IQ-Magazine-Issue-14

Issue 14: SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER 2015

IQ contents 

IN 

THIS 

ISSUE 

Gemma Treby Editor 

John Treby Creative Director 

Georgia Watson Editiorial & PR Assistant 

Emma Ward PR & Marketing 

Rachel Cracknell PR & Marketing 

Becca Plaxton Publication Sales 

Matt Cockerton Designer | Eugene Hector Designer 

Adam Blythe Designer | Steve Parr Designer 

Sean Brkovic Designer | James Willcox Designer 

Expert Contributors 

Glyn Mon Huges 

Emily Dawson | Jacqui Kemp | James Pinchbeck 

Steve Elsom | Sarah Brereton David Donnan 

Tim Mendes Da Costa | Laura Halstead 

Vicky Ellis | Sam Sales | Ben Cole | Alan Cowie 

Ashley Seymour-Rutherford | Andrew Webster 

Cubiqdesign 

Goodwin Business Park 

Newmarket, CB8 7SQ 

01638 666432 

www.iqmag.co.uk 

08 

10 

14 

19 

21 

24 

26 

30 

32 

36 

38 

41 

42 

45 

47 

55 

57 

58 

61 

65 

Business overview 

Top 30 under 30 

Productivity 

Auto enrolment are you ready? 

Commercial lease 

Encouraging economic growth 

Ambassadors to champion Suffolk for business 

Driving the change: Dufaylite 

Email marketing 

Branding… What does it mean to you? 

Modern marketing 

Taking over: Newprint 

A corporate motoring sensation 

Charitable giving 

Business diary 

Brain wars 

How our relationships affect our emails 

NDCC business awards 

Meet you there: Venues 

Book review: Gravitas 

issue 14 | page 5

IQ welcome 

welcome to the FouRteenth edition of iq business magazine, 

a quarterly publication that offers insight and inspiration 

to sme business owners in cambridgeshire and suffolk 

WEBSITE 


FOLLOW ON US TWITTER 

@IQBusinessMag 

FACEBOOK 

www.facebook.com/iqbusinessmag 

CONTACT US 

01638 666432 

email info@iqmag.co.uk 

I’m sad to say I missed being a 

Generation Y entrepreneur by a 

slither, and sadly fall into the X 

category. As my business partner 

(and husband) is just about in 

Gen Y, I would like to think our business is a 

good example of how the creativity and vision 

of two 20 somethings back in the day, has 

resulted in a thriving and established business. 

I’m really keen now to look back and see how 

the new batch of 20 somethings are doing; 

they’re the ones to watch, and in this new 

digital era they’ll be doing business in very different ways 

from how we more established folks are. 

In my new role as a Suffolk Business Ambassador, I have 

pledged to highlight the skills and expertise in the county. 

We are going to start by launching our 30 Under 30 

campaign. We are looking for budding entrepreneurs 

under the age of 30 whose stories we can track and 

celebrate with them along their journey. Turn to page 

10 to see how you can join in, and nominate yourself or 

someone you know. For more information on The Suffolk 

Business Ambassador programme, please see page 26. 

For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to visit 

the IQ website yet, please do take a moment to do so. Not 

only does it offer a wealth of local business news, but also 

is the perfect place to post your own news. I would like to 

encourage all our business readers to send in their good 

news stories and press releases. 

Gemma Treby 

to receive your free issue of iq 

Visit www.iqmag.co.uk and sign up to the IQ database to receive your free copy of IQ each quarter. 


IQ business overview 

BUSINESS 

OVERVIEW 

IQ Magazine discusses the effect that the 

new government has had on businesses in 

the months following the election…and 

how this will change in the coming years 

Now that we have fixed terms for Parliaments in the 

UK, the notion of a ‘snap’ election could well be 

a thing of the past. No longer are we likely to see 

a three-week scramble for votes, with all the issues 

glossed over quickly, leaving little room for debate. 

But not everyone is happy. Many say the general 

election campaign began with the party conferences 

held in the Autumn and continued, unabated 

almost, for going on eight months. And that, they 

felt, was too much. 

There was a lot to think about, though. People were 

expected to make a judgement on the first coalition 

government for more than 70 years. They had to 

make a judgement on a relatively untested leader of 

the opposition and decide whether he would make 

a competent Prime Minister. They had to decide 

whether they’d had enough of the present Prime 

Minister or whether they wanted him to keep the 

keys to Number 10. 

So that long campaign was enough, surely, to 

examine every minute detail of every policy that 

could possibly be suggested. Right? Well, not exactly. 

The economic indicators were all pointing in the 

right direction. Under the coalition, unemployment 

was falling and inflation had dropped to zero, even 

going into negative territory just before people 

headed for the ballot boxes. The economy was 

growing quite healthily and was regularly topping 

international comparison tables. If ever there was a 

reason to vote according to what’s in your wallet or 

your purse, this was the election which would prove 

that. 

Few pundits would have predicted a Conservative 

majority. Even fewer would have predicted the 

Labour Party’s rout. And nobody would have 

expected quite such a collapse of the Liberal 

Democrats to the point that they could arrive at 


IQ business overview 

the Palace of Westminster in a couple of London 

taxis. 

Perhaps more alarming for places like East Anglia 

is the power now being wielded by the Scottish 

National Party. Where the majority government 

is batting on a narrow wicket, it could well be 

votes from north of the border which will settle 

things one way or another. And that may not be 

for the overall good of places like Suffolk and 

Cambridgeshire. 

We are, of course, still in the government’s 

honeymoon period and it could be said that 

things are still bedding in. Yet some momentous 

decisions have already been taken. 

John Allan, the National Chairman of the 

Federation of Small Businesses, welcomed 

moves to reduce corporation tax, fix the annual 

investment allowance and boost regional growth, 

where investment in roads was particularly well 

received. This is, of course, something which will 

be warmly welcomed by many in East Anglia. 

But the welcome was not so hearty for the proposals 

to institute a levy on large companies in order to 

fund apprenticeships. A potential relaxation of 

planning restrictions produced a mixed reaction. 

While jobs could easily be created, many could 

be threatened if adequate safeguards are not put 

in place. “The introduction of a new National 

Living Wage for over 25 year olds, set at £7.20 

an hour from next April, will pose significant 

challenges for many small firms, particularly those 

in the hospitality, retail and social care sectors,” 

added Allan. Clearly, that will have a significant 

impact on East Anglia, where a good many small 

companies could be adversely affected. While 

the increase in employment allowance to £3,000 

is broadly welcomed by small companies, this is 

unlikely to offset the increase to the 

wages bill represented by the new 

minimum wage. 

Setting the annual investment 

allowance at £200,000 will 

encourage many small 

Small 

businesses 

are heavily 

reliant on the 

road network 

for success 

businesses to invest 

and therefore to create 

jobs. 

Particularly welcome for 

East Anglia will be the new 

road fund. “Small businesses are 

heavily reliant on the road network 

for the success of their businesses,” 

added Allan, something which has been made 

crystal clear by businesses in Suffolk, Norfolk 

and Cambridgeshire for years. Promised road 

improvements should, therefore, become a reality. 

Plans to devolve powers to Northern cities 

continues to be a government theme and people 

in other English regions will be watching carefully 

to see how the devolution of services such as the 

NHS, police and transport will work. 

But there are still big issues to be resolved, issues 

which will impact every part of the UK. The 

recent report suggesting the building of a third 

runway at Heathrow Airport needs to be resolved 

quickly. It cannot be the basis for another decade 

or so of debate. 

For those who thought that political and economic 

debate was over (in the first week of May) for 

another five years, there’s disappointment ahead. 

Interest rates are set to rise sooner rather than 

later, there’s the European referendum and who 

knows which way the economy will turn. We live, 

as they say, in interesting times. 

More Information 



IQ campaign 

Top 30 

Under 30 

We’re launching our first 

ever search for the top 30 

people under the age of 

30 who are changing the 

game and shaking things 

up in businesses across 

Cambridgeshire and 

Suffolk… 

Passion 

Almost every successful person 

begins with two beliefs: the 

future can be better than the 

present, and I have the power to 

make it so. 

Optimism 

Drive 

Patience 

issue 13 | page 10

IQ campaign 

As a magazine, we’re lucky enough to receive 

hundreds and hundreds of positive stories from 

companies like yours every month. Each issue of 

IQ is crammed with case studies, industry insights 

and news stories, which really show that, as a 

region, we’re leading the way when it comes to 

growth, innovation and development. 

Your stories have inspired us to seek out and 

celebrate the up-and-coming stars who are 

making serious waves and moving their sectors 

forward. We have a generation of talented people 

rising through the ranks who show no signs of 

slowing, and we want to give credit where credit 

is deservingly due. 

We believe in celebrating the diversity of businesses 

in our region. Our Top 30 Under 30 is open to 

individuals from any business background, so it 

doesn’t matter if you’re an established professional 

services firm, or an entrepreneur just starting up – 

we want to hear from you. 

We caught up with business owners and public figures from our region who were quick to champion 

the achievements of our younger colleagues… 

“I’m constantly inspired by young people with new ideas who are setting up, working in and running 

businesses. To build the kind of economy Britain needs to compete with our European and global 

neighbours, we need to make the best use of the talents of all our young people, with a focus on nurturing 

skills through academic and vocational routes. Well done to IQ Business Magazine for celebrating our 

rising stars in East Anglia.” Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge 

“Recognising the talent in our own businesses could not be more important. Young people in business 

need to feel valued if they’re going to continue to grow, and what better way to do that than with an 

award.” Gemma Treby, Editor of IQ Business Magazine and co-founder of Cubiqdesign. 

“As Chief Executive of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce I am proud to celebrate the innovative and 

talented young business people who are helping to put Suffolk on the map. As the largest independent 

private business forum in the county, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce recognises the positive impact 

that young entrepreneurs make on our local economy. Suffolk is home to many high profile companies 

and household names, and we are now supporting our talented rising stars through opportunities and 

incentives to set up or expand so we can continue to remain at the forefront for innovative enterprise.” 

John Dugmore, Chief Executive, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce 

If you’ve got a bright spark in your organisation who deserves a 

bit of the spotlight, we want to hear from you. 

How to nominate 

Nominating your Top 30 Under 30 couldn’t be easier. Simply email us at info@ 

iqmag.co.uk, let us know their name, age, job title, and provide a 400 word 

supporting statement. We want to know what makes them special, so 

please include an overview of their career history and a summary 

of their successes over the past 12 months. 

What they’ll win 

The winners will receive a profile in the January issue of 

IQ magazine and will be invited as special guests to our 

networking event in January, where they will receive their 

well-earned award. 


Need to add some creativity to your brand? 

Cubiqdesign is a multi award-winning design agency. 

No jargon... Just great ideas and stunning designs...

info@cubiqdesign.co.uk | 01638 666432 

www.cubiqdesign.co.uk 

Follow Cubiqdesign on twitter twitter.com/cubiqdesign

IQ finance 

Will China’s 

sneeze develop 

into the flu? 

Steve Elsom, Area Director for 

Lloyds Bank delves deeper 

issue 13 | page 14


The world’s second largest economy has 

sneezed.....not once or twice, but enough 

times for the worlds economies to sit up, and 

potentially take fright. 

