business matters

The marketing landscape is ever-changing, it’s crucial from a business perspective to keep on top of the latest additions to social media platforms and the current in-thing, but with new updates and predictions coming out on an almost weekly basis, how do you ensure you don’t get left behind? Full-service marketing agency, Creative Pod tells us the top marketing trends essential for your business in 2022.‍

Senior Marketing Executive, Creative Pod

LinkedIn has become a platform for more than just job ads, with business owners posting more about what their company does than ever before. It’s a known sales fact that people buy from people. People buy from those who seem personable, have character, and are ‘social’ on social media. Getting your employees to become your business advocates, by posting their professional content, particularly on LinkedIn, is a great way to stand out from the crowd. It’s not proven, but in many cases, algorithms seem to favour posts from personal profiles over business profiles, encouraging companies to stand out from the noise by buying ads instead. Asking employees to post is free and practical, not to mention that personal branding is very on-trend, right now.

In 2021 the most used email marketing tactic was message personalisation. Valuing your customer in e-shots and segmenting your audience into categories based on their values seems to be a key trend from 2021 and is something we predict will continue. Google’s latest report also echoes this idea of personalisation, adding that “you need to understand the many identities that matter to people in your market and get hyper-local with your efforts”.

Companies are constantly trying to grab their customer’s attention - so if you want to be seen, make sure you’re quick! Webpage loading times are a primary factor not only for your SEO but may also increase your bounce rate if they’re not fast enough. People get bored of waiting for your page to load and click off it before the content you’ve worked so hard on has even appeared. At Creative Pod, we say anything more than a threesecond load time is too long! So aim for three seconds or less, or you will lose your audience!

Over the past few years, probably unknowing, you were more than likely convinced to make a purchase after watching a video. It’s also a pretty good assumption to make that you or most people you know have watched explainer videos to learn more about a product or service. In addition to the ROI, many social media platforms’ algorithms favour video content over static images. So, if you’re not already utilising video on your webpage, at events, or as part of your social strategy, it’s time to think about it! Of course, not any old video would do, and if you don’t have the capabilities, we highly recommend hiring somebody who does. If you’re camerashy, animations work just as well!

Brands and consumers alike seem to be talking about sustainability more and more. With COP26, Greta Thunberg’s influence, foodbank demands, and the documentary Seaspiracy released this year; customers are more interested than ever on this topic. They want to know where your products came from, what you’re doing to reduce your carbon footprint, and they’re taking more care over the brands with which they associate themselves. 2022 is the year to think about reporting on your own environmental impact, or think about the suppliers that you use, to target the environmentally-friendly subsection of your audience.

Marketing Manager, Vent-Axia

Vent-Axia, has donated ventilation to local charity, Giving Back Crawley, as part of the refurbishment of its new base. A small charity that serves the local homeless community, Giving Back Crawley found a permanent place to operate from, including preparing and cooking hot meals, but the building needed a complete refurbishment following water damage. Vent-Axia supported this great cause with ventilation to help make the place a suitable home for the charity.

Vent-Axia was more than happy to help Giving Back Crawley. One of the company’s members of staff Linda Dawson regularly volunteers at the charity so was able to give a first-hand account of all the good work the charity does with helping the homeless in Crawley. Cooking and delivering over 100,000 meals in the last 18 months to those who need them most and is entirely run by volunteers. As well as serving their guests free meals, the charity provides the essential items they need to get by such as clothing, bedding and wellbeing items.

“We would like to thank Vent-Axia for donating the ventilation for our building. The building needed a complete refurbishment following water damage and so we are very grateful to all the companies in our community that have rallied together to help us so that we can cook for the homeless community in Crawley,” said Joe Dines, chairperson at Giving Back Crawley.

“We are delighted to be able help this fantastic local charity create a permanent base from which to provide hot meals and a variety of support to the local people who need their help”, said Lena Hebestreit, Marketing Manager at Vent-Axia. “We’ve supplied a range of ventilation units that have been installed throughout the building to combat condensation and mould and help ensure good indoor air quality. Not only will this help protect the building itself, it will also ensure both the volunteers and their guests are benefitting from a healthy indoor environment.”

