Member News

There aren’t many silver linings to be found in the midst of a pandemic, but the way local businesses were able to rally round for their communities is one of them. Many consumers, who’d never shopped with their local suppliers before, turned to those businesses for supplies and services when big brands couldn’t reach them. For the community, they became a lifeline, and for the businesses themselves, it meant boosted sales and visibility.

So, as the UK begins to ease lockdown and some kind of normal life resumes, the local businesses who found new customers want to keep hold of them. But with the national and global players in all sorts of different industries gearing up to win back their customers, what can they do? Your farm shop might not have the marketing budget of Sainsbury’s, but that doesn’t mean you can’t stay at the forefront of your new customers’ minds. Instead, you need to find the right tools, create good content and reach those people directly.

Email marketing is an affordable solution for businesses who want to stay in touch, build brand loyalty and entice buyers back. It doesn’t cost a lot to use a professional email marketing platform like Smart Messenger. So, you don’t need to blow your budget, you just need to get the right messages to the right people. Find out how much email marketing costs.

Here are some suggestions of content to include when you are using email marketing to build connections with new customers.

1.     Storytelling.

All businesses have stories and the ones from the past three months are particularly interesting. How did you serve your community during the lockdown, what did you do to reach customers who desperately needed your help and what response did you get from the people where you live and work? Tell those stories and thank the community for turning to you and buying local. It’ll engage their hearts and minds as they read your email.

2.     Showcase

Remind your customers of all the reasons why your product or service is the best choice. It might be the way you make it, a bespoke element, a genius solution or a sustainable supply chain. Identify the things that make your most loyal customers come back time and again, then tell the new ones what they can expect from you.

3.     Promote Local

Champion the ‘buy local’ cause for yours and other businesses. Remind your new customers that you were there for them when they needed you and will be again. Share the local suppliers you work with to produce your goods or service, then shine a light on those companies you buy from. Show customers that buying from a local supplier means the money goes back into the local economy, which benefits everyone.

4.     Offers and loyalty plans

Got something to give? Send it through email marketing. Smart Messenger customer Panther Brewery served their community during the lockdown and sent a ‘thank you’ voucher to new customers. The result? A fantastic email open-rate and more sales.

“As email marketing newcomers, we wanted to choose a service where we could rely on support throughout. Our Account Manager advised us on how best to structure our first campaign and what to offer our clients. The results were brilliant – we achieved a 68% open rate and a 42% click through rate! We’re absolutely delighted with the service.”

Martin James, Owner & Head Brewer at Panther Brewery

5.     Highlight change

Your business practice might have changed due to the new rules, or perhaps you’ve diversified your product range to meet a new need. Whatever changes you’ve made, tell your customers. Our client Office Water Supplies became incredibly busy after diversifying into sanitation supplies early on in the pandemic. They came to us, we created a managed campaign for them, and now their customers know their business has expanded. It was easy for them; despite the fact they were snowed under with demand.

“We learnt of Smart Messenger and their services via Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the member training sessions. Further to the outbreak of Covid-19, we felt it was imperative we reached out to our network to keep them updated with new products and services that had become available. In addition, we wanted to reassure existing customers that we could continue to serve their requirements. The feedback has been excellent, really clear decisive designs with minor alterations never being an issue and instant customer response. We look forward to continue working with the team at Smart Messenger moving forward.”

Paul Mitchell, Business Partner at Office Water Supplies

These are just a few of the ways that you can engage with your new customers and encourage them to keep using your local business. If you’d like to know more, get in touch with our friendly Smart Messenger team on 01603 858250.

We seem to have been overtaken by the Covid 19 Virus and lockdown. This had consequences which we had to address. All events and fundraising were cancelled. Essential awareness & profile increasing talks we give to the community were also cancelled and we saw our income dry up.

But we have amazing members and supporters who have managed to keep some funding coming in! 

We had a dual head shave which raised £2300, then a 14hour music marathon which has raised another £850, and then a supporter did a 4day virtual cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats,  874miles in 4days raising £1500 for us. Finally, we received a donation of £2000 from the Royal Household Warrant Holders Association Charity. These donations have softened the impact of our income decreasing. The good news is, that we have been chosen as Charity of the Year by the Sandringham Royal Warrant Holders for the year 2021 to 2022 and will look forward to working with them.

