< Previous East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk SYSTEMATIC Q&A What is corporate gifting? Corporate gifts are promotional products, giveaways, and merchandise that reflect the brand and message of a business in their design. They are given away to ensure that the business remains in the mind of its contacts. There are thousands of different gift options; lifestyle items and products for the home and office. There are different product colours, personalisation areas and approaches, so with the right knowledge and artwork, unique and creative corporate gifts can be created for a business’s marketing resources. The days of ‘freebies’ being inferior plastic branded pens should be a thing of the past! Corporate gifts have many applications, from rewarding loyal customers and starting conversations with new contacts, to boosting the morale of team members. Systematic’s focus goes one step further, as we believe the best return on investment comes from practical, made-to-last items that help recipients live and work more sustainably. With the current squeeze on budgets, what value can it generate? Marketing budgets are often cut in tough times, yet there is a balance to strike. Data repeatedly highlights how much more cost and time efficient it is to retain an existing customer than find a new one! Corporate gifts can provide a platform for upsell, cross-sell and re- engagement campaigns. Also, with job vacancies at record high levels and home working more widespread, talent attraction and retention are added pressures that businesses face. Corporate gifts certainly help to engage team members in the brand and culture of a business. To get the most from this marketing investment, corporate gifts should be relevant to the brand and target audience, there is a direct correlation between usability and the brand impressions that will make a business message memorable. It’s also best practice to keep campaigns focused on the contacts that make the biggest difference. How did the pandemic change corporate gifting approaches? There is no doubt that values have shifted, and we are helping businesses to evolve their marketing tactics. Obviously, all kinds of events were cancelled for many months and even when they resumed, there was initially a reluctance to take any corporate gifts offered. In response, there is now a growing array of products manufactured with an active antibacterial ingredient. Contacts often prefer not to rely on communal resources, so water bottles, thermal cups and cutlery sets, or sporks are popular. It is possible to take this ownership theme further by adding individual names to certain products. Many office workers are more mobile and flexible in how they work and corporate gifts can respond to that development too, with best-selling products now including bags, multi- charging cables, power banks and earphones. Q&A Corporate Gifting Systematic is a Lincolnshire-based family business, applying its creativity to the widest range of design, print, mailing and marketing briefs, to help its UK client base win business and do business. We picked up on one of Systematic’s specialisms, sustainable corporate gifts, asking the team to explain how businesses are using them to their advantage. 40-41 digital version.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:32 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link SYSTEMATIC Q&A The biggest shift is around environmental awareness and recognition that all resources need to be used responsibly. If businesses do not adjust their corporate gifting accordingly the detrimental impact on the first impressions of their contacts can be hard to recover. Sustainability is reflected in corporate gifts being made to last, practical, and relevant to the contact, whilst sharing them in a targeted and consensual way. What type of products do Systematic offer? Our handpicked Sustainable Corporate Gift range is showcased on our website, www.systematic.uk There are over 200 products that blend our ethical values with our knowledge of branded promotional products that create a return on investment for our clients, whilst improving the sustainability of their purchasing. Here’s a link; Sustainable Corporate Gifts Categories progress from the enduringly popular Writing and Drinkware, through to Promotions, Desk Accessories, Paper Products and Tech, followed by Bags, Leisure, Events and Branded Workwear options. Each product is coded to confirm its sustainable credentials. We like to keep things personal, understanding what our clients need to achieve, before responding with ideas, quotes, visuals and samples. Systematic can lead the creation of artwork, and all services are wrapped up with full project management support. We can even hold corporate gifts in stock, for call-off and delivery when and where our clients need them! Any final corporate gifting tips? First and foremost, we’d recommend that businesses seek specialist advice when looking to invest in corporate gifts. There are so many variables when you consider product ranges and branding options, plus Team Systematic have a shortlist of tried and trusted products that we can adapt to different business sectors, briefs and budgets. As businesses develop an approach, we’d recommend following our What, Where, When, How and Why methodology, here’s a link to our blog which explains all! What promotional products should I choose? In short, businesses should embrace the opportunities that come with making corporate gifting part of their brand marketing campaigns, yet they should keep their approach as sustainable as possible! 01472 851091 | hello@systematic.uk www.systematic.uk 40-41 digital version.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:32 Page 2 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk PUBLIC RELATIONS N ormally on the last Wednesday of the month (as I write this column) I am getting ready to give a talk to local entrepreneurs about how to grow their business through marketing, or basically “getting and keeping customers.” In the end, when you strip off all the bells and whistles, that’s what marketing is. However, two things have changed this time: 1. I had to bring the meeting forward because next week is my wedding anniversary. 