Giving Back Crawley has been receiving donations and help from across the local construction community so that the charity can provide its very necessary services to the homeless in Crawley. To find out more about the charity visit: givingbackcrawley.org

Many of our members offer great benefits for fellow members of the chamber.‍ If you are a member and haven’t yet made a Member to Member (M2M) offer, why not login to our website portal and create your own!

There are currently 62 M2M offers on our website. They cover a very wide variety of services and products with free consultations, discounts on services, other giveaways and some truly surprising offers that can also benefit your staff.

Remember to keep your M2M offers up to date, especially if they are limited by date! We’re showing summaries of these offers here but for full details visit our website:

All members will receive a 10% discount on our standard rates for all Same day deliveries.

In your consultation we can talk through your current accounting arrangements and see how Blackman Terry can help to save you and your business money. We can answer any specific accounting questions or concerns you may have.

Merceric Ltd is currently offering potential new clients a free 45-minute Executive Coaching taster session. This will help you to find out the benefits, as well as how I approach Executive Coaching, especially if it is unfamiliar to you. Ian Mercer, Executive Coach, Merceric Ltd

Paul Scrivens has been promoted to the position of Chief Executive of The LoveLocalJobs Foundation C.‍I.‍C beginning a role that will see him support the Chairman and the Board of Trustees in delivering the Foundation’s day-to-day business plan and strategy.‍

Chief Executive, LoveLocalJobs Foundation C.‍I.‍C

The promotion comes as recognition of the outstanding commitment, resilience and professionalism Paul has shown during his 4 years with LoveLocalJobs. In that time, he has taken the organisation from strength-tostrength, in particular, doing a phenomenal job during an incredibly difficult last 24 months for businesses.

The new role will see Paul continue to lead the Foundation’s award-winning team, who are committed to delivering creative, inspiring, and much needed programmes to students with the aim of raising their aspirations and reaching their full potential.

“I’m truly honoured to take on the role of Chief Executive at The LoveLocalJobs Foundation C.I.C”, said Paul. “I feel incredibly grateful to be guiding such a wonderful organisation and team of people into the next phase of our development as we begin the process of registering as a charity.”

Paul’s promotion comes at an incredibly important stage in The LoveLocalJobs Foundation C.I.C’s development. With the Foundation working towards becoming a charity, his experience and leadership skills will be instrumental in raising the Foundation’s profile, developing its fundraising capabilities, and ensuring its vision, mission, and values remain at the core of everything it does.

In 2021 alone, the Foundation has delivered 33 programmes to almost 5,000 students across Sussex. The delivery of the programmes in 2021 was made possible through the support of over 140 mentors from a number of incredible local businesses, who all helped inspire and guide the next generation at a pivotal stage in their lives.

Think ‘transformation’ and any number of ‘now it’s time for the big reveal’ T.‍V.‍ shows might spring to mind but what does it mean for business and the UK economy?

The Government of the day talks of transforming the UK to a ‘high skill, high wage economy’ to generate new value and unlock new opportunities. Fundamentally that is what business transformation is about, often driven by necessity in shifting and challenging markets where incremental change is not enough.

The pandemic with enforced working from home has driven the transformation of many business processes and in some cases mindsets (with people trusted to be diligent and productive even when they are not micro-managed!).

Effective transformation aims to position a business so that it can survive then thrive, whatever uncertainties the future may hold. The speed of digital innovation and migration, the adoption of mobile technologies is but one example.

Away from consultant speak, in the real world of business any change, be it incremental or transformational, should be focussed on making lasting improvements to any or all of systems and processes, people capabilities and culture, marketing and sales customer service and ultimately cashflow and profits.

Across the Chamber network our members will be at various stages of transformation with stories and experiences good and bad. As we get back to face to face events and networking, please make the most of the opportunities to draw on the knowledge and experience of others to the benefit of your business and the Sussex economy.

Chairman Sussex Chamber of Commerce

The Brighton Main Line will shut for nine consecutive days later this month for a major £15 million upgrade that will tackle delays for Southern and Thameslink passengers.‍

The railway between Three Bridges, Brighton and Lewes will close from Saturday 19 to Sunday 27 February 2022, as engineers work round the clock to rebuild a crucial junction, lay brand new track and shore up embankments to reduce the risk of landslips.