Covid 19 has affected what we do as a charity

So, to recap, our normal routine covered supplying the Air Ambulance as a stakeholder in the RePHILL trial. This is a 3year trial to determine whether giving blood at the scene of an accident has any beneficial outcome for the patient in recovering. The trial is totally randomised, we and the crews have no idea if there is blood or saline in the boxes we deliver daily, until they are opened on scene. The trial will be concluded in December 2020. Without NBB involvement as an essential stakeholder, the trial would not have gone ahead.

Our deliveries of blood, blood products, path lab samples and any item required for the clinical treatment of patients in the 3 Norfolk NHS Hospitals continued as normal. Our collection and deliveries of Donor Breast Milk (DBM) has continued to and from the milk banks, including the new regional milk bank hub in Norwich, and to the hospital NICU’s. Covid 19 has changed all this. Why? Initially we had contracts, called Service Level Agreements with the 3 main hospitals. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, The James Paget Hospital in Gorleston and the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in Norwich. We started delivering Covid samples from the 3 main hospitals to Microbiology in the research park in Colney. It started as a trickle but in line with increased testing, demanded by the Government, we are transporting more and more samples on a nightly basis. In addition, 8 more smaller community hospitals have now asked us to transport their samples as opposed to sending by taxi. Now we have 11hospitals to look after and the number of samples delivered, has gone up to 257, from the end of March through to the end of May. In addition, there has been an increase in the collection and delivery of Donor Breast Milk during the daytime as well. All this is on top of our normal tasks. At the peak of the pandemic, the Air Ambulance suspended the RePHILL trial as the staff in Haematology were now tasked with Covid related items. We had an increase in Covid samples, increased DBM and all on top of a drop in fundraising income.

How do we manage? 2 items of good news came our way.

1, HMRC after years of negotiations declared all liveried blood bikes would now be classed as ambulances and are now exempt from the road fund licence, with effect from 1st April 2020.2, BP Fuel declared, they would supply free fuel for all emergency vehicles, including liveried blood bikes until 4th June.. These 2 items alone will save us a lot of money. RFL alone is £1500 per year, and our monthly fuel costs are in the region of £1300 per month, so these are big savings for us. With these savings, we decided to give our volunteers a pay rise to take their pay from £0.00 to £0.00 and the same applied to our charges to the NHS, no increase. It will remain a free of charge service by unpaid volunteers Thanks to sound financial planning over the last 3 years, we are in a good position to ride out the storm, (cue music “Riders on the Storm” by the Doors) , but it will affect our fleet replacement program. We are looking at funding and need to raise £150,000 for 10 bike replacements over the next 2 years from 2021. A milestone for us was reached in April when we completed 8,000 callouts since starting in October 2012. At an average cost to the hospitals of £70.00 per callout we have saved the NHS £560,000 and many lives in the process. In 2021, we will be holding our 1st ever Charity Golf Day, sadly this year it had to be cancelled due to Covid. Has your company experience of sponsoring sporting events? We are looking for a sponsor, who wants to be actively involved and we would be pleased to discuss our plans with you.  Please contact me via email or mobile 07538 785022

Can you help?

By following us on Facebook, Norfolk Blood Bikes, share and like our page. By visiting our website  By donating  For further information please email us at [email protected]

As lockdown is eased, implementing the necessary measures to make business operations as safe as possible has been at the forefront of the planning and Risk Assessments around COVID-19 are a priority.

However, many workers may face challenges about returning to work including whether it is safe for them to do so. Not one person has been excluded from the traumatic experience COVID-19 has put us through. It has impacted us all whether financially, physically or emotionally and quite possibly all three. At this time, our most valuable resource – our employees – need to feel safe and also need to feel listened to in a way that is manageable, kind and considered.

Here at insight6, we have launched a Covid-19 Safety Checker that will automatically seek feedback from your team about how safe they feel at work. The system will alert you in real-time if anyone says they are feeling unsafe or concerned. This provides you with the essential due diligence and duty of care records, should you need them, and importantly, also ensures ALL your team have the opportunity to voice their concerns in a safe and easily managed way. 