The Shanghai Composite index (the Chinese 

stock exchange) has lost around 30% in 

value in the previous two months, but more 

worryingly the Chinese have seen a fall in 

exports, and weaker than expected industrial 

production, retail sales and investment 

figures. The China manufacturing sector 

survey, which measures order volumes, 

resourcing, stock order levels and backlogs, 

fell to 47.1 this month - it’s lowest level for 

six years. 

Forecasts for growth this year have been cut 

to less than 7%... down from the double 

digit growth that the nation has enjoyed 

over the past several years and the Central 

Bank has revalued the currency, cut interest 

rates and relaxed some of the internal bank 

reserve requirements. 

The importance of China as a global trade 

superpower is highlighted by the scale of its 

imports...14% of global oil exports are to 

China, 6% of cars, 57% of iron ore, 31% of 

copper ore and 58% of soya beans. Without 

China’s ‘business’ - economies around the 

globe will undoubtedly suffer. 

But will this sneeze develop into the flu? 

The Chinese Composite index had more 

than doubled in value in the 12 months to 

June 2015 and only 2% of shares are owned 

by foreigners. Indeed, there is a huge rump 

of small inexperienced private investors 

who make up the ‘stock registers’, who have 

rode on an increasing wave of debt over the 

past few years, but whose inexperience leads 

to more volatility. 

Intervention by the Central Bank has seen 

many of the global jitters abate and stock 

markets around the world have seen a 

‘bounce’....and in my view this has been a 

‘correction’ rather than a ‘crash’ and if it 

takes it’s medicine, China can fight off the 

flu. 

But there will be fears that rather like the 

Greek situation, the ‘can has merely been 

kicked down the road’ and the Central Bank 

of China will need to show the world that it 

can stabilise the currency fluctuations at the 

same time as keeping the economy motoring 

along. It has undoubted strength in terms of 

reserves (something that Greece doesn’t) but 

it’ll be keen to win back investor confidence 

and repair market sentiment, ultimately 

leading to future growth in value being ‘built 

not borrowed’. 


Lloyds Bank, Endeavour House, Chivers Way, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB24 9ZR 

steve.elsom@lloydsbanking.com @steveelsom1 


IQ showcase 

productivity 

Productivity 

a workforce or management problem or a combination of the two? 

James Pinchbeck, Marketing Partner Streets Chartered Accountants 

The Bank of England Inflation Report in May included a downgrading in 

its forecast for productivity, the output for man hours for the UK economy. 

The UK has perhaps shamefully fallen well behind its peers in terms of 

productivity. Even prior to the financial crisis, our productivity lagged behind 

our counterparts, a situation which, rather than improve in more recent times 

as we experience recovery, has actually deteriorated, with productivity levels 

now 16% lower than they would have been if the pre-recession trend had 

continued. Going forward, The Bank of England’s view of our productivity 

does not look any better; in fact their Inflation Report reveals that the forecast 

for productivity has been revised downward again. 


IQ IQ productivity 

showcase 

Why then are we deemed to be less productive and why is this becoming more of a trend? 

There are a number of reasons, which include 

the growing number of what might be termed 

uneconomical, even ‘zombie’ businesses, which 

survive merely because they service debt or 

just make enough. Such businesses have come 

about through a combination of low interest 

rates, the absence of a sharp up-turn in the 

economy and the general tendency by the 

financial institutions not to be overbearing but 

more supportive towards struggling business. 

We have seen a growing proportion of lower 

skilled employers in the workforce, which has 

had a negative effect on output, 

and such workers tend to be less 

productive 

Since 2008, spending and 

activity focused around 

workforce and skills development 

has been subject to cuts by 

many businesses. The impact of 

a significant lack of investment 

in workforce development over 

a prolonged period of time is 

now beginning to show, with 

lower rates of productivity and 

economic output. 

Equally, the general trend 

has been to reduce and in some cases not to 

make investment in aspects of production 

and business process, especially in technology 

and ICT. The effect is seen in out of date and 

increasingly slow working practices and reduced 

productivity. 

In terms of the workforce, it seems that there 

are many businesses whose poor recruitment 

selection and in-house training and development 

has given rise to a less than effective workforce. 

This situation has been further compounded by 

role ambiguity between what employers want 

from their workers and vice versa. 

It is also increasingly the case that whilst many 

businesses face new and changing customer 

demands, their working practices and business 

processes have not changed to reflect this. Given 

relatively long periods of low levels of pay 

awards or, in some cases, no pay awards, little 

investment in businesses and a lack of vision for 

the future, workers are feeling less valued and 

consequently, are less motivated. 

Whilst many businesses have looked to reduce 

operating costs to maintain or 

Since 2008, 

spending and 

activity focused 

around workforce 

and skills 

development has 

been subject to 

cuts by many 

businesses 

enhance operating margins, 

many have also experienced 

creeping increases in overheads, 

whether this increase lies in the 

cost of replacing like for like 

kit and new machinery, or is 

just simply to meet new rafts of 

compliance. 

It could also be said, with 

generally benign trading 

conditions, many businesses 

don’t have the desire, vision 

or skills to improve their 

productivity. Equally, such 

businesses tend to fail to attract the more skilled, 

more demanding employees who are looking for 

employment. It is more likely than not that such 

businesses are prone to lose their more skilled, 

valuable and productive staff to those businesses 

that have more drive and flair, and which 

provide for skills and workforce development. 

We can see then, that there is no single answer 

to the UK’s lack of productivity. However, that 

apart, there must be more that business leaders 

and managers can do to improve productivity. 


James Pinchbeck, Streets Chartered Accountants 

Telephone 0845 880 0320 info@streetsweb.co.uk www.streetsweb.co.uk 


IQ pensions 

Auto Enrolment 

Are You Ready? 

With auto enrolment in the pipeline, Websters looks at how 

businesses can comply with the new legislation 

Auto enrolment has been in 

the media for a while and 

communications are now being 

sent out via the Pensions Regulator, 

but still many small employers are 

unsure of their obligations and what 

they need to do to comply with this 

new legislation. 

Gary Eves (FCCA), at websters, 

explains what is happening, as well 

as when, and what your duties are as 

an employer. 

The date your automatic enrolment 

duties start is called your staging 

date and is when the law comes into 

effect for you. If you don’t know 

your staging date, you can find it 

using your PAYE reference and 

referring to The Pensions Regulator 

website. 

There are several tasks you’ll need 

to complete before your staging 

date. The smallest businesses will 

have a staging date in early 2017; it 

is advisable, though, to give yourself 

plenty of time, not only to plan for 

financial implications but also to 

plan your strategy of implementing 

and running the scheme. Ideally, 

you should create an action plan 

which will include the tasks you will 

need to complete along the way and 

will include a communications plan 

for your employees. 

Larger employers will probably 

seek the assistance of independent 

pension providers in order to 

administer the scheme; there will, 

however, be a cost for this service 

and many smaller businesses will 

want to minimise additional fees. 

If you are a small employer and 

do not have access to a company 

pension scheme, you may want 

to investigate NEST. This is the 

National Employment Savings 

Trust. It is a pension scheme that 

is primarily aimed at low to medium 

earners and small employers. 

As part of your planning, you will 

need to assess your workforce to 

decide whether they’re treated as 

‘workers’. There are three different 

categories you can base your 

decisions on, which are determined 

by your workers’ ages and how 

much they earn. 

As with all government schemes, 

there are ongoing duties. These will 

require you to maintain your chosen 

pension scheme and keep certain 

records. You will also need complete 

a declaration of compliance to show 

you have an auto enrolment scheme 

in place by at least five months after 

your staging date. Further into the 

scheme, there are other obligations 

which you will need to be aware of. 

This is not an optional scheme for 

any employer, however large or 

small. You are obliged to ensure that 

you comply with the duties outlined 

in the scheme, and although The 

Pensions Regulator states their 

approach will be to educate and 

encourage compliance, you will face 

fines or even imprisonment if you 

don’t comply. 

If you are unsure as to the next 

steps for your company, whether you 

employ thirty people or just one, 

please get in touch and we can help 

you on your way. 


Contact websters on 01223 507080 or go to www.tax.uk.com 


TAKING ON OR RENEWING A COMMERCIAL LEASE? 

WHAT EVERY TENANT SHOULD KNOW 

Tim Mendes Da Costa of Greene & Greene Solicitors looks at the 

risks of a long-term commercial lease 

IQ legal 

Leases are generally long-term legal contracts and it is vital to understand the risks 

prior to making a commitment that could turn out to be more costly than you first thought 

1 

Break Clauses. You 

should be looking 

to negotiate a Break 

Clause, so that you have the 

option to break the lease 

after the first two to five 

years of the term in case 

the premises themselves, 

or the business, are not 

working out. In addition, 

the conditions imposed in 

the lease to comply with the 

Break Clause should not be 

too onerous. 

2Rent Reviews. Try to 

tie in the Rent Review 

date(s) in your lease 

with the Break Clause(s) 

referred to above. This gives 

you an opportunity to get out 

of the lease at the point where 

the rent could suddenly be 

getting more expensive. Try 

to agree a cap to any Rent 

Review provisions in the lease. 

3 

Security of Tenure. 

Wording should be 

included to ensure 

security of tenure: i.e. to 

ensure the right to stay on in 

the premises after the expiry 

of the current lease. 

4 

Lease Plans. Make sure 

all the areas that the 

landlord has agreed 

to lease to you are marked up 

accordingly on the lease plan. 

Frequently, less obvious areas 

are missed off (e.g. parking 

areas, external amenity areas, 

rights of access). 

5 

Rent Free Periods. 

These are often 

negotiated by tenants 

who will need to ‘fit out’ the 

premises for their required use 

before they can commence 

trading. 

6 

Schedules of Condition. 

Beware of a ‘full 

repairing and insuring’ 

lease, which will say that the 

tenant must keep the premises 

in ‘good repair and condition’, 

as you could find yourself 

responsible for paying for an 

expensive new roof! This can 

be avoided, but a Schedule of 

Condition may be required and 

the legal wording here is key. 

7 

Latent & Inherent 

Defects. This is 

particularly relevant if 

you are considering taking on 

newly constructed premises. The 

lease should make it clear that 

any such defects that arise (e.g. 

the foundations are inadequate) 

are the responsibility of the 

landlord, not the tenant, or 

the cost of rectification could 

fall to you. 


Greene & Greene Solicitors, Bury St Edmunds 

timmendesdacosta@greene-greene.com www.greene-greene.com 

01284 717437 



New Anglia LEP’s Growing Business Fund 

offers grants from £5,000 up to £500,000 for 

companies to expand and create jobs. The grant 

makes up 20% of the total project spend, which 

means for £5,000 grant support, you would need 

to be investing at least £20,000 and create one 

new job. 

TOO SMALL 

FOR GRANTS? 

THINK AGAIN 

Alan Cowie from the New Anglia growth hub 

explains that no business is too small for grants 

You can ask any of the ten Growth Hub 

Advisers and they will all tell you that at some 

point they’ve heard the words, “I didn’t think 

we would be eligible for grants” from a business 

owner. In fact, many small companies are just 

as eligible for grant support as the larger ones. 

The difference is that the larger companies often 

have to be investing considerable sums of money 

to obtain large grants. The other barrier is the 

sheer volume of information out there; with so 

many little pots of money available, it can be 

hard to know which ones are appropriate for your 

business. Here is a selection of the smaller grant 

funds available, designed to help your business 

develop and grow: 

The Employer Training Incentive Pilot provides 

a 25% return against cash paid for additional 

training to a maximum grant of £1,000 for each 

member of staff. This is open to Suffolk and 

Norfolk SMEs and the programme is being run 

by Suffolk Chamber of Commerce. 

