Next Gen Makers
Fractional CMO engagement for a national engineering apprenticeship platform — website, lead generation, CRM pipelines and nurture infrastructure built from the ground up.
The Context.
Next Gen Makers is a growing national ecosystem connecting employers, educators and young people to raise the standard of engineering apprenticeships across the UK. Through their Employer Kitemark accreditation — backed by Make UK — they help engineering and manufacturing firms attract, develop and retain the next generation of skilled talent.
The mission is clear and commercially important. The infrastructure to support its growth wasn't keeping pace.
Anchor & Dash stepped in as Fractional CMO from January 2026 — taking strategic ownership of marketing across the full growth architecture.
The Challenge.
A compelling mission and growing membership base without a structured marketing engine to support scale
No defined lead generation or pipeline infrastructure
Nurture sequences absent — leaving warm prospects uncontacted and unconverted
Website not performing as a commercial asset
Marketing activity reactive and founder-dependent
The organisation had momentum. What it needed was structure to convert that momentum into measurable, repeatable growth.
The Outcome.
A complete marketing infrastructure built and operational — from website through to lead generation, CRM pipeline structure and automated nurture sequences. Next Gen Makers now has the systems in place to grow its employer membership base at scale without increasing manual workload.
STRATEGY.
The engagement began with strategic clarity — defining commercial priorities, audience segmentation and the marketing architecture required to support sustainable membership growth.
Commercial marketing strategy aligned to membership growth objectives
Audience definition across employers, educators and young people
Messaging framework for each audience segment
Channel prioritisation and growth roadmap
Content and thought leadership direction
SYSTEMS.
With strategic direction established, the focus moved to building the infrastructure that didn't exist.
Full website build — designed as a commercial asset, not just a presence
CRM pipeline structure designed for membership sales and renewal
Lead generation pathways built and activated
Automated nurture sequences for employer prospects
Reporting framework to track pipeline visibility and conversion
SCALE.
Active lead generation driving inbound employer enquiries
Nurture sequences converting warm prospects without manual intervention
Pipeline visibility giving leadership clear line of sight on membership growth
Website functioning as a genuine commercial asset
Marketing operating independently of day-to-day founder input
If your business has vision and momentum but lacks strategic marketing architecture, we can help.