Lancashire and Cumbria law firm Harrison Drury has appointed its first ever in-house marketing and business development manager as it embarks on its latest phase of growth.
Experienced marketer Kris Midgely, a specialist in business and professional services, will head up all marketing and business development activity at Harrison Drury, which has offices across the region.A key part of Kris’s role will be implementing a new customer relationship management system to help the firm maintain strong relationships with clients and contacts, as well as helping to develop the Harrison Drury service in key sectors and locations.
John Chesworth, managing director at Harrison Drury, said: “In the last six years we’ve gone from one office and 16 staff to five offices and 90 staff. Having become a much larger firm with clients across the UK, we needed someone who could co-ordinate all our marketing and business development activity in a more structured and strategic way.“Kris has proven experience of helping growing businesses like ours to achieve that growth in a smarter way. Working with our internal teams and external marketing providers, he will help communicate our vision, how we can help businesses grow, and why we’re on the UK’s best employers.”
Kris, pictured above with John Chesworth, said: “Harrison Drury is a successful firm with a great ethos. I want to support those values by spending time listening to clients, staff and professional contacts to find out more about what they value about their relationship with Harrison Drury. We will use this information to shape our offering and the way we communicate with those audiences.”Previously PR and digital communications manager with QASSS Ltd, Kris helped the home improvement consumer protection specialist, championed by former BBC Watchdog presenter Nick Ross, to develop a multi-channel PR and digital media strategy.
He also project managed the delivery of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system for the organisation, whose five individual initiatives including The Double Glazing and Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme (DGCOS) and The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Scheme (HICS).In another previous role as marketing manager for Blue Orchid Management Consultants, a leading provider of business start-up and growth consultancy, Kris delivered a comprehensive strategy to raise awareness of the company which delivered business support contracts for 24 local authorities across the UK.
He has also worked as a business advisor and a programme manager where he delivered advice to small businesses, during which time he also worked in Malawi to develop a business start-up programme for developing countries. In 2016, Harrison Drury, which has offices in Preston, Garstang, Lancaster, Kendal and Clitheroe, was included in the Sunday Times list of the The Best 100 Small Companies to Work For.