Give your Kent-based business a boost with branding, marketing and graphic design

With the double dip recession seemingly never ending, times are tough for UK business owners. While the large corporations and chains appear untouched, it is the small and medium businesses which suffer. Kent’s once bustling town centres have been replaced with rows of empty shops and closed down pubs and restaurants.

But don’t despair. Whatever your business sector and whether you offer a service or a product, there is help available. If you believe your business offers strong, honest products or services which people still need, your prospects can be vastly improved with minimal investment.

Branding, marketing, graphic design, website design and advertising offer business owners the potential for a generous return on investment. A Kent-based graphic design agency will have local knowledge and the time and care for a personal service, with creations perfectly tailored to your requirements. They understand the needs of an SME like yours – they are one, after all.

As people say, you have to spend money to make money. It is common knowledge that exposure and branding can make or break a business. After all, if nobody knows about a business how will it ever get custom? Similarly, poorly designed websites, leaflets, brochures, fliers, exhibition stands and presentations will be at worst ignored, at best, forgotten.

You have a variety of options to consider to improve business:

Branding and Marketing

All successful businesses are intelligently branded. With professional guidance your brand image and strategy can be transformed or updated, giving your business an unforgettable personality which is consistent across all your communications.

Marketing experts can think up creative and attention-grabbing ways to get your message across in a way which suits your business.

Advertisements, Websites and Graphic Design

A new or improved website has infinite potential to increase sales, and a cheap logo redesign can make people notice your business again. HTML emails and well-designed printed newsletters ensure your business stays in the forefront of customer’s minds, and a professionally designed PowerPoint or Flash presentation will boost confidence and impress at your next sales pitch or conference. Why not make finding, contacting or buying from your business convenient with an app, and watch sales increase? Or create an annual report or brochure which really says something about you?

There are plenty of graphic design agencies in Kent which offer website design, online marketing and on and offline advertisement design, in addition to traditional graphic design services. The wider the range of services on offer, the better understanding they will have at promoting your business across the board.

In addition to this, a Kent-based agency which offers a variety of services can also be used for future promotions materials and marketing literature. This can help keep your brand consistent across all media.

Don’t accept the current economic climate and poor sales. Be proactive and hire a local graphic design agency in Kent to get your business noticed!

Open Water are a branding, marketing and graphic design agency based in Kent. Their team offer world-class designing services, tailored to your business to ensure your message gets heard.
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Get more service with your boardroom table and chairs

A lot of people get their office furniture from an internet supplier who ship you a box and leave it on your doorstep. That’s it. While this may seem the most cost-effective solution, it may actually be a false economy. People often don’t realise that there are alternatives available; companies who offer a range of services for similarly competitive prices.

Office design companies will often provide complimentary 2D or 3D plans to help you use the space effectively. With years of design experience, they can help tackle the problems you hadn’t even thought about – how people move through the space, how to fit in the maximum amount of storage or how the overall design will reflect the image of your company. Many business owners try to design the layout of their furniture themselves, but this can be time consuming and difficult. Whereas businesses replace their furniture once in five or ten years, office design companies help create attractive and functional layouts every day.

The matter of time is an important one. If you order from a generic supplier, you will have to plan the office layout, put the furniture together when it arrives and get everything in its rightful place. Then you are left with lots of packaging, as well as your old furniture. It is not until you have visited the dump several times that you have finished the job. The question is, how much do you value your time? All this could take hours – hours which could have been used more effectively elsewhere. Office design specialists will deliver and install furniture, as well as removing the packaging and if required, disposing of your old furniture in an environmentally responsible manner.

Take boardroom furniture, for example. A boardroom, in essence, is a direct representation of the company in microcosm. It is the nerve-centre where decisions are made and may double as a room to meet with important clients or stage conferences. Although designing a new boardroom may sound simple, it is not just a matter of buying a table and some chairs; there are many factors to be taken into account. The size and type of furniture will partly be dictated by the amount of space, but at the same time it is important to know how many people will be present and what style is appropriate. Boardroom chairs need to be comfortable and spacious, but this means they will take up more space. The table needs to allow everyone to sit round comfortably, while being small enough to enable discussion and collaboration. Drawings are essential to make sure everything will fit and function as it should.

Office design specialists will often have better quality furniture than is available elsewhere. While large retailers supply cheap, mass-produced products, specialist companies are able to offer Italian leather, real-wood veneers and glass. They can customise furniture to create a truly bespoke design, and have pieces that can make an impact with clients and employees alike. While this may sound expensive, the prices are often comparable to those offered elsewhere and represent far better value for money.

Perfect Synergi are office design specialists, offering a huge range of executive, boardroom and office furniture. They also provide 2D and 3D design services and will install your furniture before removing the packaging. With over 30 years’ experience, they are the perfect choice for your new office.
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Spruce Up Your Fish Tank with a 3D Aquarium Background

It can be a lonely life being a fish. Your career options are limited, the opportunities for travel slim and the only lasting relationships you can hope for are distinctly arranged. On the other hand, you have a lovely tank, food delivered daily and a nice view. Alright, so the exact dimensions of your tank may vary according to budget, but we’d all have a bigger flat if we could afford it. And how much space do you really need?

 Once you’ve found somewhere to put the castle and the gravel, you only need some communal living space to swim around in. What’s really important is what you do with the space you have. The usual Vettriano prints are ill suited to an aquatic environment and water features are largely redundant. You could try a lava lamp, but I wouldn’t advise it if you want to keep your gills intact. No, what you really need is a 3D aquarium background.

