All Change at Crewe!


by Amy Activ - Date: 2010-02-21 - Word Count: 959 Share This!

Crewe and the surrounding areas used to depend heavily on the Engineering Industry for thousands and thousands of jobs. There was a time just some 30 or 40 years ago that most male school leavers would walk straight into an engineering apprenticeship. British Rail Engineering used to build and repair locomotives and employed thousands. Rolls Royce cars (now moved to Derby), Bentley cars (still active) and Vickers Turbine Blades for aircraft (now closed) were all on the same site providing thousands of jobs. ERF (closed down)and Foden (closed down)manufactured and repaired trucks in Sandbach. Rollermakers (bought out and now closed down) manufactured industrial metal rolls. These companies each employed hundreds of people. Then there are of course the local support businesses that would provide products and additional services to these companies, also called the supply chain. It is a huge shame that so many skilled jobs have either been moved overseas or simply lost, yet Crewe and the local areas have adapted and moved on. Crewe was one of the first towns in the country to construct an environmentally friendly business park which incorporates some excellent walking areas along a stream, through woods and nature trails as well as some very smart office buildings. Despite the recession, many of the office buildings on this business park are occupied by some of our nation's most prestigious brands. Many 'Blue Chip' companies have chosen Crewe as their distribution and storage base, primarily because of the excellent road and rail links. Crewe is 6 miles from the M6 and has a Grand Junction railway station. The chances are good that if you travel by train on a long journey you will pass through or change at Crewe!

Local town centres appear to be showing signs of the recession with some closed shops - or is it more the fact that people prefer to shop on the newer retail parks where traffic congestion is easier, parking is free and Retail outlets stand more chance of being profitable because their overheads are lower?

Nobody likes a recession but sometimes it is necessary to act as a "leveller" isn't it? House prices were spiralling out of control, so much so that many of today's children would have stood no chance of ever owning their own property. Car prices were going crazy yet of late many brands have dropped their prices and improved the benefits. Many pubs are now offering really good value meals that were not available before. Inflation is virtually zero and many thousands of people with a mortgage have benefited from a much lower interest rate. Of course there are cons as well as pros but time has taught us that every time there is a period of boom there will always be a period of bust that follows.

So, now that the recession is officially over, what can businesses do to improve their exposure and increase business? Dependent upon who or what your potential customers are there are various methods used to try to attract new customers, such as telesales, representatives in shopping areas, even cars that drive around sending a text message to blue tooth enabled mobile phones. Advertising on popular web sites is growing. Pay Per Click site owners pay just a few pence for each visitor who has effectively chosen to visit their site and may therefore actually become a customer. Affiliate Marketing provides free advertising and a commission is paid to the hosting web site only when a purchase is made.

While we are looking at the internet what about a nice, new business website? Problem is, it'is not much use if nobody knows about it. What about advertising? The irony here is that when money is tight the budget most likely to be cut is the advertising budget. Radio or local paper advertising can be very expensive and usually only effective when repeated long term or if the profit margin of your product or service is sufficiently high to justify the costs. What about local leaflet drops or local advertising magazines? Usually put in the bin without being looked at! The success rate is estimated at about 4% but can be from 0% upwards. So what is the answer? Many advertising agencies and organisations such as you local paper will tell you they have the solution, provided you can pay for it. The bottom line, as with many things, it's trial and error.

Let's reminisce about the 'good old days', when business could be conducted in a fine restaurant and the tax man wasn't after his pound of flesh because it wasn't classed as a taxable benefit. After all, a warm business meeting can most often be more lucrative than a cold one. We are all human and the prospect of discussing business over a fine meal and maybe a bottle or two of excellent wine can overcome the reluctance to talk to a potential supplier for the first time.

Many, many business relationships have been born over a table cloth. Yet isn't it a shame that this method of doing business is dwindling. How nice would it be to chat in a different environment than the work place, exchanging a few pleasantries before enjoying lunch and a couple of glasses of your favourite tipple, concluding your business as the coffee arrives. After all, this is a favoured method in many European countries and we are part of Europe, aren't we? A two hour lunch is almost obligatory in some European countries, instead of the rushed half hour many of us take, that's if we take one at all. Don't these same Europeans also live longer than us! Is it just that they have a better climate or is it that they have a far more relaxed attitude to business than we do!


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