For more information, please click on the link below or call Judy Randon 07909 542737 or email [email protected]

https://www.insight6.com/covid-team-safety-checker/

TaxAssist is championing a Buy Local campaign to help business communities thrive by encouraging consumers and local businesses to come together and support each other.

The Buy Local message has never been more important, with businesses needing all the help and support they can get post coronavirus lockdown. TaxAssist Accountants is keen to champion their cause and its network of accountants are pushing out the message nationwide across their shop windows, websites and social media channels.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of small businesses including retailers, barbers, restaurants and cafes have temporarily closed and these businesses in particular will need support to help to keep the local economy thriving once they are given the green light to re-open from 15th June for non-essential shops.

There have though, been many examples of innovation from the small business sector, which has embraced technology and ingenuity to adapt to the conditions imposed by the pandemic and TaxAssist has created a dedicated Buy Local hub on its client site to highlight many positive stories.

Karl Sandall, Group Chief Executive at TaxAssist Accountants, said: “I am really impressed with how businesses have shown tremendous energy and innovation in adapting how they operate during these difficult times and we must all do what we can to help them. This is because the local business owners you are spending your money with will, in turn, put that money back into the local community by using local suppliers and employing people which all helps to keep the local economy thriving. The Buy Local message is key and one which TaxAssist Accountants is proud to spearhead.”

During the pandemic, TaxAssist Accountants is holding Virtual Discovery Days and has continued to receive a steady stream of enquiries about its franchise opportunity as people evaluate their future career and lifestyle choices.

“I think that lockdown has really forced people to rethink what they want from their life and what’s important to them,” states Karl. “Certainly, from people we have spoken to recently who are interested in joining TaxAssist, we have heard that they want to cut out their commute and fulfil a wish to take on a more rewarding role, by working with local businesses and integrating more closely in their communities.

“TaxAssist Accountants is a people-based business, operating from shops and offices, but our strength is that by fully adopting market leading software, the network has proven itself to be remarkably resilient, able to continue to offer a first class service to over 77,000 clients remotely. The timely advice, guidance and support our accountants have been able to offer during the COVID-19 pandemic has been very well received and will make a real impact on the survival and recovery of independent businesses across the UK.”

If you are interested in joining TaxAssist Accountants, we are holding monthly Virtual Discovery Days where you can spend a day with the team and find out more about the business opportunity and support on offer. Click here for more information.

The planned changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme have been confirmed by the Chancellor and set out in a factsheet. Further guidance on flexible furloughing and how employers should calculate claims is expected from HMRC on 12 June.

Flexible furloughing   Employers will be given the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back part time from 1 July 2020, but will be responsible for paying the employees’ wages for the hours/days worked. Employers will be able to continue to claim under the scheme for the balance of an employee’s normal hours and will be required to confirm the usual hours an employee would be expected to work in a claim period and the actual hours worked.   Scheme closes to new employees from end of June   From July onwards, claims can only be made by employers already using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in respect of previously furloughed employees.   The scheme will close to new entrants on 30 June, which means that the final date by which an employer can furlough an employee for the first time will be 10 June, in order to have met the three week minimum period of furlough. However, employers will have until 31 July to make any claims in respect of wages for June.   Employer contributions   The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is to be slowly tapered from August 2020, resulting in employers being required to gradually increase their contributions towards furlough pay.   The tapering will take effect as follows:   June and July:   The Government will pay 80% of wages, up to a cap of £2,500, plus employer National Insurance and pension contributions. Employers are not required to pay anything.   August:   The Government will pay 80% of wages, up to a cap of £2,500. Employers will pay employer National Insurance and pension contributions.   September:   The Government will pay 70% of wages, up to a cap of £2,187.50. Employers will pay 10% of wages to make up 80% total, up to a cap of £2,500, plus employer National Insurance and pension contributions.   October:   The Government will pay 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875. Employers will pay 20% of wages to make up 80% total, up to a cap of £2,500, employer National Insurance and pension contributions.   We await the further details from HMRC on 12 June.   Speak to the specialist Employment Law team at Hatch Brenner Solicitors for Employment law advice via 01603 660 811, or find out more in our Employment Law for Employees and Employment Law for Employers web pages.

