Chamber Blog

What do Norfolk businesses want? Improved Infrastructure. When do we want it? Now! A follow on question could be – Do we have any chance of getting it? and the answer is Yes if we work together to ensure our voice isheard.

Norfolk’s economy is back on track and there are many companies who are really starting to feel the effect of an improved national economy.  Business is never easy and there is still a way to go for many companies as they start to look overseas for business opportunities; have the challenging task of recruiting the right new staff; and deal with the ever confusing political agendas, as we move towards May 2015.

What is clear, however, is that Norfolk has finally been recognised by Government as a region of growth potential. The issue with potential though, is that it is intangible until it is reached. The frustration for many Norfolk businesses is that it costs excessive time and resource to move goods and people around and carry out day to day business.

For years it has been jam tomorrow, but improvements are being made although sometimes not to plan.  I refer to the recent issue with Network Rail where the business community was badly affected by a design fault of the new train signalling system being installed at Ipswich causing widespread delays and cancellations.

As a business community we can either grumble down the pub or we can clearly and loudly articulate what we want and the difference it will make to our companies and the local economy. Sometimes it takes only a few moments of your time, like signing up to the Greater Eastern Rail Campaign to achieve a faster more reliable train service to London. Signing up will not guarantee that the Government will listen but not signing up will guarantee that it will be more difficult for the rest of us to achieve our objectives.

Roads continue to be an ongoing challenge for Norfolk business and although the current 40 mph on the A11 is frustrating, it’s opening in December will be more than just a faster journey time, it will show that Norfolk is firmly open for business. The A11 growth corridor provides exciting opportunities for our economy going forward.

Improvements to the A47 once a pipe dream are within reach and the Norfolk Chamber with its partners is working hard to ensure that key positive announcements will be made in the Government’s Autumn Statement. Improvements identified by the Task Force will open up areas for much needed development.

So what can the business community do to ensure that our wish list becomes a reality? Show your support when asked -the business voice is listened to by local and national government. Be visible about your successes -success leads to more success. Talk up your achievements through the Chamber website and the local media. Please do raise your profile so as not to be a ‘hidden gem’, and support Norfolk to achieve improved infrastructure and do better business. 

I’ve commented before in this column on the subject of technology, and how it’s changed the way in which we communicate.  In short, we can now send messages to each other faster than ever before. Distance is no object. Time is irrelevant. It’s a 24/7 world of constant communication. Which is fine, provided you have people to communicate with.

One thing the digital age hasn’t changed is that businesses need to connect with each other in order to trade. You need to know who is out there, if there is a realistic chance that they will buy from you and how best to meet and talk with them up to, during and after the sale.

How you do that has altered. The online media are now essential to connect with customers.

There’s a phrase in current business circles that’s rapidly becoming something of a mantra. ‘Content is king’ they say. It’s true that using the digital and social media to carry positive information about your company, and developments within your market, is a solid bedrock for your online strategy. But do you know if your audience is actually reading your blogs, or following you on Pinterest, or Google+. Can you be certain that they even look at, let alone appreciate, the content on your website? It’s the never changing conundrum of media and message. Except in today’s world you need to establish that you’re on the same digital platforms as your target audience.

Now, let’s assume, (and why not?) that your online strategy works. With an enhanced digital profile, positioned as a source of expert knowledge through generating high quality content and engaged with web savvy potential customers, you’re out there in the never sleeping world of cyber selling. Liked, favourited and re-tweeted your brand awareness has never been higher. That’s all great, provided you’ve put in place a plan to future proof your customer strategy. You need to have asked yourself if your business will be ready to cope with the growing number of customers looking to Twitter and Facebook for customer service.

Certainly at the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce we embrace the potential of digital marketing. In fact our ‘Click and Connect‘ event in Norwich on September 25th (full details on our website norfolkchamber.co.uk ) is aimed specifically at helping businesses use the online media to their best advantage. My point is that even as we hurtle through this current period of technological advancement, some things don’t change. Things like getting your message right; and finding the right media to get that message to the right audience. What has changed is the number and variety of media available, and the unprecedented voraciousness of audiences engaging with your communications and connecting with your brand all the time, across multiple platforms. Not having a strategy to manage that is commercial suicide.