The Greener Business Grant is available in West 

Suffolk (St Edmundsbury and Forest Heath 

District Council areas) for businesses to reduce 

their energy use and save money. Up to £1,000 

is offered to fund capital works, such as building 

insulation, lighting and heating enhancements, 

or the installation of more energy efficient 

equipment. 

Connection Vouchers for faster broadband are 

available in Ipswich, Suffolk Coastal, Babergh 

and Mid Suffolk, which covers up to £3,000 of 

the installation costs. Over 100 applications have 

been approved since April and just over half of 

the money has been spent, so there isn’t much 

time if you want to snap up this offer. 

The Manufacturing Advisory Service offers grants 

of up to £3,000 towards projects which involve 

reaching new supply chains, improving processes, 

developing new ideas or increasing capacity. MAS 

additionally provide two programmes of support 

called ‘Grow: Offshore Wind’, which helps 

businesses exploit opportunities in the offshore 

wind market; and ‘Fit 4 Nuclear’, which provides 

funding to help businesses meet strict industry 

standards to compete for work in the nuclear 

industry and its supply chain. 


There may be grants or heavily subsidised support to help your business grow and the 

landscape is constantly shifting. To find out more call 0300 333 6536 or email 

growthhub@newanglia.co.uk

IQ economic growth 

Greater Cambridge 

Greater Peterborough 

Enterprise Partnership 

(LEP) share how it is 

encouraging growth in our 

economy... 

Encouraging 

Economic Growth 

From securing over £110 million to support economic growth via our 

Growth Deal, to launching our Get Exporting campaign, the Greater 

Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is 

committed to growing the local economy. 

Over the past year we have made significant forward strides in tackling the 

key issues identified as barriers to growth, including work around skills, 

infrastructure and funding. 

In our Growth Deal, we secured funding to improve key infrastructure 

routes, including the construction of the much-needed Ely southern bypass 

- 1.7km of road that will connect the A142 to the Stuntney Causeway, 

relieving congestion in the City of Ely, and supporting the creation of 4,500 

new jobs and 3,000 new homes. 

Focusing on skills, we have set aside funding for specialist training centres 

for construction, highways development, and the food processing industries, 

to ensure that local business have a sustainable workforce, both now and in 

the future. 


IQ economic growth 

Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative 

Our Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative is a pioneering 

programme designed to support our world-class 

Agri-Tech sector, with grants available for growth and 

R&D projects worth between £10,000 and £150,000. 

To date, over £2.5 million has been invested in 29 

different projects, ranging from new machinery for cut 

flower producers and gluten free oat processors, through 

to innovative IT projects to improve agricultural 

productivity. 

iLevel, an Information Technology business based in 

Newmarket, recently secured a grant worth £12,500 to 

develop a mobile app-based remote monitoring system. 

Søren Bradbury, director of iLevel Ltd, said: “We were 

delighted to have been awarded the Agri-Tech grant. 

This additional investment in the iLevel platform 

now will bring forward improved functionality, 

which will enable iLevel to win large order deals with 

organisations such as large farming estates and liquid 

fertilizer groups in 2015.” 

To find out how Agri-Tech grants could help grow your 

business, contact the Programme Manager, Martin 

Lutman, via info@agritechgrants.co.uk or by calling 

01480 277180. 

Signpost 2 Grow 

Signpost 2 Grow is the LEP’s new business support 

service, designed to help local businesses better connect 

with the funding and support they need to grow. 

The service will match you with the most appropriate 

support for your business and give you proactive advice 

via our interactive website and business events. 

Due to be launched in Autumn 2015, Signpost 2 Grow 

will be led by Binal Cadieu, who is on hand to signpost 

you to the right funding and support to fulfil your 

business goals. 

To find out how we can help grow your business, get 

in touch with the Signpost 2 Grow team by emailing: 

hello@signpost2grow.co.uk or by calling 01284 365007. 

Get Exporting 

Want to grow your business? It’s time to get exporting. 

The UK is one of the world’s great trading nations. For 

centuries, our economy has been based on exporting 

goods and services, yet many businesses have still not 

taken advantage of this opportunity. 

To help you take the first steps, businesses from across 

the LEP area have shared their exporting secrets with us 

in a series of videos that discuss the positive impact that 

exporting has had on their business. 

From manufacturers to creative branding agencies, 

exporting can help a wide range of business grow. So 

what are you waiting for? Get exporting and see your 

business grow. 

You can watch these videos now by visiting the GCGP 

Enterprise Partnership website: 

www.gcgp.co.uk/exporting-inspiration/ 


To learn more about the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough 

Enterprise Partnership (LEP) visit www.gcgp.co.uk 


IQ investment 

AMBASSADORS TO 

CHAMPION SUFFOLK 

FOR BUSINESS 

issue 14 | page 26 


To find out more, contact 

lorna.laycock@suffolk.gov.uk 

or ashleigh@suffolkchamber.co.uk 

www.investinsuffolk.com

IQ investment 

Invest in Suffolk was launched two years ago and is how Suffolk County 

Council promotes Suffolk as a business location and responds to Inward 

Investment enquiries. 

We believe that “Suffolk is the bright choice for 

your business,” offering a winning combination 

of what you need to succeed including: good 

connections to ports, airports and London; 

competitively priced premises; and a great quality 

of life. Our county is already home to many high 

profile businesses and household names such as 

BT, Greene King and Willis, so new businesses will 

be in good company when they choose Suffolk. 

Working together with Suffolk Chamber of 

Commerce, Invest in Suffolk is recruiting 100 

high profile business leaders and professionals to 

become Suffolk Business Ambassadors. 

The Suffolk Business Ambassadors programme 

will bring together people who are passionate 

about living and working in Suffolk and are willing 

to use their skills and expertise to champion our 

county as a top business location. The programme 

is due to be officially launched in Autumn 2015. 

Gemma Treby co-founder of Cubiqdesign, 

commented, “I am delighted to be an Ambassador 

for Suffolk and to join this network of individuals 

who are as passionate about Suffolk and business 

as I am. I am learning new things about our 

county all the time, and I invite you to visit the 

Invest in Suffolk website to discover why we are a 

great area to invest in.” 

“Suffolk is the home of hard working businesses 

and a magnet for entrepreneurial spirit and the 

recruitment of these 100 high profile business 

leaders is fundamental to the county’s future 

success,” said John Dugmore, Chief Executive 

of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce. “Our 

members know the importance of this impressive 

Ambassadorial programme, and the key message 

that we want people to ‘Invest in Suffolk,’ will be 

heard loud and clear because of this work and 

because of the backing of these influential men 

and women.” 

Property is high quality and competitive, 

with prices around 40% lower than 

London 

Over a fifth of the farm land is in the 

East of England, worth £400 million 

from ‘field to fork’ 

The Port of Felixstowe is the largest 

container port in the UK and is one of 

the main shipping gateways for Europe, 

China and South East Asia 

The ‘greenest county’ is leading the 

way in low carbon energy Suffolk is 

home to some of the country’s key 

growth industries such as energy, ICT 

and biotechnology, alongside established 

agriculture, insurance and financial 

services sectors 

Extensive sporting facilities include 

over 20 golf courses, excellent sailing 

facilities, horse racing at Newmarket, 

Ipswich Town Football Club plus events 

such as the Tour of Britain, IpArt, and 

the Great East Swim.

Five Ways To 

Reduce Your Energy Bills 

CUB UK gives advice on how to reduce energy bills 

IQ cost reduction 

Whether you are a small business or a large organisation, there are a number 

of factors that impact on your budget - employee benefits, office rentals, IT and 

energy, to name a few. Many of these factors are statutory costs, but for some, 

savings can be made. 

On a day-to-day basis, there are a number of operational ways to reduce energy 

bills. Do you turn your lights off after working hours? Is your heater on a constant 

heat or is the air conditioning always on during the summer? 

CUB UK is an energy consultant for SME businesses that consume less than 

£24,000 annually and I&C businesses that consume over £24,000 (300,000 kWh) on gas and electricity per 

annum. Vicky Ellis, Head of Business Support at CUB UK has highlighted the best ways to promote energy 

conservation at your work place. 

1Replace. Changing existing 

bulbs with CFL bulbs will save 

75% more energy than standard 

light bulbs, which means they run 

for a longer period. CFL bulbs 

now come in a range of styles and 

sizes, so there is no excuse for not 

installing these throughout your 

premises. Also, use spot lightemitting 

diodes (LEDs) for display 

lighting. They work just as well as 

halogen lighting but use less energy. 

2 

Hibernate. It is common for 

employees to leave computers 

and laptops on at the end of a 

working day so they can continue 

with their existing work the 

following day. Ask all employees to 

schedule devices to hibernate mode 

after working hours and during 

weekends. 

3 

Switch Off. Did you know the 

kettle is one of the most energyhungry 

items in the office? 

Asking employees to turn off devices 

in the kitchen and to switch off 

lights when leaving a room can be a 

difficult task in a large business. The 

best way to get around this is to use 

clear signage on switches, to remind 

employees about saving energy. 

4 

Get Involved. Saving energy 

is not just the responsibility 

of the business owner. Offer 

employee incentives for creating 

innovative ideas to save energy 

and implementing them. If your 

energy bills are reduced, perhaps the 

savings can be used for team gifts or 

outings. 

5 

Recycle. Landfill tax is on the 

increase, so recycling wherever 

possible is important. Invest in 

different coloured bins throughout 

your premises for employees to 

recycle. Also try only to print when 

necessary. Reducing your paper 

wastage will also cut the amount of 

energy required to run the printer. 

CUB UK understands that a 

number of these operational 

considerations can be difficult to 

achieve when working in a large 

organisation or a small business 

with a large number of temporary 

staff. It offers a tailored energy 

consultancy service that will save 

you time, hassle and find you the 

very best, competitive price for your 

business, helping with every aspect 

of energy management. 


CUB UK, March Business Centre, Dartford Road, March, Cambridgeshire, PE15 8AN 

Tel: 01354 606848. www.c-u-b.com 


IQ business profile 

Driving 

The 

Change 

Knowing there’s something 

wrong in a business and 

having the experience, skill 

and vision to design and 

implement a change 

strategy that’s going to 

stand the test of time are 

two very different things. 

It’s easy to point fingers and avoid difficult situations, but, 

with a leader who is committed to bringing about positive 

developments for the good of the business as a whole, then 

there’s hope. 

We caught up with Ashley Moscrop who has been driving 

the change at Dufaylite, an established paper honeycomb, 

board design and manufacturing company, and is now seeing 

the light at the end of what’s sometimes been a challenging 

tunnel. 

Ashley, 31, joined the 45-year-old business in 2002, having just 

completed his A-levels. Working as a product development 

technician within an established team, he soon realised that as 

a company, they weren’t where they should be. While manually 

cutting boards on the production line, Ashley would spend his 

days thinking of new ideas that would help the business grow. 

“They were a bit stuck in the past, with mature products in 

stale markets being developed by an uninspired workforce 

operating in silos. Things weren’t exactly flourishing,” Ashley 

recalls. 

After working his way through the business over time, Ashley 

started to build up a more detailed picture of where the 

biggest problems were developing. “There’s no use going into 

a business and starting to shoot your mouth off about what’s 

not working. You won’t be making any friends that way. It 

takes time to really get underneath a company’s skin to find 



out the root causes of problems, rather than just their 

symptoms,” Ashley said. 