2. The venue has just pulled the rug from under me and cancelled the event! So it is not going ahead and instead I will be running BONUS content at the you can actually spend more money on attracting these customers and in turn they will spend more money with you because you are PERFECT for them too. Now you’d think given the struggles of the last few years that for a pub with an event space, 15 local business owners in a room every month might be approaching a DREAM LIST, especially as we tend to add a new face each month. It appears not. They didn’t call me, they emailed to ask if I could shift the event, got my out of office and didn’t even follow up. They just cancelled it and when I sought clarification yesterday, the day before the event remember, they said (and I quote): “Sorry my booking takes priority, so I will have to postpone your meeting.” Note How ignoring your dream list of clients is a nightmare for marketers Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR, reflects on a recent experience to offer wise words on establishing and maintaining dream clients. September event. Guess what, it won’t be at this venue! The funny thing is, the topic for the night was going to be ‘Build Your Perfect Dream List’, essentially a properly conceived list of your IDEAL clients who you will proactively target. This list is about the quality of the people within it not the quantity, you might only have 20 or 30 people or businesses on it. This means you can properly focus on marketing to them with meaningful content, offers and services. It is a far more measured approach than the usual ‘spray and pray’ I see far too often from businesses, or the “oh our solution is suited to EVERYBODY” - newsflash, it isn’t. However it is PERFECT for some - focus on them. When you do, 42-43.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:34 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link PUBLIC RELATIONS the use of “my” - incredible. Just to put this in context, I have run the event here for the last 5 consecutive months and was going to for the rest of the year. WAS. Now I imagine they have been approached by someone with deeper pockets for a one off event but how short-sighted is this? Would you want 15 punters (and growing) every month who run local businesses or a one off? Considering my crowd will spend in the bar before and after too and might also want to hire that space? So there will be no “postponement” at the venue, there will be no event there ever again. The members who were coming all know that this has happened and will draw their own conclusions about the culture of this venue, which until now I have personally LOVED to go to with friends and business associates outside of these monthly events. Hence why I held it there. I won’t be so crass as to name names in this column or indeed on social media but I hope this might serve as a reminder that whilst marketing tends to focus on filling the sink with leads, it is no use whatsoever if someone pulls the plug out. That venue has zero chance of me ever using it again or recommending it and who knows, maybe I am not their DREAM client after all and neither are the members who were coming along. Meanwhile, if you are a Nottingham-based business owner and fancy popping along to the next event or would like more information (venue to be announced!), just let me know and I will sort you out with a free monthly membership. A former business journalist, Greg Simpson is the author of The Small Business Guide to PR and has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 5 PR consultants, having set up Press for Attention PR in 2008. He has worked for FTSE 100 firms, charities and start-ups and conducted press conferences with Sir Richard Branson and James Caan. His background ensures a deep understanding of every facet of a successful PR campaign – from a journalist’s, client’s, and consultant’s perspective. 42-43.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:34 Page 2 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk FAMILY BUSINESS While family businesses face a raft of challenges – like many other businesses in this economy – the solutions are often not so simple; they never are where family is involved. R unning a family business isn’t easy, especially not with the unpredictable and unwelcome state of the economy, the rising cost of living, soaring inflation and a zombie government. Running any kind of business will be difficult in those circumstances, but family businesses always have it harder because the company is tied to the family unit, often having emotional and sentimental bonds, and it’s the hope of many family business owners to pass it down to their children one day. Making harsh decisions and distancing yourself emotionally from them is difficult when there’s so much at stake, but that is the situation family businesses find themselves in today. Family businesses have been evolving in recent times to keep up with new trends in social media, marketing, online sales and more – and there’s yet more evolution that needs to happen if they’re to adapt to this new, uncertain world of trading conditions. The advantage family businesses have over traditional enterprises, however, is that they quite often have someone within the family who can broach other generations. Younger family members are typically more genre savvy when it comes to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and can have valuable advice – if the older members listen – on how to further a brand on these platforms. This may even include such approaches as meme culture, which may seem striking and startling to some, but keep in mind that many big brands, including Wendy’s, KFC and Coca Cola, have been trying to use meme culture on Twitter to break into new markets and appeal to the younger demographic (and there is even suggestions that Donald Trump’s success in the US elections before was heavily due to meme culture). It’s difficult for dusty suits in a boardroom to really “get down with the kids” however, whereas family businesses are quite often run by people who have, and who are used to dealing with, children. Modernizing family businesses is also a great way to get the next generation interested in the running of the company. One of the biggest challenges, and the The family unit 44-45.