Getting connected has never been easier. Are we making it work for us is the question. Having an online strategy is the answer.

Four years ago the Equality Act brought together various pieces of legislation, and provided for nine ‘protected characteristics’, namely pregnancy and maternity; marriage and civil partnership; sexual orientation; sex; religion or belief; race; gender reassignment; disability; and age.

It would be nice to think that legislation was, and is, unnecessary to tell us that everybody should be treated the same. But, although we’ve embraced ‘diversity’, there are still issues that have to be addressed.

When the Equality Act 2010 was in its infancy there was much advice dished out to employers. It was often defensive. Would newly empowered staff be instigating countless tribunals? ‘Claims may now be successful even when there is insufficient evidence to prove discrimination based on just one of the characteristics’ was a warning. ‘Pay secrecy’ was to be illegal; the staff could compare their salaries! Was this too much ‘power to the people’?

It all rather detracted from the aims of the Act which were to ensure that everybody was given an equal chance and not suffer discrimination.   

Four years on we’re more positive and see the benefits of equality and diversity. Employers with a diverse workforce have a wider talent pool to draw on. A mix of ages creates a team that blends youthful thinking with seasoned experience. A balance of genders creates a more informed workforce with male and female opinions represented. A diverse corporate culture has a positive effect on morale; people like working for an aware company.

And yet, even allowing for these business benefits, some are still ‘more equal than others’. I’m not proposing more legislation. What I am suggesting is that there is still a need for cultural change. Take child care, and care for the elderly, as examples. The cost of looking after working parents’ children is much discussed. But the concept of greater flexibility in working hours is something that could help parent, child and employer in a ‘win win’ outcome. An experienced person is available for work, the employer benefits from that, and family life is easier arranged.

With increasing longevity many people now have the care of elderly parents to consider. Are there valuably experienced workers out there who are, probably unintentionally, discriminated against because they need a bit more flexibility in the times they could start and finish work?  

The benefits of a more diverse workforce are particularly attractive to smaller businesses. A range of experience, a flexible workforce, the stimulation of ideas from a mix of backgrounds all contribute to a vibrant working atmosphere. Is there though a problem in the small business sector in that they suffer from a lack of known role models? It’s not universally true of course but when the media want examples of glass ceilings and class divides it seems they look no further than our big and established institutions. Many of them talk the talk, but visibly fail to walk the walk.  I would like to see our smaller businesses’ good practice more visible as an example to others. 

The fact that language constantly evolves is obviously related to how society itself changes and develops. If there is one word that typifies, and links, these two strands it has to be ‘sustainability’. Only a few years ago the verb ‘to sustain’ was seldom used other than to mean lengthening or extending something, such as a discussion, and in a particular application, a musical note.  Or, in another context we spoke of having ‘sustained’ an injury.

By 2005 The World Conference on Social Development had not only embraced the concept of what we now know as ‘Sustainability’, but it had gone further in setting down some goals for it. They included ‘economic development, social development and environmental protection’. These three overlapping, but not mutually exclusive, areas have emerged as key factors in defining the concept of Sustainable Development as ‘local and global efforts for basic human needs without destroying or degrading the natural environment’.

In retrospect it’s probably true to say that, for a period at least, these goals and definitions were perceived, by some, as rather esoteric. Right now they’re anything but. They’ve retained their integrity as a means to protect the planet’s resources for the coming generations, but they’ve gained the commercial reality of being the catalysts for emergent technologies that drive innovation, competition and cost savings.

To put the relationship between commerce and conservation into sharp focus consider the profound and provocative question posed by ecological economist Herman Daly  when he asked, “What use is a sawmill without a forest?”

The reality is that successful companies are already embracing low carbon innovation and sustainable strategies knowing that they will deliver on the bottom line, and that they will affect the world for the better.

The issue is constantly high on our agenda at The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce which is why we’re hosting our now annual conference on Sustainability at The John Innes Centre on June 12th. The line-up of speakers, from national companies, reflects not just the significance of the event, but also the importance, and benefits, of the sustainable economy to today’s business world.