The upgrade also means the lines between Three Bridges and Brighton/Lewes will be closed on the weekends of 12/13 February, 5/6 March and 3 April for preparation and follow up works.

Katie Frost, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “The Brighton Main Line is one of the UK’s busiest routes and the rail infrastructure is among the oldest and most intensively used. These works are absolutely vital to improving performance so we can give passengers a more reliable train service.

“Doing the work in a longer 9-day closure means we can get more work done, more quickly, avoiding 20 separate weekend, evening and bank holiday closures which would be even more disruptive to passengers, the people who live by the railway and the wider economy.

“We are working hand-in-hand with our colleagues at Govia Thameslink Railway to make sure people who do need to travel when the line is closed can still go where they need to.”

In a snapshot passenger survey late last year, more than three quarters were aware of the closure and 48% will change their travel plans.

Southern and Thameslink will operate alternative train and bus services, but many journeys will take considerably longer than normal.

No trains will run between Three Bridges and Brighton or Lewes. Main line services will start and terminate at Three Bridges, where there’ll be a major temporary bus hub, served by up to 54 replacement buses per hour at peak times, running on routes across the closed sections of line. Two trains per hour will run between London Victoria and Brighton via Gatwick Airport, Horsham and Littlehampton, offering an easier and more comfortable journey than using a replacement bus.

Chris Fowler, Southern’s Customer Services Director, said: “We’ve been working closely with Network Rail to make sure our customers can get where they need to be while these vital infrastructure improvements are carried out. The train and bus services we’ll be running are all now in the National Rail journey planner so please plan your journey now, and re-check closer to the time, as we might need to make further changes because of Covid.

“People can take a train confidently, knowing that Southern and Thameslink trains and stations are treated every day with a viricide that kills coronavirus for weeks at a time.”

Engineers will use 8,000 tonnes of ballast – the stones beneath the track – as they rebuild Copyhold Junction near Haywards Heath, a crucial intersection for Ardingly Stone yard where aggregate for the construction industry is carried by train, removing hundreds of lorries from local roads.

During the closure, engineers will replace more than 1,500 metres of track in renewals at Copyhold Junction, Burgess Hill, Preston Park and in the 1841-built Clayton Tunnel.

They will also renew eight sets of points – the mechanical kit that moves switches and crossings for trains to change tracks.

The closure will also see the construction of a new underpass at Hassocks, to replace Woodside level crossing which was closed recently after a spate of safety incidents, including near misses and children playing chicken with trains.

Building the underpass in a 9-day block – instead of 40 nights of noisy work –will cause less disruption to residents who live by the railway and deliver the benefits to the community much sooner.

The work is all part of the wider Sussex Upgrades programme, which is investing more than £750 million from 2019 to 2024 to improve the railway for passengers.

2022 looks set to be a bumper year for Hastings-based cable management manufacturer Marshall-Tufflex.‍ Having already kicked off the year with the appointment of Jon Chamberlain as Managing Director (Designate) following Paul Mitchell’s phased retirement, the company is also celebrating its 80th Birthday.‍ Here Jon Chamberlain shares what’s in store for 2022 and outlines its position as a local employer.‍

Managing Director, Marshall-Tufflex

At Marshall-Tufflex, we deliver high-quality cable management solutions, focusing on providing products that are robust and fit for purpose to a range of sectors. We have pioneered plastic extrusion in the UK and led the way in areas of product research, development and innovation.

As a company, we have a very positive outlook for the year ahead and we are excited to be celebrating our 80th birthday, a fantastic milestone and achievement. While we are still a family-owned business, a lot has changed since we were founded in London in 1942: Our operations have grown and we have expanded our locations to include warehouses in Watford and Manchester as well as making Hastings the home for our head office and manufacturing facility.

A big part of our operation is our commitment to using recycled PVC-U in our cable management products. Recent figures indicate the construction industry creates 120 million tonnes of waste – of which it’s estimated that 25 million tonnes end up in landfill sites. With landfill sites in short supply (not to mention their negative impact on the environment), there’s enormous pressure on the industry to reduce, reuse and recycle.

