MARK PRESTON - HIS BIO
The person behind the thinking.
A mechanic mindset.
A life beyond the job title.
Mark Preston is a Customer Growth Partner, professional speaker and author. His story starts in Lancashire, and in a workshop rather than a marketing department.
Lancashire roots.
A curious mind.
Born and bred in Lancashire, Mark has been a Formula One fan since the Nigel Mansell era. He has watched the racing at Silverstone, but does not follow one particular team. It is the sport itself that interests him.
Those details belong in his story as much as the business titles. There is a person behind the work, with interests that have stayed with him as his career has changed.
Before business, there were engines.
For 14 years, Mark worked as an agricultural and automotive mechanic. Learning to understand a whole system, rather than guessing at the faulty part, shaped the way he approaches problems today.
The experience that shaped him.
From the workshop to customer growth partnerships.
01
Mechanic
Mark began his working life in agricultural and automotive garages. Diagnosis meant understanding how the parts worked together, testing an explanation and fixing the cause. That habit stayed with him when the work changed.
02
Agency owner
In 2001, he taught himself websites, SEO and lead generation. He later built a multi-office digital agency. The recession and the loss of a major client forced him to close offices and rebuild. Business ownership brought difficult lessons alongside progress.
03
Franchisor
He went on to build a digital marketing franchise network with more than 50 active franchisees, later selling it. Supporting other business owners taught him about delivery, responsibility and the practical demands of running a network.
04
Trainer & Speaker
Mark began sharing what he had learned with other marketers. Training hundreds of people drew on his experience of websites, agency ownership and franchising, and became an important part of his work.
05
Head of Organic Growth
An in-house leadership role brought a different challenge: helping customer growth work across an expanding group of optical practices. His work on organic growth and digital infrastructure supported expansion from around 65 to more than 500 locations.
06
Professional speaker
Speaking developed into a dedicated part of his career. Today, he brings his mechanic mindset and business experience to franchise, SME and founder events through his Digital Growth Speaker proposition.
07
Customer Growth Partner
Mark now works alongside founders through shared ownership. The role brings him into the decisions affecting customer growth, with a personal stake in what happens next.
08
Franchise Growth Partner
As co-founder of Twine Growth, he applies his franchise experience to the challenges networks face today. The connection with franchising also continues through Bespoke Foil Company and the Memory Catcher franchise.
Who Mark is today.
His work now brings together customer growth partnerships, professional speaking and writing. The settings differ, but he still starts by asking how the parts work together.
Growth Partner
A shareholder in six businesses, working across different sectors.
Speaker
Sharing practical thinking with franchise, SME and founder audiences.
Author
Five books exploring customer growth, franchising and the business side of SEO.
Twine Growth - Bespoke Foil Company - Olilo - Market Jar - EndorseHQ - The Local Dot
A name for the way he thinks.
The Connect Those Dots Growth Framework® gives structure to thinking developed through those different experiences. It keeps the focus on the relationships that influence customer growth.
