CHAMBERNEWS
Go Dotty Go Dotty week is back for 2014, and we want to do things even bigger and better this year. Children’s Hospice week is from the 13th – 20th June and Demelza is Going Dotty in a huge way! So, what can you do? You can go as Dotty as you want too and do anything as long as it involves dots: Wear something Dotty to work …. Show your love of the Demelza dots. We have lots of dotty things for you to buy so you can be part of Team Dotty!, including t-shirts, badges and mugs. Have a Dotty cake sale or tea party and Go Dot- tea for Demelza! Dotty, our mascot will be out on his road show so you can book him to come along to your company. if you are doing anything during the week. Be as Dotty as you want. By supporting Go Dotty, you can
help families like Katherine’s: “We made our own referral to Demelza House and Joshua has now been going for over 3 tears. Demelza has been our lifeline. I can honestly say that without Demelza in our life I don’t know what we would do. Demelza is the only place where Joshua can get 100% respite. Please, please support Demelza so they can help other families like us have the break they desperately need”. £20 could pay for a music or art therapy session for a child giving them the opportunity to express themselves and create memories for their families. Download a Dotty fundraising pack and let the fundraising office know what you are
planning to do to raise funds for Demelza, and make a difference during Go Dotty week 2014. Contact the fundraising office on: 01795 845288 or godotty@demelza.org.uk
If small businesses were more inclined to take strategic advice would they grow faster?
“We’ve just started working with Maidstone IT company, Absols Ltd., to create a marketing strategy designed to give them a stronger online presence.”
This is what the Government’s £30m Growth Voucher programme is aiming to test by allocating Growth Vouchers for up to £2,000 matched funding towards the cost of obtaining advice on 5 key business growth topics. Canterbury-based marketing company, The Purple Edge, has achieved accreditation to offer marketing advice under the Growth Vouchers scheme. “Successful applicants can use their vouchers to obtain advice on a wide range of marketing
To qualify Paula Wilkinson of Absols met with a Growth Voucher business coach and went through a simple process to identify which of the 5 topic areas would benefit their business most. Paula says, “Marketing came out top and we chose The Purple Edge to assist us. We’re at the start of the analysis process but have already put some of the advice into practice and received a major new client opportunity as a result. The scheme has spurred us on to take action.”
- an age old saying that stands especially true in this modern technological age. Websites are often referred to as an online shop front - you’ve got to persuade your customers to come in and take a look around, not scare them off.
Funding for advice to help small businesses grow topics,” explained director Sharon Wilding, “from market research through to making communications planning more effective.
First impressions are last impressions
To find out if you qualify and how to apply go to at www.gov.uk/ apply-growth-vouchers, or contact Sharon Wilding, The Purple Edge Marketing www.thepurpleedge.co.uk BACKGROUND The 5 key topics are: • Improving leadership and management; • Making the most of digital technology; • Managing cashflow, late payments and negotiating finance; • Marketing, attracting and keeping customers; • Developing skills and taking on staff.
A window jam-packed full of blurred photography and hand-written signs isn’t how to get customers into your shop. Considered design, clear messaging and professional typographical layouts are required - and that’s what a dedicated web designer will provide you with. You want your potential customers to know what you do as quickly as possible it sparks that initial interest and leads to deeper exploration. A skilled web developer will also make sure everything behind the scenes works, and works well. Considerations for online draw parallels with reality - does your shop entrance have a steep staircase and a heavy door? Or do you have a ramp and automatic sliding doors? Is your type big enough for everyone to read? Can your sub menu pages even be accessed by touch screen devices? There’s a lot to consider - that’s where an experienced and qualified design and development team come in, who have solved these problems on numerous occasions and keep abreast of developments in solving them. Invest in your shop front, and inspire customers to invest in you. by Barry Holloway, Digital Designer
Oak Creative Advertising and Design Royal Oak Building, Hythe, Kent CT21 4JF The Growth Vouchers programme will run until March 2015. To apply for a voucher go to https://www.gov.uk/applygrowth-vouchers.
Tel: 01303 812848 www.oakcreative.net caroline@oakcreative.net
June-July 2014 ThinkingBUSINESS
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