We have just launched our new ecommerce website design and build service to help companies take advantage of the massive growth in online shopping. The new platform allows bespoke design and has a very long shopping list of ecommerce features to allow our clients to have highly effective and usable shopping sites.
Bigfork can also provide digital marketing services to help increase profitable traffic to your online shop through SEO, email marketing, social media and PPC campaigns.
To see the new platform in action take a look round at our snappy demo site at www.krocodile-photo.co.uk
You can also download our ecommerce pack below which has full details. To see more examples check out our ecommerce portfolio.
Bigfork are a digital marketing agency that gets results.
The May 2012 survey was emailed to the over 500 contacts. The response rate for the survey was five percent.
Summary of results There was a broad cross-section of industry sectors who responded to the survey including engineering, retail and marine services.
In the past six months, half of the respondents have experienced an increase in orders, compared to 23 percent that had seen a reduction in the number of orders received. Forty-six percent of respondents saw an increase in their costs, compared to nine percent who saw a reduction. Nine percent of respondents experienced an increase in that staff numbers compared to 18 percent who saw a reduction in staff levels.
Over the next year, 43 percent of respondents are planning investments with just under a thirty percent are expecting to increase staff levels. However, 43 percent are delaying their investment plans, which is due to insufficient demand (63 percent) and a lack of available finance (31 percent).
Forty seven percent of respondents would like general business advice events, whilst 21 percent of respondents said that they would like general business training, skills development and customer retention advice.
Three members of the firm’s Franchising Team (Jonathan Chadd, Ed Savory and Vicki Mitman) recently attended the British Franchise Association’s (BFA) Annual Conference in Telford.
The Conference comprised as follows:
•keynote speech from the UK Trade & Industry on the services which are available to UK businesses looking to expand into foreign jurisdictions
•update from the BFA on it’s the progress of “One Vision” with the introduction of franchisee membership so that the BFA will become truly representative of the entire franchising industry in the UK
•retirement of Sir Bernard Ingham as President of the BFA
•keynote speech from Sarah Walker (freelance writer journalist) on engaging with the media
There were also three sets of concurrent seminars lead by BFA franchisors and professional adviser members (known as Affiliates) on the following topics:
•Session 1: Advanced Franchising – Exit planning for franchisors; Franchising Essentials – Building the right support structure; Legal & Ethics – Making sure your agreements are up to date; and Sales & Marketing – The dangers & pitfalls of social media
•Session 2: Advanced Franchising – How to use successful profiling in franchise recruitment; Franchising Essentials – Avoiding franchisee first year failures; Legal & Ethics – Managing franchisee disputes; and Sales & Marketing – Local franchisee marketing
•Session 3: Advanced Franchising – Managing franchisees out of the comfort zone; Franchising Essentials – Ongoing training and levels of support; Legal & Ethics – Advising on the Ethics of Franchising; and Sales & Marketing – Online marketing
The highlight was undoubtedly on the evening of Thursday 21 June which saw a glittering awards ceremony for the 2012 bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Awards, supported by Express Newspapers. The winners were as follows:
bfa HSBC Franchisor of the Year Award
•Gold – Autosmart
•Silver – Home Instead Senior Care
•Bronze – Driver Hire
•Other finalists – McDonalds and Tax Assist Accountants
HSBC Franchisee Support Award
•Winner – Auditel
•Other finalists – Countrywide Signs; Jaspers; Maid2Clean and O2
Express Newspapers Brand Builder Award
•Winner – Cafe2U •Other finalists – Mac Tools; Envirovent and Wiltshire Farm Foods
Leathes Prior was proud to support clients nominated for awards and sends its warmest congratulations to all of this year’s finalists. To find out more about the 2012 awards winners click on: www.thebfa.org/news/bfa-news/uks-top-franchisors-revealed
25 June 2012 – Intellectual Property consultancy Novagraaf UK has further expanded its growing patent team with the hire of IP specialist Dr Oliver Harris. Dr Harris will be providing patent services to businesses in South East England, from Novagraaf’s Norwich office.