We take a look at one of the many ways you can assist the implementation of social distancing measures in an office environment, by using zonal flooring.

Open plan offices may struggle to find adequate ways to keep employees distanced when returning to work, following the adjustments to current coronavirus rules. Zonal flooring is one effective way to keep continuity with a new spatial design, and clearly divide large open plan spaces into concise, targeted areas.

Have read HERE

On 12 May, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention, or “furlough” Scheme was to be extended, providing additional support for wages until October.

In that announcement, he said that the scheme under current rules would be extended until the end of July, but thereafter there would be a winding down of the scheme, with employers required to contribute and part-time working being a possibility.

On 29 May the Chancellor added a little more meat to the bones of this announcement, and also changed it slightly in response to pressure from business groups.

The headline points are as follows:

• the last day for employers to put staff onto the furlough scheme is 10 June 2020 if they haven’t furloughed that particular staff member for at least three weeks previously – please be mindful of this if you are rotating staff or still unclear of whether you will need staff moving forwards. This is because the scheme is closed to new entrants from 30 June, and the individual will need to have been furloughed for at least three weeks prior to this at some stage
• the flexibility to the furlough scheme has been brought forward, to commence from 1 July 2020 – from this point staff will be able to work part-time and be furloughed part-time, and businesses will decide how to effect this in practice. This is likely to be of real benefit to businesses who are trying to operate again but either don’t have a need for a full cohort of staff or cannot have everyone in for safety reasons
• the furlough scheme will close on 31 October 2020.

From 1 August 2020, the furlough scheme’s support begins to be wound down:

• in August, businesses will take over the responsibility of paying employer’s national insurance contributions and pension contributions and will no longer be able to reclaim them through the scheme
• in September, the reimbursement will drop to 70% of salary (to a cap of £2,190 per month). In order to be eligible for the grant, businesses must top up to at least 80% of salary
• in October, the reimbursement will drop to 60% of salary (to a cap of £1,875 per month). In order to be eligible for the grant, businesses must top up to at least 80% of salary.

We are still awaiting the updates to the Treasury Direction and the Employer’s Guidance which are expected by 12 June.

Further advice and free webinar

For an in-depth look at the extension to the scheme, the rules that will apply and how things have changed following the release of that guidance, please JOIN US for a FREE webinar on Monday 15 June at 2pm where we will be considering the changes to the scheme. For further information and to book your place, please click here.

For specific advice for your business, please get in touch with our specialist Employment Law team through this website or by calling 0330 404 0778.

For all of our COVID-19 (Coronavirus) advice, please visit https://www.ashtonslegal.co.uk/coronavirus/

Our partners at Ashtons HR Consulting are also on hand to assist you.

This information is correct at 11.00am on 1 June 2020.

The Norfolk Mead have refreshed their popular takeaway Afternoon Tea menu for June.

The summer-inspired menu now includes a strawberry and ruby chocolate pot, lemon drizzle cake with lemon curd, alongside owner Anna’s famous chocolate brownie with salted caramel banoffee topping. The full cream team also includes fresh sandwiches which have been refreshed to include smoked ham with Dijon mayonnaise, mature cheddar and chutney, and egg mayonnaise with mustard cress. For savoury fans, there is a sausage and apple roll, and of course, the amazing plain and fruit scones with clotted cream and fruit jam.    James Holliday, Owner of the Norfolk Mead commented: “It has been really fun working through ideas to refresh our Afternoon Tea menu for June – inspired by summer flavours of strawberry and lemon, we are so pleased with the new menu. A cream tea is a real treat – very celebratory, and our customers are enjoying laying everything out at home to enjoy in the garden whilst the weather has been so gorgeous.    “Now the lockdown measures have been eased to allow larger groups to meet, we’ve heard from customers who are planning to meet friends and family outside who they haven’t seen for several months, with the cream tea something everyone can enjoy to make the occasion really special and memorable. As we offer cream tea delivery, it’s also a great option for people who can’t get out and about yet so we’ve had orders from people who want to treat their neighbours or elderly relatives. We’re so grateful to the local community for supporting our business during this time, and have heard of lots of people trying us for the first time which is fantastic.”    Priced at £15 per head, delivery is £3 within 18 miles of Coltishall (NR12 7DN), and the team will consider further deliveries – although this may be subject to an additional delivery charge. Afternoon tea can also be collected directly from the Hotel in line with the most recent social distancing and Covid-secure guidelines.    The Takeaway Afternoon Tea Delivery and collection is available every weekend throughout June. Order Norfolk cream tea delivery here, or email [email protected]

