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Workshops to Help SME’s Prepare for Liverpool 08

2008 is going to be one of the biggest years in Liverpool’s history – for both the business and local community alike. The Charted Institute of Marketing realises this so is supporting a funds assisted Marketing Planning Workshop, which runs over 5 days from December 2006 to February 2007, as part of its initiative to help SMEs prepare for Liverpool 08.

With a huge influx of visitors and a myriad of business opportunities, the potential for North West companies is huge but it’s essential for organisations of all sizes to invest time in marketing planning. Beating the competition means delivering best value to customers and this workshop, in the form of five one-day modules, will help delegates do just that. Each module of the workshop is delivered every 2 to 3 weeks and the programme is designed to help delegates understand the fundamentals of marketing, planning and also to produce a professional marketing plan using a series of comprehensive templates (Word™ document, Excel™ spreadsheets for activity planning and budgeting and PowerPoint™ for presentation purposes).

Businesses may already have a marketing plan, but would find the workshops useful to compare what they’ve prepared with ‘best practice’ examples and case studies. On the programme, delegates will learn the key challenges that their peers have faced and what they have done to overcome them. After each of the first four workshops, delegates will be given project work to be completed prior to – and presented at – the next workshop. This work is geared to the completion of the relevant section of their marketing plan.

All are specifically dove-tailed with both the programme structure/content as well the ‘project work’ allocated during each workshop resulting – by the end of the programme – in the derivation of a complete and implementable professional marketing plan.

Delegates will learn through formal presentation, discussion, exercises and reference to best and worst practice. Key elements will include; Marketing research, audit, strategy segmentation attraction mix implementation and metrics.

The dates of the 5 workshops are as follows:

* Introduction to Marketing & Marketing Planning - 7 December 06
* Understanding Customers- 21 December 06
* Marketing Toolkit (1) - 4 January 07
* Marketing Toolkit (2) - 25 January 07
* Marketing Implementation, Control & Evaluation - 22 February 07

Rob Fearn, branch chair of The Chartered Institute in Merseyside, commented;- ‘Liverpool is one of the most dynamic economies in the UK and the potential for businesses is huge thanks to 08. We’re really excited to be supporting these workshops as every business needs a competitive edge and I’m sure the modules will add real value to both individuals and their organisations.’

Kevin Nolan from Software Generation, deliverers of the training said;- ‘It’s essential for businesses to devise and implement a first class marketing plan. It can be a daunting prospect so this course is designed to provide practical advice which can be taken and applied the very next day.’

The course is funded as part of a Learning and Skills Council (LSC) initiative called the Skillworks programme (www.theskillworks.co.uk). There are a number of Skillworks Providers who administer the funding and the Chartered Institute of Marketing is working with Software Generation to deliver the training. Companies can receive either 40% or 60% funding towards the programme. The full course cost is £1995 (plus VAT) or £399 per day. After funding this reduces to £798 if the client is eligible for 60% funding and £1197 if eligible for 40%.

Any business interested in attending should contact Kevin Nolan at Software Generation:- 0151 709 1964 or 0151 709 5708

UK BUSINESS HEALTH & SAFETY SLIP UPS

NEW business research from AXA Insurance reveals that many UK businesses appear to have let health and safety in the workplace slip. Worryingly, over a quarter of all employees surveyed by AXA who had been injured whilst at work in the past 5 years, said that they had not received any health and safety training from their employer. The study also showed that of all the accidents and injuries that had been sustained in the workplace, 30% have resulted in employees taking a week or more off work to recover. Of these, 4% needed over a year to recuperate. But what is the impact on UK business? According to ROSPA, health and safety failures currently cost British employers up to £6.5 billion every year.

So with work-related accidents having a potentially destructive impact on the smooth running of UK businesses, what are UK employers doing to support injured employees after an accident has occurred? The AXA research revealed that almost 70% of people who were injured at work were not offered help by their employer after the event. Employees who were injured whilst doing their job in the professional services sector were most likely to be offered help by their employer, with 42% offering help.  Furthermore, of those employees who have sustained an injury in the workplace almost 27% stated that their employers had not followed occupational health and safety procedures, for example, asking them to fill in a form or sign an accident book.

Doug Barnett, risk strategy manager, from AXA commented:- “The research indicates that some businesses appear to have let health and safety standards slip. Not only are there health and safety procedures for companies to follow as a legal requirement, but accidents and injuries sustained in the workplace can be extremely costly for companies – through employees having to take time off work to recover or because of compensation pay outs.  We advise businesses, of all shapes and sizes, to assess the potential risks and dangers that the working environment may pose to their employees and ensure that they have stringent health and safety procedures in place.”