Dr Harris is a qualified UK and European Patent Attorney with extensive experience of patent drafting and prosecuting patent applications on a worldwide basis. He handles a range of subject matter, but specialises in the Life Sciences, particularly pharmaceuticals and biotechnology (including molecular biology, genomics, microbiology, plant science, agrochemicals and immunology). Dr Harris obtained a Masters Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Cell Biology at UCL/Cancer Research UK under the supervision of Nobel Laureate, Sir Paul Nurse. Following a year in the medical research analysis and brand monitoring sectors, he trained as a patent attorney at a London-based IP firm, working in its biotech team before relocating to his hometown of Norwich. In his career to date, Dr Harris has worked for clients ranging from individual inventors through to multinational pharmaceutical companies, including universities and public sector research and healthcare institutions. At Novagraaf, Dr Harris will be advising clients in the Life Sciences industry with a particular focus on start-ups, technology transfer offices and spin-out ventures.
Dr Harris said: “Eastern England and the Home Counties have a vibrant Life Sciences sector with many new start-up companies joining established businesses at the growing number of science parks in the region. Patents play a crucial role in this sector, but with budgets often tight, many small- and medium-sized companies need expert assistance if they are to capture their valuable IP rights. I’m looking forward to working with Novagraaf’s established Life Sciences patent team to help these businesses recognise, protect and exploit their assets.” Dr Tracey Cooke, Managing Director, Patents at Novagraaf UK, added: “Dr Harris’s appointment will further strengthen the Life Sciences expertise of Novagraaf’s patent team, enabling us to meet the needs of the growing pharmaceutical and biotech sector in Eastern England.
“The region’s science parks are an incredibly vibrant concentration of world leading scientific and research organisations,” added Dr Cooke, “These organisations need an equally vibrant, pro-active and expert IP partner, if they are to obtain the maximum protection and value for their important scientific advancements. By continuing to strengthen and grow our patent team, we are able to ensure the right expertise to meet their needs.”
About Novagraaf Novagraaf is an international patent and trademark consultancy that advises clients on Intellectual Property (IP) strategy and management. Our expertise and day-to-day work includes advising on new ideas or new discoveries and inventions, and on strong brands, new brands or innovative new products. Whether trademarks, patents, domain names or designs, Novagraaf specialises in the protection and global management of IP rights, including identifying abuse and acting decisively if and when infringements take place.
With over 400 IP professionals across 13 offices, Novagraaf provides all kinds of core IP services and consults on strategic issues every day. From our offices in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK, among others, we work for innovative start-ups, for organisations operating at a regional or national level, and for multinationals with a global portfolio of strong brands and innovative inventions. For more information, visit our website www.novagraaf.co.uk.
-ends-
For further information To arrange an interview, or to request images or any other information, please contact: Emma Wilson Novagraaf UK T: +44 (0)20 7469 0957 E: emma.wilson@novagraaf.com
NORWICH, Tuesday 19th June 2012 – Norwich International Fire Fighters Sky Dive for Local Charity
Always keen to help a worth cause, Norwich International Airport’s blue watch Fire Fighters, Karl Appleton and Mark Matless will be jumping from an aircraft 13,000ft high at speeds of 120mph and descending 5000ft back to land in just 40 seconds for their sky dive to raise vital funds for one of the airport’s chosen charities this year, the East Anglian Air Ambulance on 28th September 2012.
The East Anglian Air Ambulance now operates two fully medically equipped helicopters (Anglia One and Anglia Two) serving the people of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Between the two helicopters they provide a life saving resource reaching patients quickly and if required, transporting them to the most suitable hospital (rather than the nearest) within minutes.
Karl Appleton said “We work closely with the Air Ambulance team at the airport and see what an invaluable service they provide to the wider communities across the four counties. Hopefully we won’t need them on the day! We couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate cause in the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Norwich International Airport, said: “Norwich International Airport is proud to support this local charity. Our firemen do a fantastic job of ensuring fire safety at the airport and have stepped up yet again to help raise money for this worthy cause” The East Anglian Air Ambulance relies entirely on independent fundraising and contributions from local businesses and on-going public support is essential to enable this vital service to continue in the region. To sponsor Karl and Mark go to www.justgiving.com/NIAfirefighterskydive
90% of franchisees succeed – banks are keen to invest in franchisees because they follow a proven successful system. Franchising is close to “copper bottomed” and as with any new business it requires tenacity, determination and energy. 4myschools is seeking a franchisee in Norwich to expand our service to local schools and teachers.
We are looking for people who are great at building relationships, understand customer service and are determined. This is a full time role that requires a relatively small initial financial investment. We provide all the support required to enable you to earn in excess of £70,000pa. in your third year.
4myschools is a social enterprise; our focus is on helping schools, teachers and children to succeed. We return the majority of our profit to benefit the community. If you feel this mission is worthy then we would like to hear from you.