That’s why we are passionate about producing products with the greatest level of recycled content possible. In fact, over 25 years ago, we changed our manufacturing processes to incorporate recycled material originating from waste PVC-U windows into our products. Since then, we have continued to invest in research and development to refine this process to improve the percentage of recycled content we use. As part of our 80th Birthday celebrations, it is our ambition to achieve an average usage of 80% recycled material across our PVC-U trunking and conduit systems, equating to thousands of tonnes of material from going to landfill. We also encourage our competitors and the industry to consider their own impact, and it is our vision that by 2028, all cable management products installed in buildings are manufactured using at least 50% recycled materials.

This year, we expect business growth to continue, and we have an exciting pipeline of products and innovations ahead. In turn, our workforce will continue to expand with more employment opportunities for the local area. As part of this, we are focused on encouraging more people to join the industry, particularly the younger generation. The skills gap in the construction sector as a whole is an issue that we must all address and MarshallTufflex has introduced several programmes to help build the knowledge and skillset of the younger generation. Through our apprenticeship scheme that is provided in association with training provider SIGTA, we support our apprentices through relevant NVQ Level 3 Advanced Modern Apprenticeships. In November our newest apprentice joined us as part of this program as an Apprentice Maintenance Engineer.

Philanthropy is a large aspect of our culture and supporting the local community is important to us. We are very proud to support local and national charities through regular company donations and last year donated £42,000. Some of the charities benefitting from donations in 2021 were The East Sussex Health Charity, Rotary Club International, Demelza Children’s Hospice, St Michael’s Hospice, Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Alzheimer’s Society. In October we sponsored the East Sussex Big Thank You Awards to celebrate the local heroes who had worked hard through the pandemic to make a difference with exceptional acts of goodwill, courage and care. We were delighted to present the NHS Hero at the event which was deservedly won by the Conquest Hospital’s Baird Ward.

With our fantastic workforce in place and the support of our loyal customers, we look forward to the next chapter and our 80th Year.

Mark Flowers (2005 – 2006), Chris Rolf (1989 – 1990),

Gerri Ori (2009 – 2011 and 2013 – 2015), Stefano Diella (2008 – 2009),

Lynette Kemp (2006 – 2008), Clare Davis (Current President), Rob Blackman (2011 – 2013),

Brian Money (1975 – 1976) Regrettably, Brian has died since this event took place..

Dave Argent (2004 – 2005) and Alasdair Fortune (2015 – 2017)

The official commemoration was launched with a gathering of Past Presidents on Friday 8 November 2019 to obtain a souvenir photograph of as many past Presidents as possible, to be used in the programme given to all guests attending a prestigious formal dinner on 20 June 2020 at Deans Place, Alfriston, East Sussex. The dinner for 120 people included a celebrity speaker and dancing into the small hours. But even as the tickets were being sold, we suddenly went into lockdown in March 2020 – 10 weeks before the event!

However, at least the many past Presidents enjoyed a celebration lunch in recognition of their time and effort given voluntarily to help and support the business community in Seaford since 1955. Most of them had their own enterprises to run – but were keen to ensure that the voice of business was heard when controversial issues affecting local traders were raised. The continued success of Seaford’s town centre is in no small part thanks to their efforts and the current management team of the Chamber was keen to recognise the important part they played. The fact that most of the past Presidents still reside in Seaford is testament to the excellent quality of life enjoyed by residents here!

The 65th anniversary came and went without being celebrated – so the Chamber committee is now looking to 2025 for an even bigger event to mark 70 years!

Secretary, Seaford Chamber of Commerce

Social Media can be overwhelming - particularly if you are just getting started. We offer Sussex Chamber members the opportunity to book a call with us to have a chat about your online marketing objectives. We can use this time to give you some pointers on what you might need to make a successful impact on social media. To book simply email info@ditzymedia.com

If you are looking for a new Contract Electronics Manufacturer, whether you are at first build or have an established product, then we would love to talk to you. We work with customers of all sizes, across many industries, with a focus on design for manufacture to delivering quality products. For any Sussex Enterprise member, we would like to offer you free tooling and stencils (part of the manufacturing set up costs) on your first order (subject to conditions).

First Recruitment Services have kicked off the new year in style with a re-brand we’ve also launched our new website! To celebrate with our fellow Sussex chamber members, we are offering a discount of 20% off our standard fees until the end of April 2022. This offer is in relation to permanent vacancies only and please quote FRS20 when claiming your discount….