Ashley wanted to encourage the business to take 

calculated risks to stimulate growth, rather than stagnate 

in crowded market places. Ashley worked with everyone 

from the manufacturing team to the board of directors, 

on the development and launch of a new product range 

that entered the business into a new market. Ultra Board 

first started trading in 2005 and provided a range of 

innovative board solutions for the print design and retailer 

markets. 

By working with the internal team, setting realistic goals 

and communicating with all stakeholders, the launch was 

a success but it wasn’t without its challenges. In addition 

to developing new products within the business, Ashley 

introduced new lean manufacturing processes that would 

change the shape of the company. 

the launch was a 

success but it wasn’t 

without its challenges 

“Changing mindsets was always going to be the biggest 

thing to overcome. We needed to show people how the 

changes we were looking to make would actually improve 

their day on a very real level. It wasn’t just something 

that was coming out of the boardroom, dictated down. 

It was important for us to bring everyone with us on the 

journey, so they could perform their jobs more accurately 

and efficiently.” 

In addition to launching new products and introducing 

lean manufacturing processes, Ashley took it upon 

himself to research, roll out and manage a full front to 

back management information system (MIS) within the 

company. “The MIS has taken a good 18 months to bed in, 

as it had to become a central part of how we work. Ranging 

from marketing, purchasing, sales, profitability and more, 

there is nothing our MIS doesn’t touch and report on. It’s 

been a big move for the business, as it’s given us a visibility 

across everything we’re doing on a whole new level.” 

His vision and years of hard work earned Ashley a place 

at the directors’ table. He’s now responsible for managing 

the whole team, new product development, marketing, 

internal processes and more. Not one to rest of his laurels, 

Ashley continues to look for ways to continue to grow the 

business. “I want us to become the clear market leader in 

honeycomb boards throughout the UK and have a strong 

presence in all parts of the developed world. We’re on our 

way, with resellers already operating in Australia, Portugal 

and Denmark. We’ve also partnered with a company, and 

set up Dufaylite Americas, primarily focusing on Mexico 

and will be used to expand into the USA.” 

Now two years down the line, changes have bedded in 

and there’s a real sense of focused momentum within the 

growing team. “The key to any development is working on 

your people and helping them to evolve. I’ve always wanted 

to do as much as I can, but this whole process has shown 

me the importance of focusing on one thing at a time.” 

When asked what the future holds, Ashley is already deep 

into researching the impact that 3D printing will have on 

their sector. “I think it’s going to shake things up more than 

we realise, and it’s not something that’s years away, it’s very 

much on our doorstep.” 

Ashley has retained full-service marketing agency, 

Cubiqdesign, as the company’s strategic partner, and is 

in the process of redeveloping the websites for each of 

Dufaylite’s brands, Clayboard, Envirolite and Ultra Board. 

“We’ve got some very exciting developments in the months 

ahead, as this is our 60th year in business,” Ashley says, 

“I’m looking to keep things simple. Now that we have our 

systems and processes in place, our products can shine, 

thanks to the hard work of our talented people.” 


www.dufaylite.com 


IQ marketing 

email 

marketing 

work for you 

10 strategies to make 

With more investment going into digital marketing than ever before, 

Marketing manager at Cubiqdesign, Emma Ward tells us why she thinks it’s 

time to embrace email and get ready to see a return on investment. 



It may come as a surprise to learn that marketers love email. Last year over 68% of us cited email as a channel that provided 

good or excellent tangible results. Yes, it’s true…email marketing can be terrible, and with more than one in twelve of us 

getting over 100 emails a day, it’s easy to be speedily directed into the junk folder. But for all its well-known faults, it can yield 

serious results when done well. 

1. What do you want to get out of it? 

You need to set some objectives if you’re going to be 

successful. Establishing targets will shape what you need to 

create, and will stop you from sending generic updates to 

your customers about how Tracy from HR ran into Gary 

Barlow at the South Mimms services (yes, that’s happened). 

2. Sign up to an email marketing provider 

If you’ve been using Outlook to send marketing emails 

to your customers, you should stop. Today. Outlook isn’t 

designed for bulk activity and as a result, your IP address 

could be blacklisted. 

It also means your emails probably look rubbish, and you 

also have no idea who is receiving your emails, opening them 

or clicking through to your website. By signing up to an email 

marketing provider (like MailChimp or Campaign Monitor), 

you solve all of these problems. 

3. Split your data 

One of the best things about email marketing is the ability to 

be personal. You can segment your email data by customer 

type/location/frequency of purchase…or anything else that 

might help you meet your objectives. Make sure you’re only 

using data where people have opted in to receiving emails 

from you, and that your list is clean and up to date. 

4. Share great content 

Once you’ve segmented your data, you can create a content 

plan around what will interest your target audience groups. 

By thinking about this carefully, being led by your customers 

and your targets, you can create something people will 

respond to and act on. 

5. Use a quality template 

If your email template isn’t right, it’s not going to make the 

impact you want. You can hire someone to design this for 

you, or you can build your own mobile-friendly template 

when using software like MailChimp. Your branding and 

contact details should be clearly displayed, paragraphs 

should be short and calls to action should be touch-friendly 

and really obvious. 

6. Link to your site 

Sometimes people are tempted to cram all of 

their information into the copy of their email. 

By uploading this content to your website and 

including short snippets of text in your email with 

links back to the site, you’re keeping the email nice 

and short, as well as pointing traffic to specific areas 

on your website. 

7. Preview and test 

Check what your email looks like on mobile devices 

before you send it out, click on the links and make 

sure someone else has had a read through to check 

all’s as it should be. You can do clever stuff with 

testing software nowadays. Visit us at iqmag.co.uk to 

learn more about A/B testing your emails. 

8. Measure the impact 

Once you’ve sent your email, you get to see how 

many people are opening and clicking through 

to your site. This will tell you how engaging your 

database is finding your emails, which can help you 

improve the types of emails you send out in future. 

9. Keep track of the data 

Once you’ve sent out a few emails, compare how 

they’re performing against each other. Keep track 

of this data and see if you can spot any trends that 

emerge over time. An email marketing provider will 

store this data for you, or you could use a spreadsheet 

and share the information with your colleagues. 

10. Tweak and repeat 

If something hasn’t worked as well as you thought it 

might, don’t keep doing it and hope for a different 

outcome next time. Use the insights from the data 

to review and improve future emails and learn what 

works best for you. 




IQ advice 

choosing 

an agency 

Businesses in Cambridge are faced with a bewildering 

choice when it comes to digital agencies. 

Here are some tips to help you make the right choice. 

• Talk to friends/colleagues and use 

Google to make a list of potential 

agencies 

• Look at the agency websites to see if 

they do the sort of work you need 

• Make a shortlist and keep it to 

five or less 

Now pick up the phone and make a call. I know we 

all use email, but the first impression is important and 

David Donnan 

from Igentics shares 

advice on choosing the 

right digital agency for 

your business 

a telephone is best. Remember that we agency folks 

are supposed to be responsive, so don’t worry about 

catching us unprepared. 

Explain what you want and see what reaction you get. 

Ideally you want to be in a position to send over a brief, 

with budget if possible. Then go and meet the agency 

to discuss how you could take it forward. 

It is important to go and see the agency as you want to 

make sure they are real (some are not) and also because 

you will be working with these people. When you meet 

with them you need to find out the following: 

Commercially do they fit? 

Are they the right size for the project, do you like their 

design style and have they got the right expertise and 

team to deliver what you need? 

Do they have the support/insurance/industry partners 

needed to provide an ongoing service? 

Can they back all this up with case studies? 

Are they local? 

Does that matter? 

What about the people? You might be working with 

this team for years (we have several clients who have 

been with us for more than 10 years). It is important 

that you can form a solid working relationship, based 

on trust and common goals. 

Hopefully at this point you have narrowed your 

selection to one or two agencies, after which your 

choice will come down to the specific ability to meet 

the needs of your project against budgets. 


For more information visit www.igentics.com

IQ business planning 

BRANDING... 

WHAT DOES 

IT MEAN TO 

YOU? 

Sarah BRERETON, of Limewash, asks the important 

question, what does branding mean to your business? 


Contact Limewash on 01223 813557 

www.limewashmedia.com 

All too often, when thinking about branding, businesses simply 

consider the logo and visual identity of the company, rather than 

take a wider view. Of course, these pieces 

of the jigsaw are important, but they are 

the tangible elements that make up a 

brand, rather than the brand itself. Truly 

successful brands are built around much 

more than just a logo, tagline or agreed 

colour palette; and yet for many businesses 

we meet, this is exactly what their brand 

has become. 

If it’s not my logo, what is it? 

Your brand is actually the sum total of 

everything you do - your proposition and 

how it is delivered and communicated 

to your customers on an ongoing basis; 

the products you offer, how they work and the service you provide, 

including the way in which everyone within your organisation 

interacts with your customers on a daily basis, right down to their 

telephone manner. All of these things and more add up to the way 

in which a customer thinks and feels about your company and how 

successfully they believe you service their needs. 

Think of your brand in terms of a commitment, or promise to your 

customers rather than a collection of visuals: 

What are you committing to provide? How will you communicate 

and then deliver on that commitment? Over time, how will your 

commitment grow? 

Once it’s done, it’s done…right? 

For most businesses creating a brand identity that sums up exactly 

who they are, what they do and how and why they do it is a task 

undertaken at the start of their journey. Once complete, attention 

then turns elsewhere. However, it is vital that business owners take 

the time to re-examine and re-evaluate the components of the brand 

regularly. What worked for you at the beginning, given the customer 

groups you were targeting, may not work for you two or three years 

down the line. Customers’ needs and wants change. Brands have 

to strike a chord with the end customer to motivate them to take 

action to buy the product or use the service and businesses that 

don’t pay attention to the changing requirements – and changing 

demographics – of their customers may well find brand loyalty a 

hard thing to cultivate. 

Unfortunately, in a lot of cases company brands are developed based 

on an individual’s view, rather than considering what the brand is 

trying to do and who it is trying to attract. In these scenarios, it is 

always better to adapt the brand if it doesn’t epitomise everything 

that the business stands for, rather than soldier on with a brand that 


misses the mark. It is rare that there will be much equity established in a misplaced 

identity. 

Consistent communication is key 

When it comes to actually communicating the brand to both customers and 

prospects there is one vital rule - be consistent. Always use a consistent logo, in a 

consistent format. Always use colours consistently. For example, if purple is used 

to highlight an action that a customer/prospect can take on your website, then 

use purple to denote an action in other forms of communication too. Consistency 

breeds familiarity – make yourself instantly recognisable via consistent and clear 

brand visuals and messaging to avoid confusion. You have seconds to engage 

a customer and motivate them to take action; constantly changing the way you 

are asking customers and prospects to access information is time consuming and 

confusing from their perspective and they may ultimately decide to go elsewhere 

because of it. 

Knowing when to stop 

Another common stumbling block occurs in the creation of multiple, separate 

brands and identities for different parts of a proposition – for example for a 

specific product or a service in a particular industry sector. This ‘house of brands’ 

approach is more common within the FMCG sector and is very successfully 

delivered by organisations such as Proctor & Gamble, who effectively run each 

brand as a separate business, each with its own unique and targeted identity and, 

importantly, with the independent budgets to support it. 