Green Duck on Western Way in Bury St Edmunds has taken cyber security company Labsec under their wing, expanding their IT offering for businesses into the realm of network, application and data security.

With UK small businesses targeted with 65,000 attempted cyber attacks each day and the average cost of a data breach clear up standing at £25,700, according to insurance firm Hiscox[1], it has never been more essential to have robust security measures in place especially as workforces enter into a more remote way of working.

The incorporation of Labsec into Green Duck’s operations enables the IT collective to provide invaluable cyber security consultancy including strategy and planning to protect against and identify risks of data breach, incident response planning for effective action, and cyber security awareness training for employees.

The acquisition of Labsec comes just over two years after Green Duck joined forces with website and app development company Source Code Studio, seeing the Bury St Edmunds based business continue to expand and grow.

A relaunch of the newly branded Source Code Studio and introduction of expanded website design and app development services is also coming imminenly. 

“We never want to stand still,” explained Green Duck CEO Rod Jackson. “We’re ambitious. This means we strive to continually learn, develop and innovate in order to offer exceptional products and services to our customers.

“By joining forces with Labsec and Source Code Studio, Green Duck can operate as an IT collective, which means clients benefit from a single point of contact for all their IT infrastructure, support, software and security needs. Gone are the days of a business owner or IT manager acting as a go-between for multiple providers – now you have access to experts all in one place.”

To discover more about Green Duck and new additions Labsec and Source Code Studio, visit greenduck.co.uk or call 01284 700015.

[1] https://www.hiscoxgroup.com/news/press-releases/2018/18-10-18

Sign up for our free “Let’s Talk” newsletter including recruitment information and advice, legislation updates and much more! 

HR support and advice is more critical than ever before, Hales Group want to help our clients navigate any prevalent staff issues and provide answers on some of the most commonly asked questions during this time.

Please find a link below to the third edition of Let’s Talk.

https://online.flippingbook.com/view/396759/

Let’s Talk will be issued every fortnight, if there are any topics you would like to see covered or have any specific questions you would like us to answer please contact us.  

Business Advisory experts Mark Curtis and James Lay, partners at MHA Larking Gowen, have been speaking about their understanding and explanations of the guidance being offered from the Government. Their podcast series explains guidance in more detail and also offers sound business advice to help you through these uncertain times. 

Click here to listen to the first 3 episodes – To Furlough and Beyond, Pricing in a Pandemic, and The Office is Dead, Long Live the Office! 

Nine pupils from Norwich School, have been helping to fund raise for the last month.  They have sold 400 races and raised just over £3000 for the Priscilla Bacon Hospice.  They  need to sell another 60 races by Friday to reach £3500!

Are you missing your local Park Run? Or want to test your 5K time and receive a medal? Members of Norwich School company ‘Velocitas’, one of the school’s Young Chamber groups, have been working in collaboration with local Running Club, Norwich Road Runners and the Priscilla Bacon Hospice charity to create a virtual road race, all for a brilliant cause.

Race from your place virtual 5k race asks people to donate £10 so they can individually take part in a 5K run from their home between 13th and 31st May, with all proceeds going to the hospice appeal. All runners will receive a medal, certificate and the chance to top the leader board!

Pupils will be managing all aspects of the race including marketing (Olivia White U5 produced this flier), validating and producing results (including an in-house school version) and sending out the race medals and certificates.   

Before the start date of the race, pupils will email a race number to entrants, which can be printed and worn on your individual race day.  Why not wear your school /house colours then send us a picture of you starting or finishing your race?

To find out more, full details can be found on the flyer below or via the Race booking site; https://totalracetiming.co.uk/race/221