- Day:
- Wednesday 25 November 2026
- Time:
- 09:30 - 12:00
- Location:
- University of Salford
- Online booking:
- Register now
CSI Exchange is a series of practical workshops for SMEs, start‑ups & alumni businesses, delivered by the Centre for Sustainable Innovation.
More channels, more tools, more noise — but less clarity.
For many SMEs, marketing can feel overwhelming. With constant digital change and limited time, budget and resource, the real challenge isn’t doing more marketing — it’s building a clear, focused strategy that actually works.
This practical, interactive workshop is designed to help you cut through the noise and develop a marketing approach that is meaningful, manageable and aligned to your business goals.
You’ll explore how to define your brand more clearly, communicate your value effectively and build a strategy that helps you attract and retain the right customers — without overcomplicating your approach.
During the session, you will cover:
- The core elements of a strong and effective marketing strategy
- Defining and strengthening your brand identity
- Clarifying and communicating your value proposition
- Understanding your ideal customers and target markets
- Building simple, effective customer journeys
- Creating authentic, consistent content that you can sustain
- Practical ways to use digital tools and AI to support your strategy
You’ll leave with a clearer direction, practical ideas and a more confident approach to marketing that fits your capacity, budget and business ambitions.
This session is ideal for SME owners, founders and marketers looking to move beyond tactics and build a marketing strategy that delivers real impact.
The workshop will run from 9:30am-12pm, and participants are invited afterwards to stay for a light lunch.
Facilitator: Emily Whitehead
Emily is a highly experienced executive business coach, consultant, mentor trainer and facilitator. She uses a person-centred approach to help unlock thinking, potential and next steps for founders, senior leaders and teams. Emily has over 25 years’ experience and 1000s hours of practical delivery, working collaboratively to support the development of purpose-led strategies, dynamic cultures, positive leadership and businesses with powerful sustainable futures. Her work includes 1-2-1 executive coaching / mentoring, group coaching and action learning, team training, workshop delivery, facilitation and programme development.
What is CSI Exchange?
CSI Exchange is a practical knowledge exchange workshop series delivered by the Centre for Sustainable Innovation at the University of Salford.
Designed for SMEs, start‑ups, alumni businesses and CSI affiliates, the series brings together academic expertise and real‑world practice to support sustainable growth, effective leadership and digital capability.
Each workshop focuses on practical tools, usable frameworks and shared learning, helping businesses navigate uncertainty, develop confident leaders, design impactful sustainability projects and build resilient strategies for today’s fast‑changing economy.
Sessions are led by University of Salford specialists alongside experienced external practitioners, creating space for open discussion, peer learning and immediate application.
Whether you are scaling a business, embedding sustainability, strengthening leadership capability or adapting to digital change, CSI Exchange offers accessible, insight‑led support for small and medium‑sized enterprises.
You can explore the other workshops in this series through the CSI Exchange series collection.