According to ROSPA some 70% of workplace accidents could be prevented if employers put proper safety control measures in place. The organisation also warns that employers should also be aware that the maximum penalties for breaching health and safety legislation are unlimited fines and up to 2 years in prison.

DIVERSITY IS THE KEY TO IMPROVING THE EVENING ECONOMY

A NEW report says the ‘night time’ economy of Britain’s towns and city centres would be greatly enhanced by a more diverse range of evening activities, as well as improved management and better public transport.  The NightVision report from The Civic Trust draws on 3 years of research and interviews with key stakeholders in the evening and night time economy, such as local authorities, national government, developers, the drinks industry, licensees, retailers, residents and consumers.

It calls for:-

* More shops to be open in the evening

* An increase in venues that cater for families and older customers

* More special events and festivals that add life to the town centre

* Innovative use of public buildings, such as late opening of museums and art galleries

* An increase in non alcohol related activities at night

* An improvement in public spaces and lighting

* Better night time public transport

* An increase in a responsible, adult presence such as street wardens.

The Civic Trust says that if their recommendations are adopted, it would lead to reductions in:-

* Crime

* Noise and disturbance

* Street fouling

* Drink and drug related accident and emergency admissions

Hannah Mummery, Policy and Research Manager at The Civic Trust said:- “In some cases, town and city centres are now busier during the evening than they are during the day. It therefore makes both good social policy and good business sense for town and city centres to offer a more diverse range of activities during the evening.”

The rapid expansion of bars and clubs in many towns and cities has created problems of noise, disorder and street fouling for many town centre residents and businesses. These problems can be exacerbated by the lack of essential management such as street cleansing, public transport and adequate policing.

The NightVision report identifies 10 principles that The Civic Trust believes are necessary for fundamentally changing our town and city centres at night:

1. Push the community and health agenda...
Recognising the negative health effects of excessive alcohol consumption and putting across the message that binge drinking is an unacceptable form of behaviour.

2. Collect basic data...
In order to build inclusive town centres at night, local authorities and other stakeholders need to gain an understanding of what all consumers would want. This is not happening at the moment.

3. Promote local choice...
Successful town centres will be, to some extent, locally owned and distinctive.

4. Create family-friendly and child-friendly centres...
We believe strongly that one of the keys to achieving truly mixed town centres at night is ensuring that these centres are places that families can and will want to use.

5. Improve accessibility
Deliver safe, affordable public transport at night – poor night time transport causes many problems – one of the keys to good management and preventing late night disorder is ensuring there is a quick, efficient method for people to get home at night. Improved transport will also encourage a greater mix of people at night.

6. Set new standards in customer care...
Make the public realm welcoming and hospitable – A well designed and maintained streetscape can make a lot of difference at night, it encourages people to use the streets and makes centres much more pleasant places to be and live in.

7. Good planning...
Planning is the discipline that has been ignored in the debate about the evening economy. Good planning is essential to help shield town centres residents from noise and disorder as well as creating better managed night time destinations.

8. Better design...
Town centres, as much as possible, have to be designed with the night time economy in mind. Crime, fear of crime, noise and street fouling can be combated with improved town centre design.

9. More flexible hours and the multiple uses of public buildings...
With increased use of art galleries, libraries, museums and schools, the availability of cultural activities in the evening will encourage a more diverse range of people into town centres at night and also provide a wider range of non alcohol related activities.

10. Extend shopping and other services into the evening...
Many town centres can feel deserted between 5pm – 8pm and extension of shopping hours would help to make the early evening street more lively and welcoming.

‘NightVision” – turning principle into action...
The Civic Trust recognises that it is not simply enough to outline these key principles, so we have developed a way that town centres can be taken from ‘crisis management’ to the delivery of more inclusive, sustainable night time destinations.

Firstly, by regaining control. Make town centres more hospitable and welcoming, by:-

* Building a consensus for action, and restoring order via regulation

* Encourage a stronger sense of responsibility across the industry

* Empower the business and residential communities to act in support of the statutory agencies

Secondly, a new policy and vision is needed in order to develop an evening economy everyone can sign up to:-

* An appraisal of the town centre as a destination and research into consumer perceptions and aspirations

* Develop a comprehensive vision for an inclusive and more diverse town centre, drawing together the views of all the interested parties

Thirdly, partnership and delivery:-

In order for the vision to be successful, management functions that would only usually be available during the day should be extended later into the night.

* Liaise with operators and others to ensure swift feedback and action of specific concerns such as anti social behaviour, noise and litter

* Collaboration at all levels with all stakeholders to overcome obvious and pressing issues

* Extend town centre management to the evening and night time with a specific budget and dedicated team

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