These businesses can help yours stand out from the crowd

How do you make your business stand out from the crowd?

What’s the secret of giving your sales-people an edge that can make all the difference between winning a contract or not?

In a competitive world, two words are coming more and more to the fore: creativity and flexibility. And you don’t have to look to big cities and spend big money when it comes to finding creative people with the flexible “can do” attitude to business.

They are here on our doorstep in Uckfield.

Chris Dowling - Print & Design

Chris Dowling – Print & Design has developed in the last year or so to offer high-quality graphic design.

The company works with Kate Buckle from Ridgewood, who has experience in a London agency and has worked for a leading airline in the marketing department.

Mr Dowling said they offered contemporary graphic designs which could give their customers a business edge.

He said: “It is working very well. We are getting very good feedback and have very happy customers.

“Creative graphic design makes us stand out. We are now very much Design and Print rather than print and design. We offer high level work at very good value.”

Examples of the work can be seen on his website. “Creative design gives businesses an edge and will get results,” he said.

Mr Dowling continues to take inquiries for the more traditional work such as stationery, flyers or large format posters.

Blue Planet Internet Solutions

Blue Planet Internet Solutions offers bespoke solutions to clients when it comes to website development.

Managing director Mark Vaesen said more and more businesses were realising they needed to get on top of their web presence.

They were now understanding that there was more to it than just setting up a site and leaving it.

He said: “Businesses are realising there is a considerable advantage for them to take a much more active role in their online activity.”

There were two issues for the majority. Owners and managers were hearing many things about the web and how it worked and were ending up not knowing what was best for them.

“They end up pinging around from one thing to another without a coherent plan.

“The other issue is time. They perhaps set out with the best of intentions but don’t realise the time demands.”

Mr Vaesen said Blue Planet could help with both issues with its business model built on the premise of an ongoing relationship with clients.

This relationship is flexible and tailored to clients’ needs and can change as the customer becomes more proficient at using the web site, leaving Blue Planet to work on the more complex developments.

In a nutshell, Blue Planet are not a company that will build you a website then leave it – they will help you get the best from it.

Mr Vaesen has noticed more and more smaller companies moving towards online sales with it becoming less expensive and less complicated to set up such facilities on a website.

Quarry Printing

Quarry Printing prides itself on being able to turn round jobs speedily.

Proprietor Tom Acton said: “On one occasion a man came to us in a complete panic.

“He was leaving for a funeral in an hour and had completely forgotten to organise the service sheets.”

Mr Acton said he quickly put together four pages with the hymns, order of service and a photograph.

“We printed him 50 copies of the service sheet within 60 minutes and he was on his way.

“Of course, if three or four people all arrive at the same time in a panic, we cannot help them all.”

Quarry Printing is a digital printer, which is particularly suitable for producing smaller quantities.

Mr Acton said this form of printing had come into its own in the last four or five years. There is no plate-making and printing is direct from the computer screen – in a way similar to that used in a domestic setting. Naturally, the quality is much higher with a commercial application.

“Digital printing gives high-end products for people who do not have a budget that runs to tens of thousands of pounds,” Mr Acton said.

Quarry Printing targets work for small local businesses, local societies and at the time of speaking to Uckfield News was working on a “year book” for a society running to around 50 pages, in full colour.

News in Brief:

Unemployment in Sussex remained fairly stable in December. There are now 25,786 claimants down from 26,719 in July. The unemployment rate stands at 2.7 per cent compared with 3.0 per cent in July.

Commenting on the figures, Mark Froud, Chief Executive of Sussex Enterprise said: “National figures released for December show a rise in unemployment figures but the employment picture in Sussex has remained fairly stable.

"Expectations are the national unemployment total will continue rising, in large part due to the public sector spending cuts designed to cut the budget deficit.

"Nobody knows the real extent and effect of Government cuts but what we do know is that Sussex is well placed to create jobs."