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:36 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link FAMILY BUSINESS greatest fears, of many family businesses is what will happen if the next generation doesn’t want to take the company over. We’re living in a world where people are increasingly encouraged to pursue their own dreams and leave their own mark on the world, and younger generations may not want to be tied down to something they had no hand in founding. By involving younger people earlier, giving them responsibility and letting them get a taste for what running a family business is like, you can help draw them back into the business or, if that fails, at least make sure they are fully informed on their decisions. Family businesses are, after all, meant to be for the whole family, but it can be easy for one dominant personality to take over, thinking they know best, and unintentionally drive other members away from the company. Powerful personalities are important when running a business – just look at any famously successful entrepreneur – but the important thing to remember about entrepreneurialism is that it is a very personal thing, and that it often doesn’t translate well to a communal family unit. That’s not to say it shouldn’t be celebrated or encouraged, but moderation should be kept in mind, because it’s very easy to turn a family business into your business if you’re not careful. If that happens then children may not feel like they have the opportunities they want and might seek employment elsewhere. That might not be a bad thing, however. A fresh perspective brings fresh ideas back into the company and drafting family into the business over and over will lead to skills and ideas stagnating. There are many key skills that can only be learned outside the family business, and these, when brought back, can help push a business in new directions and to new heights. So, don’t feel too worried if your family or children want to try their hand elsewhere. Few jobs are forever, and it may be that the experience they gain in another company is just what the family business will need a little down the line. Even if they don’t join up later, they can still be a source of ideas, advice and contacts. Being able to distance and differentiate family from family business is a challenge, and one that every family running a business has to contend with at one point or another. It’s inevitable that things won’t always go your way, and that a family will disagree at some point or another, but the strongest family businesses are those that know how to step away from the problem and talk it out, either as business partners or as a family, without letting things get out of hand. © stock.adobe.com/Romolo Tavani 44-45.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:36 Page 2 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk OMS Q&A Can you tell us a little about the company? OMS are a nationwide training and consultancy firm based in Leicestershire, with over 24 successful years in supporting local and national clients. We are a multiple award-winning team of passionate professionals, with an unrivalled reputation for excellent service delivery and customer care. With a portfolio featuring brands such as Amazon, AIG, Legal & General, and BT, it is safe to say that OMS’ reputation has been cemented as one of excellence. The company is, in essence, unrivalled. Indeed, it is this reputation that has enabled OMS to serve as an accredited training provider for awarding bodies including City & Guilds, ILM, NEBOSH, CITB, IPAF, PASMA, UKATA, SPA and IOSH – some of the biggest names in the sector. For these organisations and – on a wider scale – its diverse clientele, OMS provides both public and private courses in Health and Safety, HR, Management, Quality, Environment, and First Aid. It is the Consultancy Division at OMS that provides advice and support for HR, Health and Safety, ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 systems and, when appropriate, ensures that its clients achieve certification. With a coveted 5-star Trust Pilot rating, ongoing positive testimonials and referrals from clients and continued sales growth, year on year, we feel that we are achieving a high level of customer satisfaction, which is critical for the success of the business. That’s quite the list of impressive clients. What makes OMS stand out and attract companies like this? We differentiate ourselves by spending time to understand our customers’ activities and evaluating the challenges they face within their organisation. This allows us to tailor both our training and consultancy offering to ensure the customer gets the best value from our services. The testament to this is our customer retention rate, which is the best in the industry. We also are certified to ISO 9001 Quality management systems, ISO 14001 Environmental management systems and ISO 45001 Health and safety management systems. In a nutshell our USP is that we listen to our customers and tailor our offering to their needs to ensure that it is relevant to their staff and fits with culture of their organisation. We also stand out in the way we handle our employees, and we seek to lead by example when it comes to company culture. Our mission is to be the training and compliance solutions supplier of choice in the UK, and we believe the best path to this is by; being ethical; listening to our customers; empowering and investing in our people; promoting best practice in the business; embracing diversity; adopting new technologies to increase our performance and promoting the value of the OMS brand. This is often discussed within meetings to develop a greater understanding as to what is expected. Internal culture is, of course, important within any business; however, it is imperative for OMS to lead by example. OMS’ culture is centred around the fundamental element of respect. Everyone within the company is valued, supported, and treated with compassion. In addition, OMS prioritises investing in its team through ongoing Q&A OMS Leading by example OMS is a leading consultancy and training firm that prioritises its clients’ unique needs. Its services, which are entirely bespoke, cover safety, compliance, and systems development across the board. We met with Clive Ormerod, Managing Director, to find out what makes OMS so special. 46-47.