Adopting this approach as an SME is often extremely challenging, particularly if 

the necessary budget to support the building of awareness and consideration for 

two or more brands, rather than one, just isn’t available. In this situation a ‘house 

of brands’ approach can lead to confusion, which will ultimately result in a dilution 

of brand equity in all areas rather than success. 

In this scenario it is again better to fix it rather 

than allow the problem to perpetuate. A more 

successful and manageable strategy here could 

be to create strength through a ‘branded 

house’ approach – think Virgin. When 

deciding to take action though, it is important 

to understand the equity established in each 

brand before deciding which one to stick with. 

We have experience of situations where the 

product brand has become more synonymous 

with the business and has a more positive 

impact on customers than the overall business 

brand. In these cases, careful consideration of which brand to retain is crucial. 

Be committed 

Whichever route you choose, be it a complete re-brand or the development of an 

existing brand, it’s vital to have a robust plan in place for the roll out of that brand. 

It is also imperative that you commit to it and above all, are consistent in the way in 

which you communicate it. If you don’t believe in it yourself, how can you expect 

anyone else to? 

IQ business planning 

MAKE YOURSELF 

INSTANTLY 

RECOGNISABLE 

VIA CONSISTENT 

AND CLEAR 

BRAND VISUALS 


modern 

is 

m 


It goes without saying that understanding the return on 

your marketing investment has always been important, but 

when you really think about it…how many of us feel we’re 

effectively measuring the impact of our spend? 

Turns out, it’s less than half of us. According to a survey 

undertaken by digital marketing training provider, 

Econsultancy, 41% of marketers believe reporting accurate 

ROI of all marketing activity is the biggest challenge facing 

the business. Over 35% find it a huge challenge to understand 

how different marketing channels work together. 

Why is it important? 

If we’re spending money on marketing and sales are increasing, 

then why worry about the finer detail? Hopefully, this one’s 

obvious. If you don’t know what’s specifically attributing to 

an increase in sales, you won’t know what’s working well and 

what could be improved. 

Why is it so hard? 

With more digital channels in play than ever before, measuring 

ROI has become increasingly complex. Some profess that it’s 

made things simpler, and this is true to an extent, as we have 

access to data that doesn’t exist in the offline world (e.g. click 

through rates, social shares etc). However, it’s not a case of 

‘more data = better understanding of ROI’. 

The growth of digital has muddied the water when it comes to 

what channel is influencing what behaviour. There are more 

channels to market now, and they overlap all the time. 

“Most channels assist 

a conversion, rather 

than actually 

generate the sale.” 

It takes an average of 10 interactions with a brand before 

a consumer converts, meaning that most channels assist a 

conversion, rather than actually generate the sale. How we 

measure the ROI from an ‘assist’ becomes harder; again, we 

need to understand its value in the overall conversion path. 

Combine that with the fact that we can all get online using 

either a laptop or tablet at home, a desktop at work and then 

a smartphone whenever we like…and all of a sudden, we can 

look like three different people to a measurement system like 

Google Analytics. 

Effective measurement can soon become a mammoth task 

that requires a specialist skillset that is beyond many businesses. 

What’s the answer? 

If this all sounds like an unclimbable mountain, don’t despair. 

There is hope. 

To effectively measure your return on investment, firstly 



As marketing technologies 

continue to expand and grow, 

Emma Ward at Cubiqdesign 

considers how easy it is to 

understand return on investment 

in a multi-channel world. 

arketing 

measurable 

you need to do something worth tracking. Sounds obvious, 

but you’d be amazed how many people are obsessed with 

mindlessly measuring visits to their website without thinking 

about the activity that’s impacted those figures. Get your 

house in order by taking the following steps: 

• Design marketing objectives based on what the business 

needs to achieve 

e.g. increase new enquiries from email marketing 

• Plan tactical activities that are aligned to your marketing 

objectives 

e.g. run a tailored campaign with a specific offer for your 

segmented database 

• Establish your goals on your measurement platforms 

e.g. track enquiry form completion from email sessions 

• Review your data frequently and adjust activity where 

needed 

e.g. refine your message to a segmented dataset 

By effectively planning what you’d like to measure, when, 

and where, you will make measuring your wider activity 

feel more manageable, as it will no longer be such a 

mammoth task. When all else fails, make sure you ask every 

new lead how they’ve come to contact you today. Not very 

sophisticated, but an invaluable opportunity to hear what’s 

working from the horse’s mouth. 

IQ Success Story 

Guy Robinson, from Absorb Nutrition, wanted to increase the 

average order value from existing customers purchasing protein 

supplements. He segmented his data to pull out customers with 

a respectable monthly order value and created a campaign list 

in his email marketing system. 

Based on his knowledge of what this target audience group 

has responded to in the past, Guy designed a bespoke offer he 

believed would encourage his database to spend more. This 

offer was set up online, with a unique landing page which was 

integrated with his ecommerce back office system. He designed 

a new email template and installed Google Analytics tracking 

code into his template to ensure he could measure ongoing 

behaviour. 

In addition to the email campaign, Guy shared the offer on 

social media. This way, he could compare traction on different 

platforms to monitor how the offer performed on each channel. 

After a couple of days, Guy could see that male clients on his 

target database responded more quickly to the campaign, but 

female clients increased their order value to a greater extent. 

As his measurement model was pretty simple, he could 

calculate the sales from the email and understand the return 

on his initial investment. In addition to this, Guy was also able 

to draw additional insights from his campaign based on the 

wider data he gathered. 





taking over 

IQ Magazine talks to business owners Paul 

Howe and David Prior about taking over 

established business, NewPrint… 

When Paul Howe and David 

Prior took over Newmarket-based 

business-to-business print supplier, 

NewPrint, in the middle of the 

recession, little did they know that 

two years later business would be 

booming, resulting in numerous 

equipment upgrades to keep up with 

demand. 

Owner David helped to set up the 

original company, Newmarket 

Press, and has been a core member 

of the team ever since. Sold, and 

renamedNewPrint, 11 years ago, 

the business expanded to include 

a salesman - Paul. Two years ago, 

the time had come for the previous 

owner to take a back seat and the 

pair were offered the opportunity to 

purchase the business. 

“It was a big step,” confirmed 

David. “You can never be 100% 

sure of these things, but we looked 

at the figures and thought that it 

could work. It just so happened that 

the company across the road, Digital 

Print Services, also wanted to sell up 

and by taking over both businesses, 

we doubled the turnover overnight.” 

Digital Print Services’ former 

proprietor, Kirsty helped them 

through the transition, imparting 

her knowledge of her customer base 

and market position. 

With business on the up, the 

directors chose to invest in lots 

of new equipment including 

finishing technology such as folding 

machines, creasers and laminators, 

to compliment the existing litho 

capabilities already available. Paul 

and David saw this as a way to 

continue the work the company was 

already doing - short colour runs 

and spot colour work - but doing it 

more effectively. 

“With our digital presses, there had 

been lots of break down time and we 

were having engineers out virtually 

every day, so it got to the point when 

our maintenance contractors had 

to keep putting parts into it, and so 

they put a proposal together for a 

new machine. We went and looked 

at them and decided that rather than 

have one, we’d have two,” explained 

David. “It has doubled our capacity; 

they are much faster machines. 

Before if you had ten jobs and only 

one machine that constantly breaks 

down, then the job would take 

two days, but now if we’ve got ten 

jobs, then we can start one on one 

machine, and then go to the other; 

it’s certainly increased our capacity.” 

With in-depth knowledge of both 

their company and the industry, 

NewPrint’s new owners understood 

that they wanted to continue the 

same high standard of product 

and services the business had 

always achieved. However, they 

looked at what could help the 

business run more efficiently, and 

thus gain more custom through 

boosted productivity, and that was 

an investment in equipment and 

technology. 


For more information visit www.newprint.co.uk 


A CORPORATE 

MOTORING 

SENSATION 

The new Mercedes A-Class, which comes in five different models is a car like no other 

With so many potential models 

on the market, finding a 

suitable company car is often 

a challenging task. Set to first 

appear in dealer showrooms 

from the end of September, the 

new generation A-Class 

Mercedes-Benz is an ideal 

addition to any business. 

The updated model’s economical features, multimedia functions and 

its comfortable design make it a business owner’s dream. The newlook 

combines a dynamic design, leading technology and outstanding 

quality, which can be tailored externally and internally to meet the 

needs of your business. 

In comparison to the sporty models, the A 180 SE has a low emission 

rate at 89 g/km as well as a lower insurance group to suit employees 

of all ages. The multimedia functions this new A-Class model has to 

offer give an upgrade to the interior and allow for an entirely unique 

driving experience. For the first time in any Mercedes-Benzes model, 

comprehensive smartphone integration has been introduced, as 

infotainment systems MirrorLink, Apple and CarPlay will become 

mercedes-benz of bury st edmunds 

Northern Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 6NH. Tel: 01284 778950 

www.robinsons.mercedes-benz.co.uk 

We also have sites at Cambridge, Kings Lynn, Norwich and Peterborough. 

corporatesales@robinsonsmercedes.co.uk 



available from the beginning of 2016. This smartphone 

friendly feature supports navigating, telephone and the 

sending and receiving of both text and email messages, 

functions which allow for work to be dealt with even on the 

go, in a safe and easy way. An even larger display, measuring 

8 inches, is introduced to the model, featuring menus with 

animated designs and visual depictions. 

Made to be even more intuitive, the A-Class has revised 

assist systems. The new Collision Prevention Assist Plus is 

improved from the previous versions, with the addition of 

partial autonomous breaking to avoiding rear-end damage, 

ensuring safety on the road. 

What’s more, maximum comfort is another guarantee 

from this new and improved model. Drivers are able to 

switch the vehicle characteristics through the touch of a 

button due to the new Dynamic Select feature, modifying 

the transmission, engine and steering to suit the driver’s 

preference. The feature allows for the four driving modes, 

“Comfort”, “Sport”, “Eco” and “Individual’’, to be 

activated through a button on the upper control array. 

This radical development from the last series is sure 

to provide a thoroughly comfortable journey, and the 

diamond grille, LED high performance headlamps and 

sahara leather interior will impress any clients that join you 

for the ride. A great investment for any business looking to 

expand with the addition of a company car, isn’t it time you 

took an A-Class for a test drive. 

Corporate Sales Supervisor 

for the Robinsons Fleet 

Department, Zoey Williamson, 

discusses the benefits of the new 

look A-Class 

1. For you, what feature of the new generation A-Class 

makes it so suited to be a company car? In my opinion 

the standard feature ‘Collision Prevention Assist Plus’ gives 

company car drivers a feeling of ease. The system gives 

the driver a visual warning if a vehicle in front is too close 

and upon detecting the danger of a collision, an acoustic 

warning is deployed. 

2. How do you think the model’s multimedia functions, 

such as smartphone integration, will add to the customer’s 

experience? 

The facelifted A-Class is the first Mercedes Benz model 

to become available with comprehensive smartphone 

integration. As of 2016 there will be Infotainment systems 

available that will support telephoning, navigation and 

audio, as well as being able to receive and send SMS and 

emails. 

3. What developments has the model seen since the 

preceding series and how does this suit the needs of 

businesses? 

The facelifted A-Class will have reduced emissions down 

from 98g/km to 89g/km. The drop in emissions drops the 

109hp A180d SE down one tax band to 16% which makes 

it even more attractive to company car drivers. 

4. What does the new A-Class offer to allow maximum 

comfort and ease? 