Here in Norfolk we have leading companies who are actively engaged in sustainable development, and it’s working for them. They are big thinking organisations who realise that demonstrable transition to a sustainable economy will contribute to economic recovery, create employment, protect resources and help make the UK increasingly competitive on the global stage.

Even now, the concept is referred to at times as ‘The New Economy’. It does take time for big ideas to be adopted. The Agricultural, and subsequent Industrial Revolutions were once ‘the new way’. The emergence of the ‘Digital Age’ was inevitably labelled as the ‘new era’. The realisation that we now have another direction to take, because failing to do so will endanger what we now understand as less than finite resources, is of course a huge shift in thinking. But the really big bit of thinking comes with seeing that ‘sustainability’ is both an environmental essential and business benefit. It will extend the life of our planet; it will extend the life of our commerce. ‘Lengthening and extending’ – not far away from that original definition then. Nor that other usage, because without this thinking our world, and our business world, will sustain injury.

So, a word to the wise. And whilst I’m referring to definitions you’ll find that the meaning of that phrase is that ‘you only have to hint something to wise people to get them to understand it’. Sustainability. Enough said?

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)  latest economic forecast puts the UK in pole position amongst industrialised countries for growth in 2014 – a pretty significant feat, considering some of the dire warnings about the UKs relative performance just a year or two ago.

Yet their forecast also includes some important warnings, because the big structural problems we always hear about from businesses still aren’t sorted. Training and skills, a topic discussed so many times here in Norfolk. Infrastructure, which continues to creak, with a key meeting on the NDR next week needing business support being particularly topical. And critically, access to finance for growing businesses. I for one don’t believe that we can sustain business investment growth rates of 7-8% unless we see a revolution in this area over the next few years. We are certainly doing our part, by continuing our work with the BCC on a better Business Bank, a bond market for SMEs, more incentives for equity finance and by checking what businesses think about service from banks. That’s why this week, together with the FSB and the Treasury, BCC has launched the Business Banking Insight website. As their comment shows, it is all about boosting customer service, transparency, trust and competition in a sector whose behaviour is critical to the future prospects of growing firms.

Similarly, we are also urging the Bank of England to keep official interest rates low for as long as possible – and then raise them only gradually. This will help support business investment, and ensure that the rug is not pulled out from the wider economy by an overly hasty or large rate rise when monetary policy does start to change. Our bet is that this will now take place early in 2015, but in a world of increased political uncertainty there are no guarantees. We will be putting this point direct to the Bank of England when we meet with them next week together with a number of Norfolk Chamber members.

Speaking of uncertainty, the official Scotland referendum campaign gets underway today. From now until 18th September, it will dominate the media and political discourse. We know what firms think about the referendum’s impacts, but the people of Scotland will ultimately decide.

Between Scotland and the jockeying for the position of European Commission president in the wake of last week’s elections, you could describe it as an interesting time

Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line if the team can be of any assistance to our organisation on any topic cw@norfolkchamber.co.uk

Charities must be run as businesses in order to survive in today’s highly competitive commercial world. The good will of sponsors, donors and volunteers that kept them going in years gone by just isn’t enough today, and balance sheets, cash flows and business plans are as important to small charities as they are to big corporations.

I’ve gained a real insight into the pressures and challenges that charities face as chairman of the board of trustees at Great Yarmouth’s amazing Centre 81. You’ll have seen their fleet of mini buses buzzing about the town and will probably have bumped into members enjoying themselves at the bowling alley, theatre or pub.

Formed more than 30 years ago and based in Tar Works Road, Centre 81 has two principal functions. It provides a skills and activities centre for more than 70 members with disabilities that vary in severity and complexity. Although they can socialise at the centre and enjoy activities like painting, cooking and IT, many of them get out and about to go sailing, visit restaurants and hit the shops, transported by our fully-accessible minibuses.

Those vehicles also provide a door-to-door community transport service for more than 700 local people who are disabled, elderly or don’t have access to other forms of public transport. It’s a lifeline that allows them to get to the supermarket or doctor, and to enjoy social activities like visiting friends or going to the cinema.

