Joy Timmer's Sales and Marketing placement at Bentley

This is a guest post from Joy Timmer who is studying BSc Management with Marketing (Year in Business) at Royal Holloway and is currently undertaking a Sales and Marketing placement with Bentley Motors in Crewe.

I joined Bentley Motors in September and can honestly say that each day at work is varied and different. I am a part of the Bentley Pre-Owned team, which means I am part of a team of 6 people and we operate the global Bentley Pre-Owned programme. I see myself as fortunate for being placed in this team, because although there are 4,000 employees at Bentley and 400 in Sales & Marketing alone, I get access to all functions due to being in such a small team. Essentially we operate as a mini version of Bentley, doing everything that the main company does but on a smaller scale. This means I undertake a great variety of roles, something that wouldn’t be possible if I was a placement student in a particular function. As I study marketing at Royal Holloway, it means that I have been given responsibility for a number of marketing projects for the team, from social media to much wider research for the Pre-Owned programme. I work on projects in house, as well as with our marketing agencies. Opportunities to further my learning are always presented, and I’ve had the opportunity to undertake an Excel course, as well as spending time at Google Garage to further my digital marketing skills.

As well as marketing, I have learned other key skills such as processing purchase orders, planning events, managing a budget and managing suppliers. Being a part of a global network has given me an insight into how a company operates across different time zones and as a result, how vitally important communication and fore planning is.

The best part about my placement has been the opportunity to work for such a luxury and iconic brand. In the first month of starting at Bentley I was exposed to the brand in all way’s possible, from visiting the showroom and playing round in the cars, to going on a factory tour. Seeing Bentley’s every day soon becomes the normality, from seeing them being test driven on my way to work, to photographing them for a recent project I was working on. Even so, the novelty is yet to wear off. Witnessing the cars being made, and the detail and time that goes into each one, makes you appreciate the product you are working around. No other car manufacturer hand builds cars in this way and this is why, despite the cost, customers return time and time again to purchase a car from us. From New to Pre-Owned personalisation is available to the customer through our Mulliner customisation, and is what sets us apart from competitors. Whether a customer wants a golf fit, or falconry the Bentley can be personalised to their hobbies and exacting standards.

Luxury is at the heart of everything we do and the customers we reach out to expect everything to be of the highest quality. It can sometimes be frustrating, as sign off processes are long and every detail has to be perfect. However I see this to ultimately be a benefit, as working at this level to start with, has given me a great platform to progress from as I am now used to producing work that meets the high standards that Bentley requires.

With Bentley Motors turning 100 later this year, there is not a greater time to work here, with marketing materials and campaigns being worked on all over the business to celebrate the achievement. As well as this, customer delivery of the first New Continental GT will take place in just a couple of months’ time, marking a new and exciting chapter for Bentley.  If you are looking for a placement in a company that pushes you and where you will learn from the highest standards, I would urge you to apply. Don’t be put off by the location. For me it has been a great experience living and working somewhere completely new. If you have any questions about my placement, feel free to drop me a message!