Mercedes Benz has introduced a new feature to the A-Class, 

namely the ‘Dynamic Select Handling Control System‘. 

The system allows the driver to choose from a number of 

modes using a centre console controller, giving options of 

Comfort, Eco, Sport or Individual. The Individual mode 

allows the driver to set their own driving preferences which 

can be tailored to their individual needs. 

A CLASS 

ECONOMY 


IQ CSR 

Charitable Giving 

In Cambridgeshire 

Emily Dawson, of the Cambridgeshire Chamber of 

Commerce, discusses charitable giving in the county 

Unless you run your business with a particularly 

altruistic philosophy, it is unlikely that your first 

concern, when you’re faced with the latest accounts, 

is how you’re going to transfer your profit line to local 

good causes. 

Assuming you’re not a charity or not-for-profit 

organisation, I doubt it will ever be your 

primary concern, but that’s not to say 

that charitable giving isn’t rising up on the 

agenda. 

Perhaps uncertainties in the economy 

have led companies to become more 

community-minded in their approach, 

as evidence shows that charitable giving 

by FTSE100 companies doubled to 

£1.2billion between 2007-2012. On a 

more local scale, the Cambridgeshire 

Community Foundation has experienced 

an even greater increase as it continues to 

distribute funds on behalf of individuals, 

companies, grant schemes and other 

charities who all want to see money 

channelled into valuable, local 

projects. 

The organisation received almost £3 

million in contributions during the year 

to March 2014, up an incredible 68% on the 

previous year. Those contributions enabled the 

organisation to create or maintain 43 charitable 

funds, supporting 224 local voluntary groups during 

the year. 

It’s great news for both the charities and the 

communities they serve, as well as the individuals and 

companies making the donations. Research conducted 

by the Charitable Aid Foundation has previously 

shown that over half of people surveyed would be 

more inclined to buy a product or service from a 

company that donates 

to charity. If your target 

demographic includes 

18–24 year olds, 

you might be 

interested to 

know that 

that figure jumped 

notably higher in 

this group. 

It’s clear that 

charitable giving is about more than just 

encouraging staff to dress up or bake cakes 

on Red Nose Day, especially at a time when 

employee engagement is crucial to retaining 

the best staff and recruiting the most promising 

talent. Partnerships with local charities 

generate opportunities for the whole team to 

work together to achieve a common goal, and 

any positive publicity should be considered 

secondary. Whether you offer employees time 

off to complete charitable activities, or offer to 

match the proceeds of a fundraising activity, it’s more 

beneficial to view this as an opportunity to ensure that 

your employees feel supported and recognised for 

their efforts outside work. 

If you value your company’s reputation as a great 

place to work, as somewhere that’s integral to the local 

community, and somewhere that supports staff and shares 

their passion for the issues that really matter to them, it’s 

then that charitable giving is a great place to start. 

Charitable giving 

by FTSE100 

companies doubled 

to £1.2billion 

between 2007-2012 


To find out more about the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce 

www.cambridgeshirechamber.co.uk 


Go Behind the Scenes 

Have a 

Bespoke Tour 

or join our 

Public Tours 

Prices from 

£11 per person 

Discover Newmarket offers 

a unique opportunity to 

go behind the scenes at 

racing’s headquarters to 

learn about the fascinating 

history, heritage and 

culture of the town. 

Exclusive tours 

for groups and 

individuals 

visit www.discovernewmarket.co.uk call 0844 748 9200 

email admin@discovernewmarket.co.uk t@DiscoverNkt

BUSINESS DIARY 


The Coffee Morning 

Every Thursday at The 

Rutland Arms Hotel 

Drop in and join other businesses 

in Newmarket for a coffee and a 

catch up. 

Dates: Every Thursday 

Time: 10:00 - 11:00 

Venue: The Rutland Arms Hotel, 

Newmarket 

Organiser: Newmarket and District 

Chamber of Commerce 

Booking Details: Free, no need 

to book 

Informal Networking 

Evenings 

These free, popular evenings 

attract businesses of all sizes from 

a wide range of sectors. You can 

also ask Chamber staff about the 

benefits of membership. 

Dates: Cambridge 17th September, 

15th October, 19th November 

Venue: Holiday Inn, Impington, 

Cambridge 

Time: 17:00 - 19:00 

Organiser: Cambridgeshire 

Chambers of Commerce 

Booking Details: Call Peter Watts 

on 07545 697799 

Meet the Adviser - Drop in 

session with New Anglia 

Growth Hub 

Get free and impartial business 

support on a wide range of topics 

including grants, funding and 

apprenticeships. 

Dates: 15th & 29th September, 

13th & 27th October, 10th & 24th 

November. 

Time: 13:00 - 15:00 

Venue: UCS Building, West Suffolk 

College, Out Risbygate St, Bury St 

Edmunds 

Organiser: Bury Chamber of 

Commerce 

Booking Details: 

Call 0300 333 6536 

Suffolk Business Women 

Networking Lunch 

Find out how Sarah Howard 

MBE, President of Suffolk 

Chamber of Commerce, got to 

where she is now, and network 

with business women across the 

county. 

Date: 16th September 

Time: 11:30 - 14:00 

Venue: Hintlesham Hall Hotel, 

Ipswich 

Organiser: Suffolk Chamber of 

Commerce 

Booking Details: Contact Alicia 

Matthews on 01473 694805, 

Chamber members £23.50 (inc VAT), 

non-members £33.50 (inc VAT). 

Women in Management 

These three workshops cover 

Working Effectively with Others, 

Influencing Skills and Public 

Speaking and Presentation Skills. 

Dates: 17th September, 15th October, 

27th November 

Time: 09:00 -12:00 

Venue: Huntingdon Steeplechases 

Ltd, The Racecourse, Brampton, 

Huntingdon 

Organiser: The Chambers’ Business 

Women’s Sector & The CMI 

Booking Details: Email 

h.bosett@cambscci.co.uk 

Business over Breakfast 

(BoB) Club, Bury St 

Edmunds and Cambridge 

The recently launched Bury 

St Edmunds BoB Club is 

looking for founder members. 

The Cambridge BoB club is 

in formation and is currently 

looking for founding members. 

Dates: First and third Thursdays, ie 

17th September, 1st & 15th October, 

5th & 19th November 

Time: 07:30 

Venue: The Three Kings, Fornham 

All Saints, Bury St Edmunds 

Organiser: BoB 

Booking Details: Contact David on 

0751 001 3851, Members £11.00, 

visitors £12.00 

Collaborative Cambridge 

Meetup 

This breakfast meetup is themed 

around collaborative problem 

solving. Take the chance to stay 

on for co-working from 

09.30 – 17.30. 

Dates: 18th September, 16th October, 

20th November 

Time: 08:00 – 09:30 

Venue: Burleigh House, 52 Burleigh 

Street, Cambridge 

Organiser: Cambridge Business 

Lounge 


Tel: 01223 324040 




A14 Coffee Morning 

This relaxed informal 

Networking Group aims to 

build strategic relationships and 

partnerships in the area, and also 

holds additional social events. 

Dates: Every Friday, ie 18th 

September onwards. 

Time: 09:00 – 10:30 

Venue: The Tap Room, 23 Bridge 

Street, St Ives 

Organiser: Alan Bennett 

Booking Details: www.meetup.com 

Greene & Greene Seminar 

Solicitor and Chartered Tax 

Advisor, Wayne Perrin will be 

hosting a free workshop on the 

2015 Finance Bill – Inheritance 

Tax and The Family Home. 

Date: 22nd September 

Time: 08:00-10:00 

Venue: DB Conference Suite, 

Kempson Way, Bury St Edmunds 

Organiser: Greene and Greene 

Booking Details: Call Jane 

Hopkins 01284 762211 

Cambridge Alternative 

Networking – Cromwell 

Group 

A welcoming environment where 

people in business can connect 

and do more business. Each 

business present has a 60 second 

introduction. 

Dates: Alternate Thursdays, ie 24th 

September, 8th & 22nd October, 5th 

& 19th November 

Time: 06:45 – 08:30 

Venue: Quy Mill Hotel & Spa, 

Church Road, Stow-cum-Quy, 

Cambridge 


www.cambscan.co.uk 

The Cambridge B2B 

Exhibition 2015 

This exhibition gives you 

unrivalled promotional 

opportunities for your business 

within the Cambridge business 

community. 


Time: 10:00 – 16:00 

Venue: Cambridge Quy Mill Hotel 

and Spa, Stow-Cum-Quy, Cambridge 

Organiser: Cambridgeshire Chambers 

of Commerce 

Booking Details: Admission free. 

Book a stand or register as a visitor at 

www.cambridgeb2b.co.uk 

Marketing for New 

Businesses 

This half day workshop 

introduces new business 

owners to simple and effective 

marketing techniques. Date: 29th 

September 

Time: 09:30 – 12:30 

Venue: Menta Business Centre, 5 

Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds 

Organiser: The Suffolk Business 

Enterprise Agency 


www.menta.org.uk 

Beginners Linkedin for 

Business 

This workshop will help you to 

get to grips with the benefits of 

Linked in and use it to progress 

your business. Bring a laptop. 


Time: 13:30 – 16:30 


Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds, 

Organiser: Menta Social Media 

Training 


www.menta.org.uk 

Menta Trade Fair 2015 

With more than 90 businesses 

exhibiting their products and 

services, and a ‘New Business 

Balcony’, this event has great 

business to business networking 

opportunities. 


Time: 12:00 – 18:00 

Venue: The Apex, Charter Square, 

Bury St Edmunds 

Organiser: Menta Suffolk 

Enterprise Agency 

Booking details: Free entry 

CamCreatives 

Providing the creative industries 

of Cambridgeshire with a 

credible regional, national and 

international profile. Meetings 

feature a speaker and discussion. 

Dates: The last Wednesday of 

each month, ie 30th September, 28th 

October, 25th November 

Time: 19:30 

Venue: tbc 

Organiser: Paul Smith 


www.meetup.com 




Cambridge Business 

Breakfast 

Meet new business connections 

through the popular safari 

networking in a relaxed but 

structured format. 

Dates: 1st October, 13th November 

Time: 07:45 - 10:00 




www.cambridgeshirechamber.co.uk 

Bank of England First 

Friday Breakfast with 

West Suffolk College 

Tim Pike will be sharing 

the Bank of England’s latest 

economic forecasts and outlook 

for GDP growth as well as CPI 

inflation. Tim will take questions 

at the end of the presentation. 

Date: 2nd October. Details of next 

meeting 6th November, tbc. 

Time: 07:30 – 09:00 

Venue: Edmunds Restaurant, West 

Suffolk College. 

Organiser: Bury St Edmunds 


Booking Details: Contact Clare 

Harding on 01284 700800 

The Very Early Lunch Club 

This group is for local business 

owners and specialists in their 

field, whose subjects and skills 

can help improve the members’ 

businesses. Each meeting features 

a different speaker on a topical 

business subject. 

Dates: First Friday of the month, ie 

2nd October, 6th November. 

Time: 07:30 - 09:30 

Venue: Anglesey Abbey, Lode, 

Cambridge 

Organiser: Ian Clemson 

Booking Details: No membership 

fee. To book, tel. 01638 745286 

NDCC Lunch with Kate 

Tojeiro of Leadership 

Consultancy X-fusion 

Kate Tojeiro has worked with 

the boards of some of the 

world’s largest organisations 

and some of the most cutting 

edge, organically-grown start 

ups. Neil Darwin, CEO of 

the Greater Cambridgeshire 

Greater Peterborough Enterprise 

Partnership, will also give a short 

presentation on the LEP and 

associated activities. 