It’s a great charity, and a pretty complex business. Income is generated from commissioning agencies, membership fees, fares, sponsorship, donations and legacies, while costs include staff salaries, buying and servicing vehicles, and maintaining a set of old and somewhat dilapidated buildings.

Like all good businesses, Centre 81 has a plan. And quite an ambitious plan at that.

It has outgrown its present site and is looking to move to a new location that will enable it to help a greater number of disabled people to get more out of life. We’re looking to not only expand the skills and activities centre but provide a whole new range of services for Great Yarmouth, including supported living accommodation for disabled people and fully-accessible holiday units for people with disabilities and their carers.

We are currently looking at all the options for developing Centre 81’s activities, including opportunities for relocating to a larger site and the funding that will help us create a landmark project that will not only enhance the lives of disabled people living in our borough but the entire community.

Providing fully-accessible facilities doesn’t just mean installing wider doors for wheelchairs. Centre 81’s aim is to develop a centre that can be used by everyone in the borough – other charities, community groups, able-bodied and people with disabilities. It will attract new members and, perhaps more importantly from the local economy’s point of view, it will create more full-time and part-time jobs.

It’s a big challenge, but businesses thrive on challenges. And so do charities like Centre 81.

It’s not often I feel a sense of satisfaction after a Budget speech, regardless of the party in power. A certain foreboding usually predominates, as I try to get to grips with the latest policy wheeze or unfounded giveaway.

But this time it was different. Budget 2014  was in many ways the best we could ask for, as it prioritised stability in the public finances and a relatively low-cost but confidence-boosting suite of pro-business policies. We do feel that this Budget passed the business test.

Crucially, though, it also passed the Chamber  test. On Wednesday our colleagures at British Chambers of Commerce(BCC) spoke with both ministers and officials who told them  that our Chamber submission had a direct impact on at least two of the Chancellor’s announcements. So we can take a certain amount of credit for a new £200m apprenticeships package, whose core is a £170m extension of the very scheme we asked to extend – Apprenticeships Grant for Employers. We can also cheer the extension of enhanced Annual Investment Allowances to December 2015, and their doubling next year to £500,000.

Neither of these measures alone will transform the British economy, but they help our Chamber members put the building blocks in place for their companies’ future success. The astounding and unexpected changes to pensions, too, may have similarly positive effects.

It was also greast that our work on getting the Bingo tax reduceud on behalf of one of our members which was taken up by our local MPs was successful. 

Big, structural difficulties still loom. No amount of positive GDP figures or spin from a Chancellor can disguise the fact that the deficit is still enormous, that further public spending cuts are needed, and that there are some fundamental problems – access to finance, skills, infrastructure – that will take decades to fix. That’s why the Chamber is taking the long view through the BCC Business Manifesto in to which Norfolk Chamber members will have considerable influence.

Please do feed in to me or the team what would help your business to grow that you wold to be included in the BCC Business Manifesto. 

The weather – and its effects on counties, towns and cities across England and Wales – has been  dominant this week.

In the weeks to come, and as the initial effects of the flooding begin to fade from the scene, the Norfolk Chamber will be advocating for:

• A fair deal from insurers – with swift compensation for affected businesses, and clarity on future cover and costs. The Association of British Insurers has set out customer commitments on flooding that we will be watching carefully.
• Help for affected companies – including proposals for zero-interest or low-cost loans to help companies rebuild or relocate
• Action on transport resilience – with short-term action to ensure roads and railways are open, and longer-term action to ensure networks can withstand future weather events
• Better coordination – with the police, local authorities, and key agencies listening to the needs of businesses and acting accordingly.

Ministers have also asked for our help to explain how government is helping businesses. At the request of Number 10, you can find out more about the government’s relief efforts here.

Thanks in part to our representations, the Prime Minister has already announced 100% business rate relief for affected businesses, and three months’ extra time to pay on VAT, PAYE, and Corporation Tax. It’s vital for companies to call HMRC’s hotline to set up these arrangements.