Our two most recent web design and build projects have had a strong “green” flavour which we are very pleased about. The two clients are the Norfolk Climate Change Task Force and Abel Energy. Both sites are promoting a greener, low carbon lifestyle with great products and smart advice. You can see the full case study on our website here.
Norwich, Tuesday 12 June 2012 – Norwich International Airport – Planning Application for Engine Testing A new planning application has been submitted for an Engine Test Facility at Norwich International Airport.
The application, submitted by the Airport Authority, identifies a site for the construction of the facility on the north eastern sector of the airfield. This site was identified through an extensive evaluation of all possible options, taking account of a range of factors including the impact of noise and emissions on those living near to the airport, as well as land availability and other operational constraints. The application seeks permission to construct a state of the art Ground Run Enclosure (GRE) which has been developed and refined in conjunction with key stakeholders including the airport, KLM UK Engineering, noise and environmental impact specialists and the local community. This facility will enable engine testing to continue at Norwich International, thereby securing the 341 full time and up to 100 contract jobs provided by KLM UK Engineering. It would also safeguard a significant number of indirect jobs within the local supply chain. The maintenance, repair and overhaul services provided by KLM UK Engineering to both domestic and international airlines has operated under a number of guises at Norwich International for over 35 years, during which time they have carried out the testing of aircraft engines as an integral part of a complete maintenance and overhaul package.
Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Norwich International Airport said: “This application is the culmination of an enormous amount of work to identify the optimum location and technology to enable engine testing to continue to take place, whilst minimising as far as possible the impact of the activity itself on the surrounding community. The ability to test engines is critical to KLM UK Engineering’s business at the Airport and we hope this new facility will provide the solution to many years of uncertainty.
Freebridge Community Housing is holding its first Week of Wellbeing to support the wellbeing of its employees.
From 18th – 22nd June, a series of events and activities will take place focusing on how individuals can improve their Career; Physical; Mental; Social; Economic, and Community Wellbeing.
The week is part of the housing organisation’s bespoke and targeted approach to wellbeing which aims to meet the needs of employees and the business, and maximise available resources.
During the week, employees will be able to access coaching sessions provided by fully trained coaches. Health checks will also be on offer and smoking cessation and drink aware packs will be available.
The Freebridge stress management toolkit will be launched and employees will be able to try out relaxation techniques. And ‘Manage your Money’ advice sessions will be held where employees can gain an insight into how to make better use of their money.
Tony Hall, Chief Executive said: “We are committed to supporting the wellbeing of our employees. We recognise the importance of having a happy, healthy and engaged workforce for the long-term satisfaction of our employees and the continued success of the business.
“The Week of Wellbeing provides us with an opportunity to stop and think about ourselves and consider ways to improve where we want to. We have a long-term commitment to employee wellbeing and will ensure that we support this on an ongoing basis through a dedicated action plan.
“Our targeted approach demonstrates that smaller companies such as ours can make a real investment in this without huge financial expenditure. We understand that good employee wellbeing has genuine and tangible business benefits. Our focus has been on developing a programme that is right for our employees, using the existing networks and resources we have access to.”
Freebridge’s employee programme complements customer wellbeing initiatives such as Mind Mental Health First Aid training and Do Something Different behavioural influencing training.
Freebridge Community Housing, which operates in West Norfolk, employs around 180 employees across a range of business functions.
Anyone who is interested in finding out more about Freebridge’s approach and sharing wellbeing resources should contact Michelle Playford on 01553 667738.
Ingeus in King’s Lynn has worked its magic at local care home, Courtenay House, by not only providing a talented activities coordinator to help keep the home’s 42 elderly residents entertained, but by also conjuring up a mobile magician to perform shows there.
The care home, based in Tittleshall near Fakenham, turned to local Work Programme provider Ingeus having struggled to recruit suitable staff in the past. Ingeus, which works with employers to support unemployed people back into work across the East of England, quickly recommended Sam Bunting from Great Ryburgh for the activities coordinator vacancy. Having worked with Sam to develop a new CV, Paul Hunt from Ingeus’ Employer Services team recognised that her organisational skills as a lone parent and her voluntary work hosting reading groups and organising trips at her son’s school would perfectly qualify her for the job.
After two years out of work, Sam, 35, now loves spending her working day organising quizzes, games, trips and other social activities for the Courtenay residents. She is also busy planning an awareness event with local partners for National Falls Week in mid-June and couldn’t be happier.
