Member Article

Manchester events consultancy scaling up operations thanks to new digital tools

An events consultancy based in the North West is gearing up for growth as it bounces back from the pandemic, thanks to skills gained via the Lloyds Bank Academy.

Catch the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) is a specialist consultancy that has been operating in the events industry since 2019. The business was founded by Stuart Mitchell, who has worked in the sector all his life.

The business originally worked with luxury privately-owned hotels and venues in Europe, the Middle East and the UK, promoting their locations as venues for meetings and events to UK corporate meeting planners.

While this business model brought Catch the MICE significant success, operations ground to a halt when the pandemic struck in March 2020. The disruption to global travel caused unprecedented challenges to the events industry and the business saw demand for its services decline sharply.

With business at a standstill, and the future of the events industry uncertain, Mitchell sought support from the Lloyds Bank Academy. He attended the Leading & Collaborating Using Digital Tools session to enhance his digital skills and gain an insight into how he could adapt his business model. The Academy provided a range of tutorials and information on online platforms, digital tools such as CRM systems, and also offered a platform for networking.

With the pandemic creating increased demand for online events platforms, Mitchell used his new digital skills to transform the business from promoting face-to-face meetings to supporting clients with an online virtual model. To facilitate this, Catch the Mice partnered with two award-winning, best-in-class virtual events platforms, Intelligo and Vii-Events and now leads their business development.

Since the business’ pivot, Catch the MICE has seen its revenue pipeline rise by 600%, with the firm planning to take on three new members of staff in Q1 of 2022.

The Lloyds Bank Academy aims to help people, businesses and charities learn basic digital and specialist skills through live interactive webinars and on-demand websites. From improving confidence online to developing a website for your business, managing your money and staying connected with friends and family, all training is free. The Academy also works with a number of partners, including Google, Small Business Britain, Microsoft and Learn MyWay, to create meaningful and engaging content.

Stuart Mitchell, executive director at Catch the MICE, said: “The pandemic hit at the worst possible time for me. With demand picking up, I was on the brink of bringing on new staff and looking for an office location, but then all our operations ground to a halt.

“During lockdown, I volunteered with our industry’s social enterprise EventWell, which focuses on mental health in the events industry. Through this experience, it became clear to me that moving online would be a necessity and I’d have to refine my digital skills in order to help my fellow industry colleagues adapt to new ways of delivering events.

“The Lloyds Bank Academy was a fantastic help and I can’t sing the praises of the bank enough. Traditionally, in-person events have been vital for any business, whereas anything virtual was seen as a back-up solution. But now, people are using virtual events as part of an overall strategy and they are set to become a permanent feature of the events landscape going forward.”

Elyn Corfield, Lloyds Banking Group’s Ambassador for the North West, said: “With the pandemic severely disrupting normal operations for businesses up and down the country, one of the key trends we’ve seen has been an increasing shift to digital from firms.

“Catch the Mice is a perfect example of this. To stay afloat and adapt to a rapidly changing climate, the business made the transition to an online virtual model and we’re happy to have helped facilitate this transition.

“The Lloyds Bank Academy is open to everyone, so I’d encourage anyone looking to boost their digital skills to get in touch today.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by George Hall .