We’re all leading busy cosmopolitan lives, but it’s still good to have a little reminder of the old country on your wall. A little bit of the ol’ big blue that ma and pa used to talk about. 3D aquarium backgrounds are available which mimic the coral reefs of the Galapagos Islands. So what if you’re a goldfish with no heritage more dignified than the display tanks of Westfield? There’re any number of New Yorkers who claim Scottish blood on far more tenuous grounds. Even if some snooty swordtails should question the efficacy of such a display, you can simply point out the additional benefits beyond the simply baronial. For a start, they’re incredibly attractive things.

The urban minimalism of your flatmate’s bedsit might not speak of your own aquatic roots, but a finely sculpted, fully three-dimensional backdrop can lend your little corner of it a certain underwater charm. And it’ll probably create a soothing atmosphere for him, as well. That’s why he has you after all; a calming fin at the end of a wearying day. It’s just the way you swim, you laidback beast you.

There are also the remarkable health benefits. We’re always being told that we need to keep our scales clean, but how many of us have the time? It’s a sedentary life in a tank and there just aren’t the rocks you need to exfoliate. The protruding surfaces offer just the sort of abrasive surface to rub against; shed those scales and keep that streamline form. The textured backdrop is also a great environment for fostering friendly bacteria. Beats tipping a tub of Yakult into your tank every day.

There really is no better way to stay stylish, happy and healthy in your little fishy world than to invest in a 3D background for your aquarium. You’ll love it, your tankmates will love it and your owner will love it, too. Which is just as well – they’re paying after all.

If you or your owner would like to invest in a 3D aquarium background and make your life that little bit brighter, do pay a visit to Animal Source. They stock a host of backdrops for a range of fish tanks, allow available to browse and buy on their fantastic website. Take a look today.
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Your Next Small Business Venture Should be in Manufacturing – Whatever Your Background

With profitable units beginning at £100,000, owning your own manufacturing business may well be within your grasp. Don’t be put off by a lack of background in manufacturing. You can use your expertise to your advantage, whether it is in marketing, technology, administration, exporting, accountancy or design.

Contrary to common belief, manufacturing is not limited to large businesses. Small manufacturing businesses can offer the specialised and personalised products that large corporations do not have time for. Many buyers source their items from small and medium manufacturers who support their needs by offering a personal service.

Whereas trends come and go, and other industries prosper and demise, people and businesses will always need things. This is why the production industry is still thriving, and why you will find a wide choice of manufacturing businesses for sale by specialist business brokers.

Whether you manufacture products for direct sale to the general public (clothing, shoes, moulded items, furniture, doors and windows, food or beverages) or items for use by industry (tools, architectural metalwork, joinery, machines, technical instruments, machinery), owning a manufacturing unit means you can choose a niche which suits you. If you don’t have experience in manufacturing, you are able to choose a unit which suits your professional background, gifts and passions. You will also find a wealth of information and support sources available to help you create and run your dream business.

Choose whether you want a manufacturing business which is flexible (computer controlled to produce items to individual specifications or to react to market or customer needs), continuous (an assembly line of non customisable products), intermittent (different product specifications, produced to fluctuating volumes based on demand) or custom (items produced to the individual requirements of each customer). You won’t find any industrial businesses for sale more suited to your needs than manufacturing.

Manufacturers are sometimes offered attractive tax breaks and other attractive benefits, thanks to their benefit to the UK’s economy and the jobs they provide. You can enjoy these advantages of owning a manufacturing business, in addition to a profitable turnover in a stable industry.

Specialist sales websites enable you to browse manufacturing businesses for sale across the UK in one place. Within seconds you can begin comparing specifications and prices, using honest descriptions of businesses, their growth potential, leases, and the owners’ reason for sale to make an informed decision. You will often find that businesses are sold with their business model, tools, machinery, clients and reputation, allowing you to move right in and make your mark in the industry.
So don’t delay your success in the manufacturing sector. Shop around through business brokers to find an opportunity for you.

Premier Business Sales lists hundreds of businesses and franchise opportunities, including a wide range of manufacturing businesses. Begin making profit on your new manufacturing venture with Premier Business Sales.
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Can I make a payment protection insurance claim?

PPI is an insurance often sold with a bank loan or credit card. It is purchased to protect your repayments should you find yourself unable to work for any reason, the general assumption being that your PPI will cover the repayments of your loan if you ever find yourself in this position. So it must be a good thing, yes? Well, actually it’s been discovered that a high percentage of PPI policies were in fact worthless, and would have been of little benefit to a person making a claim. In fact, many people who were sold PPI did not even know they had the policy!

It’s quite easy to assess whether you may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance. If you can answer yes to any of the statements below you may be entitled to make a payment protection insurance claim.

1. You didn’t ask for PPI but it was added to the policy anyway.
2. You were told the PPI was compulsory, or your loan or credit card will not be approved without it.
3. You were not made aware that PPI was optional, or you were not told you could shop around for it elsewhere.
4. You were unemployed, self-employed or retired when you took out the cover.

So now you will have a good idea of whether or not you are in a position to reclaim payment protection insurance. The next question you are probably asking is “so what do I do about it?”. Well, you are now able to pursue a company to help you make your claim.

A claims company will do all of the hard work for you. There are many around and most work on a no win, no fee policy. This means if your claim is unsuccessful you pay the claims company nothing, so you have nothing to lose! A good claims company will help you every step of the way so you do not have to deal with the bank yourself.

Good luck with your claim!

If you want to find out more about making a payment protection insurance claim visit ABC Claims Management. ABC is one of the UK’s leading claims management companies. They offer free consultations either via the telephone or in a face to face meeting in your own home, and they work on a no win, no fee basis.

Click here for more information on mis-sold payment protection insurance.