Black Country manufacturer, Grain and Frame Ltd, create bespoke furniture using raw materials and skilled craftsmanship. They sell their furniture through retailers, interior designers and direct to customers. Being a young business, there has been a requirement to test new ideas and build fresh plans to achieve top results on a restricted budget.
Grain and Frame Ltd accessed support from the Manufacturing Growth Programme, to gain grant funding and free tailored support to grow their business. The business was aided by Manufacturing Growth Manager Helen Fortune who supports businesses in the Black Country. Helen performed a GROWTHmapper® business diagnostic review for the business. This business diagnostic tool is used to analyse the performance of the business and determine the key areas for improvement.
The results of the GROWTHmapper® diagnostic review helped to emphasize that a tailored business improvement project was needed to further increase the organic traffic to their website and convert more of their organic traffic into sales.
Following on from the business improvement 
project, the business has taken on a lot of advice from their chosen expert. The investment that they made into the project themselves created content that has been so effective, it is outperforming their much more expensive TV advertising campaign.
From the improvement project, they have identified that their products are a considered purchase and it takes approximately 3 months for their customer to see the products and decide to purchase. They have also discovered their niche within their product offering; a solid wood extendable dining table. This has led them to increase their dining table range from 1 to 5 different styles, which is set to increase further over the next year.
Their local dedicated Manufacturing Growth Manager from MGP; Helen Fortune has this to say about the business: “Grain and Frame Ltd are a young inspirational business with the desire to grow. Their focus is testament to them. Seeking support and identifying what was potentially could have been a barrier to their growth was a step in the right direction. After engaging with the Manufacturing Growth Programme and their external expert they have been successful in discovering how long it is taking them to convert sales, how they can potentially address this and identifying their niche product offering. I wish them all the very best for the future, keep being innovative and original.”
Sam Moseley, Co-owner of Grain and Frame Ltd commented on accessing support and funding from the Manufacturing Growth Programme: “Do it! It’s a great service and has helped us tremendously. The process is straightforward, and you are supported every step of the way by a local manufacturing growth manager.”
Future improvements for the business involve plans to employ more staff to support with an increased workload. They plan to expand their range and produce living room and bedroom furniture. They also hope to increase organic traffic to the site through digital marketing, and increasing conversion rates by improving visualisation of products using photography and videography for an enhanced online shopping experience.
More details on Grain and Frame Ltd will be available at www.grainandframe.com
West Midlands Combined Authority