we have been expanding the services that are offered at Blaze. This has allowed the business to grow into a brand that is now recognisable across the Liverpool region. I want to continue to grow these services and expand the teams so that we can help more local businesses achieve their full potential.
This gives us the potential to reach more brands across the North West and provide more employment opportunities in the Merseyside region.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Paul Webley for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Paul Webley or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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