With luck, the severe weather that has affected us in recent weeks will soon pass. Yet we know that the recovery will take time, and will stay on the case. If you’d like to highlight specific issues tied to recent weather events, please do get in touch cw@norfolkchamber.co.uk.

‘Big Thinking’ is all about attitude. It’s the kind of thinking that makes small companies try big ideas. It’s about exchanging ideas, enabling smaller businesses to learn from big ones, and established companies to be inspired by the newer ones.

The concept is in tune with today’s digital age. Now the smallest of start-ups can interact with the biggest of audiences, and the largest of corporations can target the narrowest of niches. ‘Big Thinking’ is what drives a small business to use the new media to talk to the world and a big company to use the social media to talk to a single customer as an individual.

Big thinking businesses know that for all the power of the internet you don’t build a brand or bolster the bottom line by simply putting up a website to say ‘look at us’. They understand that people buy from people; they network face to face, learn from research and then say ‘this is why you should buy from us’. These are the people who never stop asking how, or why, or why not? They have the attitude that develops services and products that are right for now, and tomorrow.

And it’s very much about customer care. It starts well before the sale, with a vision that’s then honed into a strategy, but it doesn’t end there.  With the right attitude companies persist, with engagement, interactivity and service that retains customers and builds businesses.

It’s because businesses in West Norfolk are so committed to customer care that we’re particularly proud to be sponsoring that category in this year’s Mayor’s Awards.

We have outstanding businesses in West Norfolk and this concept, that spans the original vision through to after sales customer relations, is so right for them.

For the conference we’ve assembled a stellar line up of speakers who exemplify this dynamic concept. They’ll explain how it’s worked for them, and how it can work for Norfolk’s businesses.

This is a Business Conference with Attitude.

BIG THINKING, the Business Conference With Attitude 22nd November 2013, OPEN, Bank Plain, Norwich 9am – 1pm

BIG THINKING empowers businesses with vision. It’s the attitude that drives smaller businesses to try out huge ideas, their refusal to accept lack of precedent tempered only by acknowledging that lessons can be learned from bigger players. Embracing the techniques and methods of sizeable companies into newer and smaller operations is key to BIG THINKING.

Equally, large organisations can learn from ‘the new kids on the block’, who can be inspirational to BIG THINKING big companies. Big or small, new or established, BIG THINKERS never set the default position; they always press the switch marked ‘power on’.

BIG THINKING is a concept enmeshed with the digital age. Now the smallest of start-ups can interact with the biggest of audiences, and the largest of corporations can target the narrowest of niches.

It takes BIG THINKING for a small business to use the new media to talk to the world. It takes seriously BIG THINKING for a big company to use the social media to talk to a single customer as an individual.

Companies of all sizes who embrace BIG THINKING know the dangers of simply ‘thinking big’. They know that for all the power of the internet you don’t build a brand or bolster the bottom line by simply putting up a website to say ‘look at us’. BIG THINKERS know that people buy from people; they network face to face, learn from research and then say ‘this is why you should buy from us’.

BIG THINKERS are people who never stop asking how, or why, or why not? They have the attitude that develops services and products that are right for now, and tomorrow.

And it’s about customers. BIG THINKING starts well before the sale, with a vision that’s then honed into a strategy. But it doesn’t end with the sale, because BIG THINKERS persist, with engagement, interactivity and service that retains customers and builds businesses.

If there is an ideal place to launch BIG THINKING it’s Norfolk. Birthplace of legendary brands like Colman’s, Start-Rite, Barclays and Aviva, all of the county’s commercial sectors pulse with innovation and excellence. Its BIG THINKERS have never been afraid to import the best of people and knowledge, and they have exported the best of products and services, sometimes having to overcome a cynicism about this county that others do not have to endure.

It’s the attitude that says we’ll do better business if we dare to innovate and develop our strategies creatively. We’ll do business better if we exchange ideas and realise that small and new businesses can inspire big and established ones, whilst in turn start-ups and tiny companies can learn from the experience of corporations.

Our Conference will have a stellar line up of speakers who exemplify the concept of BIG THINKING. You’ll hear how it’s worked for them. You’ll see how it can work for Norfolk’s businesses This is a Business Conference with Attitude.