“Every day is different and I love chatting with the residents, we have a real giggle,” said Sam.
“I’m delighted to be off benefits and back in work after getting nowhere trying on my own. Ingeus kept me motivated throughout my job search, found this vacancy and encouraged me to apply. My family commitments have made it difficult to find suitable work in the past but I can happily manage both here.”
In addition to Sam, Ingeus is also supporting Heacham magician Paul Williamson, also known as Magical Paul, in his quest to find work. Paul, 36, turned a childhood love of magic into a profession and spent many years working abroad and on cruise ships as an entertainer. Returning home in 2009, Paul was unsuccessful in finding work and was referred to Ingeus by Jobcentre Plus at the end of 2011.
Ingeus provides a broad range of job-seeking support to unemployed people, including the option to be self-employed. With Ingeus’ help, Paul is building a business plan, sourcing funding and actively targeting local care homes with details of his act. He is a regular performer at Courtenay House where he clearly has the residents under his spell.
“We love Paul’s shows and we wish him all the best in building up his business,” said home manager, Sharon Hipper. “The residents love both him and Sam.
“It is important to provide stimulating and interesting activities for our residents and Sam’s come up with some great new ideas. She’s settling in brilliantly.
“We’ve struggled to recruit the right people in the past, many applicants not understanding the nature of the work or the practicalities of working in a rural location.
“Ingeus only put forward qualified, motivated people who were well briefed on the role. Advertising and spending time processing applications can be expensive and time consuming, whereas Ingeus’ services are fee-free and hassle free.
“We have some more vacancies for staff coming up and I will certainly be calling on Ingeus to work its magic again.”
Visit www.ingeus.co.uk/employers or contact Paul Hunt atIngeus King’s Lynnon 01553 668880 for further information and the range of free recruitment services provided to employers.
We’re off to catch more rain in Devon and Cornwall on 28th and 29th June at the local franchise exhibition. These events are focused on local business partners and we hope will start the process of finding franchisees who want to run their own supply teacher business for schools.
Our ambition is to identify mature people who have the drive and determination to succeed. As with all businesses the ability to manage one’s own time and to interact well is essential. We anticipate people connected with schools or with a teaching or a recruitment background will find the opportunity to run their own business compelling.
We are also looking for a franchisee in Norwich to develop the business for local schools in Norfolk. This will be a great opportunity locally as we already have teachers able to work as supply teachers in Norfolk today.
We could tell you that the successful applicant will have input on the design of our marketing strategy. That (together with an assistant) they will take responsibility for delivering that strategy across multiple websites and through advertising, PR, literature, marketing events, newsletters, and social media. We could tell you that it’s a great opportunity to develop your career at a well established and successful solicitors’ firm. And that would all be true. But, if you’re the kind of person we’re looking for, you’ll have worked that, and a lot more besides, out for yourself. In fact, you could have written all of that yourself, probably in your sleep.
So how about we’re up front and frank with you instead? It’s like this. False modesty aside, we like to think we’re quite good at what we do. Which is the law, or more accurately, helping our clients with their legal issues. The independent guides to the legal profession recommend us quite a lot, and some of us are acclaimed as leaders in our fields, not just locally, but nationally. Which is great. But, we’re not very good at marketing. Some of us aren’t even that interested in marketing. We’re too busy helping those clients with their legal problems. Which means, to be blunt, that in marketing terms, as a firm, we punch below our weight. We make less of a splash than we should given our professional reputation.
And we’ve been ok with that, because, as we said, we’re mostly interested in helping our clients with their legal problems. But, the law is changing. Tesco law, social media, all of that. This role is a real opportunity for the right person because it’s not just about having great communication, or design, or IT skills (though you’ll need all of those). It’s about working with a marketing team to take a successful and established law firm’s marketing (and with it, your career) to the next level. To develop and implement a strategy that will get the message about what we do out: to tell our story better, to connect us better with our clients and potential clients. Isn’t that what marketing is about? And if you’re up for that challenge, we’d like to talk to you, and if you can deliver, it could be very rewarding for you.
Starting salary is at least £25,000 per annum, depending on what you can bring to us, core hours are 9.00am to 5.00pm but a willingness to work outside these hours on occasion (including weekend events) is essential, as is your own car and a clean driving licence.
To apply please send a copy of your CV (two pages maximum – normal sized typeface) with a one page covering letter (also normal sized typeface) to: