Marketing Buxton
We own and manage the highly popular website www.visitbuxton.co.uk. All relevant businesses in the town have a listing on this site free-of-charge with our members entitled to an enhanced listing.
We also publish the Buxton Town Guide which provides visitors a comprehensive overview of the town.
In 2014, with the financial support of HPBC, we produced the Buxton Toolkit and we were involved in the development and rollout of the new marketing toolkit for the town in 2021, produced by High Peak Borough Council. The toolkit is available for use by any business or organisation in Buxton free-of-charge. Click the link to sign up.
Our other marketing initiatives, managed by our Marketing Group, include coordinating the town’s Heritage Open Days events, producing a group travel information pack, collating visitor data, producing annual events listing, coordinating promotional videos, discount vouchers, town banners, group leaflet distribution, town advertising campaigns, a post-theatre rota, new blue plaques for the town, anniversary events and familiarisation visits and collating information on accessibility and Buxton’s international offer.
Consultation & Representation
Many of the key stakeholders in the town are members of Vision Buxton and we also have strong links with organisations such as Buxton Town Team, Transition Buxton and regional services. Vision Buxton is frequently involved in stakeholder groups for important projects (e.g. The Crescent, Hardwick Hall, Visitor Economy Strategy) and our representatives sit on local steering groups such as for the Future High Streets Fund project, Heritage Action Zone project, Buxton Workplace Travel Forum and the We Are Buxton forum. On these, we represent our membership and feedback the views of our members.
In 2017, Vision Buxton organised a feasibility study to find out if businesses in Buxton are interested in being part of a Business Improvement District (BID). BIDs experts talked to retailers and other businesses to see if they were prepared to make an investment based on a small part of their business rates to be spent on a range of improvements for Buxton.
Supporting Local Businesses & Organisations
Our members’ meetings are a great opportunity for businesses and organisations to learn about town projects and network with each other. Over the past few years, we have had presentations about specific projects and upcoming events such as the Buxton Crescent & Thermal Spa Hotel, Zink Employability, Buxton Civic Association Spaces & Places project, Buxton Markets, the future of the Devonshire Dome and the Future High Streets Fund project. Each members’ meeting is followed by an opportunity to network with other attendees. Non-members are welcome to attend a meeting before deciding whether to join us.
Members also receive a monthly newsletter with local and regional news, events and funding grants to help keep them informed of opportunities.
We host a town clash calendar so local events and meetings do not overlap.
We also promote our business and community group members on our social media platforms to increase their online presence and marketing campaigns. Vision Buxton is often the first port of call for enquiries who want to be put in touch with local businesses.
Some of our Directors chair and attend our two committees – Membership and Marketing – which regularly report back at Board of Directors meetings. The Membership Committee deals with all aspects of membership including marketing the organisation to non-members and organising events for members. The Marketing Group works to promote Buxton to visitors (see above).