With not enough hours in the day, why should a business take the time and effort to increase their profile and engage locally, even if their main customer base is outside Norfolk?

There is much in the press about business confidence and how the lack of it can hinder the economy. I personally get a really positive feeling when I read about businesses that are recruiting, have a new contract or are involved in their local community.  I feel it is all our responsibility to realise the impact that good news stories have, not only on other businesses, but on our staff.  The more visible we can individually be the better for our local economy.

There is no doubt that is does take resource to celebrate success but the positive impact on your business will make it worthwhile.  Potential customers will become aware of you, current customers will feel smug that they are dealing with you, it will be easier to recruit new staff and your existing staff will love it!

There are many ways of achieving impact. Entering awards it one method which can seem pretentious but by looking at what your business has achieved, will both identify gaps, as well as help you celebrate success.  Although there can only be one winner the whole exercise can be very beneficial to the business.  You will only have to read the EDP Business Award 2013 shortlist supplement to appreciate the profile these businesses will have achieved from entering. 

At our B2B Exhibition on 17 October you can hear from 12 local ‘big thinking’ businesses who by being willing to share their stories, will increase their own profile.

Adding your good news stories or blogs to not only your own website but to third party websites and publications is also a great way to help increase your profile and make us all feed more positive. The EDP is always looking for good business stories for their publications and EDP24 website.  As is the Norfolk Chamber, good news stories added to our website are tweeted out to our 3000+ twitter followers and the best are include in our bi-monthly magazine.

Finally, get involved in your local community.  Your local school, charity and community all need your business help and expertise.  By getting involved you will not only increase your visibility but will be making a real difference to someone’s life.  It is also a great way to develop your staff and make them feel positive about your company at the same time. Norwich for Jobs for instance is a campaign to help halve Norwich’s youth unemployment.  Pledging your support, which does not commit you to anything further, strengthens the whole campaign and identifies you as a business that cares about young people.  It is not enough just to care, to really make a difference you need to be seen to care.

We all have a responsibility to make ourselves more visible. Confidence really does mean better business.

Here’s an interesting quote from a man who knows a thing or two about marketing in the internet age. Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, said, ‘We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people’.

It’s obvious of course, and the vast majority of us now shop online, search for information there and connect with family and friends through the social media. At work we readily embrace the digital age, sending e mails every day, visiting websites and using computers, tablets and smart phones as simply tools of the trade.

But how often do we take a step back and ask ourselves if we’re really using the technology to do better business? In reality, and despite their sophistication, the digital and online opportunities that we have are media. No business would use what we now call the traditional media of press, radio and TV without a strategy. Identifying the audience you want to reach, getting the message right and requiring measurable results are prerequisites for planning.

It’s not that you have to become a geek, with the technical skills to write computer code, any more than you needed to be a skilled printer to place a press advertisement. It’s about knowing how to use the digital media to generate sales.

Do you for instance actively enhance your profile by planned on line activity? Do you target your e mail campaigns to ensure maximum returns? Is your company growing its database of contacts?

Aside from e mails and interaction with your website, the social media are now a vital element in the business marketing mix. By identifying the appropriate networks and using them strategically organisations can build brand awareness and create a dialogue with customers. 

Brand building doesn’t happen by accident however. SEO, the Search Engine Optimisation that ensures more people find you when they’re looking for your kind of products and services, is a critical part of a serious online strategy.

Most of us, at home and at work, are increasingly ‘savvy’ when it comes to the internet. But even now we’re capable of taking it for granted. When it comes to business we need to make sure that we’re using it to our advantage. To make them work for you requires a certain level of technical knowledge of course, but more importantly it needs an understanding of who your customers are, and how you can best interact with them. What are the words that will make them open your e mails? Are they part of the hugely significant 50% of online network users who subsequently took off line action? In other words, because they met you in a virtual place they then went to a real place to buy your product. The Chamber’s be better@online event taking place next week will answer many of my questions; I suggest you use it to help answer yours.

As Bill Schrader said, ‘Almost overnight the internet’s gone from a technical wonder to a business must’.