Date: 7th October 

Time: 11:00 – 14:00 

Venue: Bedford Lodge Hotel, Bury 

Road, Newmarket. 

Organiser: Newmarket and District 


Booking Details: Contact Claire 

Elbrow on 

info@bluelizardmarketing.com 

Coffee Means Business 

Relaxed, informal business 

networking for all local 

businesses. 

Dates: 8th October, 12th November 

Time: 09:30 – 11:00 

Venue: The Apex, Charter Square, 


Organiser: The Suffolk Enterprise 

Agency 

Booking Details: No need to book. 

Pay £2.00 on arrival. 

Global Leaders Lunch 

and Awards 

Enjoy reception drinks, a three 

course meal with wine and a 

captivating guest speaker, and 

network with others who are 

breaking into new international 

markets. 

Date: 9th October 

Time: 12:00 – 15:00 

Venue: Downing College, Cambridge, 

CB2 1DQ 



Booking Details: Contact Karen 

Dawson on 01223 209808 


Breakfast Club 

Dates: 2nd & 4th Fridays, ie 9th & 

23rd October, 13th & 27th November 

Time: 06:45 - 8:30 

Venue: The Active Business Centre, 

33 St Andrew’s St. South, Bury St 

Edmunds, IP33 3PH 

Organiser: The Bury Breakfast 

Club 

Booking Details: £15.00 per 

visit. Contact the committee on line at 

www.burybreakfastclub.co.uk 


Marketing for Growing 

Businesses 

This more advanced marketing 

course looks at the wider impact 

of marketing on your business’ 

vision, mission, values and brand 

analysis as well as its profitability. 

Date: 14th October 

Time: 09:30 – 12:30 


Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds 


Agency 


www.eventbrite.co.uk 

Cost: £25.00. Tea and coffee 

provided. 

Peterborough B2B 

Exhibition 

With 85 exhibitors, a free seminar 

programme and two speed 

networking sessions, make new 

connections, promote products 

and services, discover suppliers 

and be inspired by guest speakers. 

Date: 21st October 

Time: 09:00 – 16:00 

Venue: Kingsgate Conference Centre 


Chambers of Commerce & Opportunity 

Peterborough 

Booking Details: www. 

peterboroughb2b.co.uk 

Suffolk Skills Show 

Suffolk’s largest skills and careers 

advice show 

Date: 21st October 

Venue: Trinity Park, Ipswich 

Organiser: 

www.suffolkskillsshow.co.uk 


Cambridgeshire Export 

Club Cambridge 

An informal networking event for 

exporters or those considering it. 

Dates: 27th October, 24th November 

Time: 17:00 - 19:00 

Venue: The Moller Centre, Storey’s 

Way, Cambridge 



Booking Details: Free. No need 

to book. 

Twitter for Beginners 

Business to Consumer 

Learn how to use Twitter to 

progress your business. Please 

bring your laptop and create a 

Twitter account. 

Date: 5th November 

Time: 09:30 – 12:30 


Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 

7AB 


Agency 

Booking Details: www.eventbrite. 

co.uk 

Cost: £25.00. Tea and coffee 

provided. 

NDCC Breakfast with 

Caroline Robinson, 

Sandler Training 

Come along and find out how 

to leverage Linked in more 

effectively for selling. 


Time: 07:45 

Venue: The Riverside Hotel, 

Mildenhall 

Organiser: Newmarket & District 



www.suffolkchamber.co.uk 

Can’t Sell, Won’t Sell. 

An Introduction to Sales 

Skills 

Learn how to make the most of 

collaborative and consultative 

sales approaches to suit your 

business, and how to present your 

product or service 


Time: 09:30 – 12:30 


Eastern Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 

7AB 


Agency 


www.eventbrite.co.uk 

Don’t manage absence 

Manage attendance 

This event covers the practical 

and legal aspects of managing 

long and short-term sickness and 

considers the real reasons why 

people are absent from work. 


Time: 10:00 – 16:00 

Venue: Acas House, Bury St 

Edmunds 

Organiser: Acas 

Booking Details: Call 0300 123 

1150, email events@acas.org.uk or 

visit www.acas.org.uk 



IQ HR 

Brain Wars 

The Trilogy 

We ask Sam Sales of 

Cambridge Interim HR how 

to manage conflict in the 

workplace 

Recent research shows that as an 

employer you devote an average of 18 

days in management and HR time 

to each disciplinary case, and 14.4 

days to managing an employee 

grievance. 

In addition, employees in the UK 

spend an average of 1.8 hours per 

week dealing with conflict, equating to 

an annual ‘loss’ of 370 million working 

days. 

The requirement for us to collaborate well 

with others is becoming more essential to the 

way we work; this is a requirement against 

the backdrop of more conflict. It is normal 

for our brains to be different and to have 

arguments; in fact, it is healthy in a good 

team. It is good to be different, it just needs 

to be understood and managed. 

So how can you save money, management 

time and sick days? 

Training 

Train people to accept differences and to 

work together more effectively. Increasingly, 

there are some great tools based on recent 

brain science that can help make significant 

differences. 

Management Practices 

Ensure that managers look out for conflict and 

resolve it early. They should not be thinking 

it will go away. Their job title is the clue to 

what you should be expecting…. managing 

the situation, not observing. Of course, 

they may need some training to do this. 

Mediation 

Sometimes, if situations have 

been ignored or gone unnoticed 

and have got to the point 

where external impartial help 

is needed, the services of an 

external mediator may be useful. 

This can help employees work 

through the issues and recognise their 

feelings, and to start moving forward to 

resolution. 

In summary, disagreement and conflict can 

be healthy, but it needs managing and it 

needs to be understood. Having the skills to 

do this is important and sometimes external 

impartiality is the key. 

In summary, disagreement and 

conflict can be healthy, but it 

needs managing and it needs 

to be understood. Having the 

skills to do this is important and 

sometimes external impartiality 

is the key. 


www.cambridgeinterimhr.com 


IQ HR 

How our relationships 

affect our emails 

Jacqui Kemp, from Namasté Culture, discusses how our 

relationships affect the way we decipher emails 

In this electronic age, we rely a lot 

on email to communicate at work. 

While this can be effective, it has been 

found that email is more likely to be 

misinterpreted and increase tension. 

Research carried out by Professor 

Albert Mehrabian found that when 

discussing our attitudes or feelings, we 

receive the message in the following 

way: 

7% from the words used 

38% from the tone of voice 

55% from the body language. 

Based on this research, if we are 

communicating data by email it should 

not be open to misinterpretation, 

because we are not sharing attitudes 

or feelings. 

However, I believe that our attitude 

towards the sender can have a negative 

impact on the message we take from 

the email. 

Consider a time when you have 

received an email from someone you 

had a difficult relationship with; when 

the email came in did you look at their 

name and think ‘Oh good, I wonder 

if this is the information I’ve been 

waiting for?’ Or did you look at the 

sender’s name and think ‘Now what?’ 

When I receive emails from someone 

I have a difficult relationship with, I 

may find my shoulders drop, I slouch 

and my chin moves towards my desk. 

Neuroscience has found that our 

moods are directly affected by our 

body language, so by slouching I 

have added 55% of negativity to the 

message before I have even opened 

the email. 

I also add a tone of voice to the 

message when I am reading it, one 

that is less than enthusiastic! 

This means that I am only really 

receiving 7% of what is being 

communicated by the sender 

in the words that 

they use, and I 

have added 

the remaining 

93% of the 

meaning 

based on 

how I feel 

about the 

sender. 

I am not unique 

in this - we all tend 

to do it. By becoming 

aware that I am adding to 

the tension, what I need to do is take 

a deep breath when I see those emails 

come in, lift my head up and smile 

before I open the message. Asking 

someone else to read out the email in 

a neutral tone of voice can also help 

the recipient to get the true meaning. 

In the next issue I will talk about how 

we can improve our relationships 

by becoming aware of our body 

language. 


Jacqui Kemp is a trainer and therapist at Namasté Culture. 

For more information call 01954 267640 or email jacqui@namasteculture.co.uk 



Newmarket District Chamber of Commerce 

Business Awards 

The NDCC welcomed over 150 

businesses to the Granary Barns 

in Woodditton to celebrate and 

announce the winners from each 

award category. With thirteen 

categories up for grabs, the 

competition was high, with a record 

amount of entries received in June. 

Graham Abbey, chair of the NDCC, 

commented, “we are delighted with 

the number of local businesses that 

have engaged with this year’s event, 

either by entering or offering support. 

It’s really impressive to see how many 

thriving businesses we have in the 

area.” 

Judges included Robert Hughes for 

Hughes Electrical, David Gill from 

St John’s Innovation Centre and Sue 

Foster of Barclays Bank. 


For all details of all the winners visit 

www.newmarketanddistrict.com 

New Business Of The Year sponsored 

1 by Factotum - Winner The Granary 

Estates. The judges described the 

business as ‘forward thinking’ and ‘already 

showing profits beyond industry norms’. 

Small Business Award sponsored 

2 by Newmarket Racecourses, and 

Creativity in Business Award sponsored by 

Cubiqdesign - Winner Yutree Insurance. 

The judges praised the company as ‘a 

truly professional company’ which they 

‘expect to go far’. 

Contribution to the Community 

3 Award (Individual) sponsored by 

Hardcastle Burton - Winner Jacqui Burke 

of Flourishing People. The judges were 

‘impressed by how Jacqui sought ways to 

engage with charities, businesses and her 

local community’. 

Employee of the Year sponsored by 

4 Exact Sourcing - Winner Charlotte 

O’Neill from The Jockey Club Rooms. 

Judges suggested that ‘any business which 

has a customer facing aspect should look 

for a Charlotte’. 

The Judges Award sponsored by 

5 Barclays Bank - Winner McCulloughs. 

Judges felt that McCulloughs ‘was the 

perfect example of one man’s vision 

becoming a reality’. 

Business Person Of The Year - 

6 Winner Amy Starkey, Regional 

Director of the Jockey Club Eastern 

Region. Judges were impressed by Amy’s 

‘infectious enthusiasm and huge work 

ethic’. 

4. 



1. 

5. 

3. 

6. 

2. 


It’s nearly that time again…! 

Have you organised your office party yet? Before you know it, the new year will be upon us… 

Be one step ahead and let us take the stress away. The Farmers Club can offer the full Christmas package. 

Lunchtimes are very popular - bring your friends, family or work colleagues and enjoy the festivities with us. 

Christmas Dinners are always good fun and very busy. 

Reservations need to be made well in advance… hence the gentle reminder! 

A selection of our menu choices 

To Start 

Chunky Winter Vegetable Soup with Garden Herb Croutons. 

Mousse of Gold Cross Goat’s Cheese scented with Cracked 

Black Pepper surrounded with Tomato Petals and set on a 

Fricassee of Marinated Vegetables. 

For Main Course 

Roast Turkey Chef’s Way 

Breast, Leg Roulade, Apricot and Chestnut stuffing 

and Piggy in a Blanket. 

Tartlet of Caramelized Beetroot and Celeriac, 

Served with Sweetcorn crushed Potato, Cumin Sauce. 

For Dessert 

Traditional Christmas Pudding with Cognac Sauce Anglaise. 

Chocolate, Coffee and Amaretto Roulade scattered with Praline. 

