sponsored by Suffolk Chamber of Commerce
Suffolk Chamber of Commerce represents business from grassroots to Government, and has grown to become the largest independent private sector forum in the County. Suffolk Chamber’s County office is in Ipswich with further branch offices in Lowestoft, Haverhill Stowmarket and Newmarket.
Suffolk Chamber offers a plethora of business services which include: networking and B2B opportunities, export and international trade services, Suffolk’s B2B online trading platform, Chamber UtilitiesTM, Chamber Legal Helpline, Chamber Healthcare and Chamber Risk Insurance.
Suffolk Training Advice Point (TAP) is the training division of Suffolk Chamber and provides information advice and guidance, to help deliver workplace skills to compete in a global market.
As an Accredited Chamber, Suffolk Chamber forms part of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) network, which means it has the ability and the resources to lobby, and have representation at the highest level; influencing Government decision-makers and shaping the policy to create the best environment for business.
Suffolk Chamber at a glance:
Business Engagement: Suffolk Chamber runs in excess of 100 business networking events a year, across the county, and the Chamber routinely deals with 10,000 Suffolk Businesses.
Economic Intelligence: The Chamber carries out a Quarterly Economic Survey of its members which is run as part of British Chambers of Commerce. The information is fed into the quarterly Suffolk Chamber Bank of England Panel meetings, and submitted to the Monetary Policy Committee.
Lobbying: The Chamber has an excellent track record of lobbying. The Chamber can lobby through its specialist sector committees for example via its Transport & Infrastructure Group, which is private sector led, as well as through the BCC’s policy team based in Whitehall. Suffolk Chamber also has seats on decision-making bodies locally, regionally and nationally.
Suffolk Chamber feeds into the BCC to develop national position papers in areas such as transport and business crime and Suffolk Chamber’s Policy Unit developed the BCC’s national paper on nuclear energy.
In addition the Chamber undertakes thorough surveys of its members ranging from an annual transport survey to surveys on international trade, business crime and climate change, town centre management, coastal erosion and renewable energy.
Entries will be judged on growth in turnover and profit, employee involvement and product/service development. The award is open to all businesses which have been trading for at least two years with an annual turnover of under £1 million.
Companies should demonstrate significant growth and innovation in their market sector, underpinned by strong financial performance. Please tell us about the following items in your entry, ideally as separately headed paragraphs:
- Business Evolution – research into the product/service being offered; use of business plan; funding solutions, through to current day position in the marketplace
- Business Promotion & Marketing – what promotional and marketing opportunities have been exploited? How have you continued to promote your business effectively to the target audience? Is promotion planned and executed in a controlled and cost effective way?
- Strategy – Do you have a workable business plan that can be altered and developed as the business evolves? Show evidence of future planning – where do you see yourselves in five years time?
- Employee Development – If employing staff, how are your employees given the opportunity to train or work towards promotion? Give examples of how your employees are encouraged to work as a team as well as innovating and moving the company forward. Do you have an employee recognition system for high achievers and how is this measured?
- Success – what success has been achieved and how do you measure this and use it within your business for future growth and improvement opportunities? What differentiates your company’s products/services from those of your key competitors?
- Financial – provide copies of your current balance sheets and profit/loss statements for the last two years