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:37 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link OMS Q&A training and mentoring and having regular meetings to keep everyone informed about the business activities and performance. What trends have you noticed within the industry since the recent end of the pandemic and lockdown? The pandemic brought with it many challenges for training and consultancy businesses. We were one of the first training businesses to gain approval, through the training awarding bodies, to deliver virtual training using Teams and Zoom. This allowed us to continue to deliver training to our customers virtually. As part of our offering, we still deliver virtual as well as face-to-face training. We have seen a good bounce back after the pandemic and our trading levels have increased to above pre-pandemic levels. As for trends, there are quite a few organisations struggling to recruit staff post-pandemic, and because of this we have seen organisations re-evaluating their training needs and investing more in their staff to help retain them and increase their performance within the business. In particular, we have seen an increased take up of the NEBOSH Certificate and Diploma courses and we are receiving very good feedback from the candidates that have attended them. What are your plans for the company’s future? Our aspirations for the future are to continue to grow the business by consistently satisfying and retaining our customers and to build on being a one stop shop for compliance training and consultancy. However, our plans don’t end there. The company will be furthering our focus on sustainability, for which we have already started to make changes. OMS has replaced all the light fittings with LED lighting throughout the training centre and head office, installed waterless urinals, replaced its diesel vehicles with electric power, and are evaluating the installation of solar panels. Additionally, OMS is subscribed to 8 Billion Trees, an organisation committed to saving and planting 8 billion trees in order to reduce the effects of climate change and deforestation. For more information or to contact OMS directly visit www.oms.uk.com, call 01530 686 314 or email info@oms.uk.com @OMS - Training and Compliance @OMStraining @OMS_training 46-47.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:37 Page 2 East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk RECYCLING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT B usiness accountability and sustainability are fast becoming buzz words. The desire to appeal to consumers with an ethical and environmentally minded approach to business, as well as the potential money saving benefits to efficient running operations and waste management systems are important for all modern enterprises to consider in the face of dramatically increasing material and labour costs. Before delving into some waste management initiatives, it is worth exploring responsibilities that businesses have when it comes to waste management. These can be found on the Government website. Businesses have a With more government targets than ever before, and one of the harshest summers on record driving environmental concern, it seems inevitable that businesses will need to do their best – if not because it’s the right thing to do then because they’ll soon be forced to. Reuse Recycle responsibility to take reasonable steps to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste (in this order). Upon having done this, waste must be sorted and stored securely in appropriate containers for the waste type, with a lid. Different waste types must be stored separately to prevent contamination, thus meaning recyclables cannot be recycled. When disposing of waste, you must ensure that your carrier is authorised to do so (this can be checked via a register on the Government website) and that they dispose of waste via the proper channels. If you suspect illegal waste dumping, it is the responsibility of the business to report the carrier to Crimestoppers. Business waste counts as anything Reuse Recycle 48-50.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:39 Page 1www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link RECYCLING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT © stock.adobe.com/warloka79 a large effort, it means that the business can save on landfill tax rates and waste disposal gate fees if the waste can be recycled over sent to landfill. These costs generally increase annually, as a government incentive for increased recycling efforts, therefore getting into good practices early could save a lot of money down the line. Once you have whittled down your non-recyclable waste, you may find that it is so significantly reduced that your business would not require a large load capacity waste collector, or that you do not need to employ one so frequently. This will further reduce business costs. It can be difficult to get employees on board with recycling initiatives. One way to tackle this is to conduct an audit of the locations of the recycling bins in your office. If they are not highly visible, or difficult to access, it may be time to move things around. You could print signs signposting the locations of the bins, or ensure that each office room has its own recycling bin. Research suggests that there is a 75% reduction of recyclables in general waste bins when a bin audit is undertaken. From this research, key takeaways can be seen as to the prime bin hotspots; place bins in a prominent and accessible location, preferably in places where employees 50 Á derived from commercial activity. If a business is run from home, then any waste produced there from the business activity is also business waste. Waste is anything that comes from: Construction, Demolition, Industry, Agriculture. Furthermore, if your business deals in waste (transportation, arranging transportation, buying and selling) you must register this via the Government website. Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to £5000. Understanding the rules around waste disposal, we now turn to the benefits of recycling. Recycling business waste can actually save money for the business, as it reduces overall waste management costs. Although recycling can be seen as 48-50.qxp_Layout 1 06/09/2022 10:39 Page 2Next >