To Start 

Roasted Red Pepper and Plum Tomato Soup, 

topped with Pesto Chantilly. 

Risotto Verde (Peas, Broad Beans and Spinach) 

enhanced with Fresh Mint. 

For Main Course 

Traditional Roast Sirloin of British Beef, 

Suffolk Pudding and a rich Ale Gravy. 

Pan Fried Fillet of Sea Bass set on a trivet 

of Roasted Vegetables, Pink Peppercorn and Sun Blushed 

Tomato, Beurre Blanc. 

For Dessert 

Apple and Cinnamon Trinity, Burnt Cream with Citrus Biscotti. 

Selection of Finest Cheese with Celery, Grapes, Biscuits & Chutney. 

More options available. Please contact us for the full Christmas lunch & dinner menus 

WEDDINGS • CORPORATE • PRIVATE HIRE 

Contact us for an informal look around our club 01284 750969 

frontofhouse@bsefc.co.uk | www.bsefc.co.uk

IQ conferencing 

MEET YOU THERE 

IQ Magazine finds the best local venues to meet clients 

Bury St Edmunds Farmers Club 

With a number of rooms available to hire, the Bury 

St Edmunds Farmers Club is great for a variety 

of meetings. With the brand new, state-of-the-art 

Northgate Business Suite now fully operational, the 

room can cater for up to 50 delegates in a range of 

seating set-ups. Providing an elegant and prestigious 

environment, the Farmers Club is no longer just for 

farmers, nor just for members! 

Bury St Edmunds Farmers Club, 10 Northgate Street, 

Bury St Edmunds. Tel: 01284 750969. www.bsefc.co.uk 

Hotel Felix, Cambridge 

Hotel Felix provides flexible meeting rooms that can 

be adapted to suit your requirements. Situated in 

beautiful grounds close to the centre of Cambridge, 

the hotel offers all the facilities to make your 

event successful. All four meeting rooms which 

have stunning views over the gardens and can 

accommodate up to 34 people, have projectors, flip 

charts and conference phones available. 

Hotel Felix, Whitehouse Lane, Huntingdon Road, 

Cambridge. Tel: 01223 277977. www.hotelfelix.co.uk 

Clare College Conferencing, 

Cambridge 

Conveniently located in the centre of Cambridge, 

Clare College has all you need to host a successful 

meeting, with a range of conference rooms, 

both modern and traditional, located in peaceful 

grounds. For a large conference you can hire the 

Garden Room, or for a more intimate meeting, 

the Glover Room will be just right for you to seal 

the deal. 

Clare College Conferencing, Memorial Court, Queens 

Road, Cambridge, CB3 9AJ. Tel: 01223 333203. 

www.clareconferencing.com 

Homerton Conference Centre, 

Cambridge 

A warm welcome awaits you at Homerton 

Conference Centre, one of Cambridge’s leading 

event venues. Located close to the city centre 

and situated within 25 acres of gardens, this 

inspirational venue will be ideal for business 

meetings. The centre has 27 flexible rooms offering 

high quality facilities as well as topnotch dining 

services. AV and IT equipment provided in each 

room. 

Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PH. 

Tel: 01223 747218. www.homertonconference.com 





Bedford Lodge Hotel & SPA, Newmarket 

The Bedford Lodge Hotel has six accessible and 

stylish conference rooms and is ideally positioned 

in Newmarket. All the rooms have WiFi, air 

conditioning and plasma displays for all the latest 

presentation technology. So, whether you are holding 

an informal meeting or a high powered seminar, 

Bedford Lodge is able to cater for all your needs. 

Bedford Lodge Hotel, Bury Road, Newmarket, Suffolk, 

CB8 7BX. Tel: 01638 663175. 

www.bedfordlodgehotel.co.uk 

The Bull Inn, Barton Mills 

Located in Barton Mills, these meeting rooms offer 

a refreshing alternative to the everyday surroundings 

of the office. Offering both a boardroom for small 

groups and a larger room for up to 30 people, The 

Bull Inn also offers food throughout your stay so 

you’ll always be fully refreshed. Ideal for those who 

appreciate a quirky atmosphere. 

The Bull Inn, The Street, Barton Mills, Bury St Edmunds, 

Suffolk, IP28 6AA. Tel: 01638 711001. 

www.bullinn-bartonmills.com 

Newmarket Meeting Rooms 

Each of the venue’s three rooms are beautifully 

decorated and has everything that you will need for 

your meeting. Self-service rooms mean that you can 

conduct your meetings without any interruptions. 

With a range of rooms, all stylishly furnished, able 

to accommodate anything from 1:1 meetings to 

groups of up to 30, you will be spoilt for choice at 

this stunning venue. 

Fordham House, Fordham House Estate, Newmarket 

Road, Fordham, CB7 5LL. Tel: 01638 429445. 

www.newmarketmeetingrooms.co.uk 

The Athenaeum, Bury St Edmunds 

There are six versatile spaces available at The 

Athenaeum, with the rooms promising to inspire 

and motivate. Catering for groups of between 10 

and 250, drinks receptions are The Athenaeum’s 

speciality so there is no doubt that you will feel 

extremely welcome. The Athenaeum also offers all 

the standard AV equipment, so you are able to work 

to your full potential in this amazing venue. 

The Athenaeum, Angel Hill, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, 

IP33 1LU. Tel: 01284 758380. 

www.athenaeumbse.co.uk 





tuddenham mill 

Make business meetings a pleasure at Tuddenham 

Mill. Found in a stunning building and a picturesque 

setting, the airy and well-equipped meeting room 

offers the perfect environment for small gatherings. 

Tuddenham Mill prides itself on tailoring its services 

to your requirements and is happy to meet any 

requests, giving you a carefree atmosphere perfect 

for securing those top business deals. 

Tuddenham Mill, High Street, Tuddenham, Suffolk, IP28 

6SQ. Tel: 01638 713552. 

www.tuddenhammill.co.uk 

The Swan, Lavenham 

Great ideas come from great surroundings. The 

Swan Hotel offers 15th century inspiration with 

a 21st century twist. With three meeting rooms, 

all with natural daylight, The Swan Hotel can 

accommodate parties of up to 50 people. Each room 

has air conditioning, complimentary WiFi and flipcharts 

as well as stationery to ensure you reach your 

full potential in the best environment possible. 

The Swan Hotel & Spa, High Street, Lavenham, Suffolk, 

CO10 9QA. Tel: 01787 247477. 

www.theswanatlavenham.co.uk 

Queens’ College, Cambridge 

Be surrounded by this gorgeous historical building 

as you conduct your meeting. With its riverside 

location, Queens’ College offers a calm and 

secluded environment for groups of all sizes. The 

College provides a versatile range of conference 

facilities, with multiple layouts, adapted to suit 

your needs. A buffet lunch as well as tea and 

coffee will also be available. 

Queens’ College, Silver Street, Cambridge, CB3 9ET. 

Tel: 012223 335592. www.queensconferences.com 

The Riverside House Hotel, Mildenhall 

A spacious, professional yet informal environment 

away from the distractions of the office, the 

Riverside House Hotel can accommodate 

corporate events, from a 1:1 interview situation 

through to board meetings and seminars. Offering 

special delegate rates for rooms and breakfast, the 

deal will get done, even if it takes all night! The 

Riverside House 

Hotel, 17 Mill Street, Mildenhall, IP28 7DP. 

Tel: 01638 717274. www.theriversidehousehotel.co.uk 


Follow Cubiqdesign on twitter twitter.com/cubiqdesign 

For more information please visit our website 

or email john@cubiqdesign.co.uk 

info@cubiqdesign.co.uk | 01638 666432 

www.cubiqdesign.co.uk


book 

review 

Gravitas, Communicate 

with Confidence, Influence 

and Authority 

Author: Caroline Goyder 

bio 

Caroline Goyder is a voice, presentation and public 

speaking expert. She worked for many years as a voice 

coach at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 

and still continues to support her non-acting clients, 

helping them perform with the same power in everyday 

life. She is regularly asked to comment in the media on 

voice and communication issues. Her passion is being 

able to help people from all walks of life to sound and 

feel their best. Caroline is founder and creator of The 

Gravitas Method, which is where the idea for her book 

‘Gravitas’ stemmed from, a book in which she reveals 

how to speak so that others will listen. 

review 

This book is great if you lack confidence and need that 

extra boost when you’re speaking in public. The main 

part of the book is set out into ‘The Seven Principles 

of Gravitas’ which makes it easy to read and grasp. 

The book is a very practical ‘how to…’ with numerous 

tips relating to different situations, with sections on 

presentations, telephone calls and interviews. However, 

the book is more of something for you to dip in and 

out of rather than read all at once, as some tips may 

suit your situation more than others. Nevertheless, the 

gems of advice that you do pick up will stay with you 

for years to come. 

rating 

A concise guide for anyone looking to 

improve their gravitas and confidence. 

article by 

Ellie Tudor 



Author: Brad Burton 

book 

review 

Life. Business. 

Just Got Easier. 

bio 

Brad Burton, motivational speaker and entrepreneur, 

was born in 1973 and grew up in a small council house 

in Salford, Manchester. He left school at 16 with no 

qualifications and was known to mix with the wrong crowd. 

With his daily pot-smoking habit funded by his shop job, 

Brad had very few life or career ambitions and there was 

little to no chance that he would become one of the UK’s 

tope motivational speakers. However, 30 years on, Brad is 

the managing director of 4Networking, the fastest-growing 

networking organisation in the world, organising over 

5,000 events every year. 

Brad’s ground-breaking empire, 4Networking, began in 

2005 by delivering pizzas! With a £25,000 debt, this was 

the only way Brad could keep his marketing business afloat. 

Nevertheless, Brad’s determination to succeed was second 

to none, and, as he describes in the book, ‘If you have a 

Plan B, you’ll never make your Plan A work. Why? Because 

you don’t believe in your Plan A.’ 

With over 40,000 members, 4Networking is growing 

internationally. The business offers advice, inspires and 

motivates young professionals, new startups, business 

owners and determined individuals to achieve their career 

goals, whatever they may be. This book is a translation of 

Brad’s profession. It is a unique read, aiming to positively 

change the lives of his readers. 

On top of his core business, Brad Burton is a motivational 

speaker at some of the UK’s biggest business shows and 

conferences. 

article by 

Rachel Cracknell 

PR and Marketing Executive at Cubiqdesign 

review 

When the text in the opening chapter reads, ‘This is a book 

which will change your thinking, change your direction, 

change your life. Change you,’ I have to admit, I was 

sceptical. However, as I delved further into the read, I could 

see Brad’s point. 

The book is written in a slightly unconventional style, 

providing short and concise snippets of advice and 

motivational content. The book is a ‘downloaded’ brain of 

Brad’s lessons, aimed to help your life and your business. 

He tells business as it is, that it’s extremely hard! He not 

only admits to its challenges, but also demonstrates how to 

get through its problems. 

Throughout the book, Brad makes you think about where 

you are, where you are going and where you really want 

to be. He offers healthy, refreshing and inspiring content 

to help you find the route that will enable you to fulfil 

your career ambitions, something that Brad needed in his 

teenage years. 

rating 

Okay, so the book hasn’t changed my 

life, but Brad’s unique tone and sound 

guidance has made me think about 

my ambitions in life, and where I want 

to be in 1 year’s time, 5 years’ and 20 

years’ time. Overall, 4 out of 5.

IQ-Magazine-Issue-14

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