ADK, one of Somerset’s innovative design, media and business coaching firms, is pleased to announce that in partnership with the Somerset Centre for Enterprise, will be holding several business boosting workshops aimed at helping businesses survive the economic downturn by attracting more customers online, and by showing them how they can promote and advance their business themselves, saving £100s and expanding their business knowledge at the same time.

The workshops starting from the month of November will equip business owners with the tools, knowledge and resources necessary to survive and succeed in any economic climate by utilising the Internet to its full potential. These workshops will give business owners a boost to growing their businesses and present some real trade secrets along the way.

In addition, business owners will learn tips and strategies to help them bring order to the chaos of running a website or ecommerce store, get better control over their ranking in search engines, and gain powerful insights into simple ways to increase sales and profits.

Neil Higginson, Director of Enterprise, was pleased to offer businesses this unique opportunity to learn from professionals commenting “Many established firms are trying to build online capabilities and are asking some fundamental questions on the appropriateness of their business models and the performance of their websites in this collaborative, technological world. This raises challenges as to what can be done to increase their game, processes and knowledge needed for a successful online presence”.

Andrew Knutt, Director of ADK added: “Through presentations, hands-on exercises, professional tools, revealing truths and bridging the skills gap that many website owners have, the workshops will encourage and inspire business and website owners to succeed online by evaluating their goals and online presence. It will highlight relevant research and the marketing and promotional implications to be considered in designing business models for the Internet so as to maximise opportunities.”

All workshops will be held at the Somerset Centre for Enterprise, Somerset College , Taunton and cover ‘Win Website Customers’, ‘Ecommerce for Business’, ‘DIY Promotion’, and ‘DIY Search Engine Optimisation’. To learn more and to book online visit the ADK website at www.adk.ltd.uk and to find the Somerset Centre for Enterprise visit www.somersetenterprise.co.uk

The local tourism industry gets the full digital treatment this month with the launch of the Design for Tourism programme which aims to provide tourism sectors and businesses with better online success, skills and exposure.

The launch of the new strategy which, it is hoped, will position local tourism at the very heart of the South West’s online agenda, marks both a critical contribution to the ambitions of the regional strategic framework, and the starting point for making the South West the best place for digital tourism and information.

Tourism businesses will be able to get exclusive access to sector specific design ideas, claim discounts, attend exclusive business related workshops, obtain free resources, get business advice and much more.

On the sustainability front, travel operators and tourism businesses that produce products in paper format can take advantage of digital magazine production, making information more environmentally friendly and expanding distribution on a global scale.

The workshops will be delivered in partnership with the Somerset Centre for Enterprise, Somerset College, and these business boosting workshops are aimed at helping businesses survive the economic downturn by attracting more customers online, and by showing them how they can promote and advance their business themselves, saving £100s and expanding their business knowledge at the same time.

Neil Higginson, Director of Enterprise, Somerset Centre for Enterprise, was pleased to offer businesses this unique opportunity to learn from professionals commenting “Many established firms are trying to build online capabilities and are asking some fundamental questions on the appropriateness of their business models and the performance of their websites in this collaborative, technological world. This raises challenges as to what can be done to increase their game, processes and knowledge needed for a successful online presence”.

The strategy divides the programme into 16 steps covering areas such as: web design, branding, promotion, marketing, search engine optimisation, media and creative thinking. It sets out a ‘vision’ for each area, and makes recommendations on how they can be delivered. It also links with the South West Tourism Towards 2015 strategies by encouraging tourism businesses to succeed online and the objectives of EUROPA Enterprise and the Information Society and European Commission Enterprise Industry and Tourism recommendations for digital content.

“This innovative programme shows how important it is for this region to have a strong online presence if it is to win more business but with so many websites not being effective enough and the launch of new ways search engines like Google will relay search results in 2009 we must act to ensure the regions tourism sector does not lag behind,” explains programme director, Andrew Knutt. “And it will highlight key areas which we must now focus on to take the local tourism industry forward. Areas such as design and innovation, and the skills gap between website and website owner must be closed if we are to achieve world-class status and remain a destination of choice.”

Andrew has also suggested focusing much of the regional online tourism industry’s efforts on three main areas, the 2012 Olympics, local tourism trade, and turning high quality brands such as food and drink providers into world-class brands. “But to do this we must first provide a platform, solutions and support structure to do this, and we are hoping that our programme will provide the starting point for every business no matter how small they are” says Andrew.

Work on further plans for 2009 has already started – with the launch of all workshops in all South West counties, including a ‘Selling food and drink on the Internet’ workshop and a range of e-learning programmes that will bridge the skills gap between owning a website and managing and marketing one effectively.
To learn more about the Design for Tourism programme visit www.designfortourism.co.uk or telephone 0845 602 6729.

Over 60 students at Somerset College took the first steps to learning about business and enterprise with the help of enterprise training company ‘Working Knowledge’ and local business experts from around the South West. This innovative programme called Ride the Wave helps students to understand the thinking, marketing, and presentation of their ideas and products, and two groups successfully won £100 each for their hard work and imagination.

The Working Knowledge Group and local business experts from ADK Ltd and other organisations had students create a product or service, no matter how wacky. Then during the day each group of students went through the process of making their idea a real business, with each group presenting their idea in a Dragons Den fashion.

Design and media business expert, Andrew Knutt from ADK Ltd commented.”Absolutely fantastic! It is inspirational to see these youngsters acting as a team, presenting their business ideas and responding to the questions and answers business experts gave them. A great day and an excellent way to get the new students to think outside the box and to create real strategies that new businesses are faced with.”

College tutor Richard Holt attended the day and said, “A good and well-structured event that ticked all the boxes with regards to understanding business.  The event quickly caught the students’ imagination. We saw individuals excel themselves and discover qualities they did not know they had.”

James Lott from Working Knowledge said “Ride the Wave seeks to bridge the gap between the world of work and the world of education.  The students develop the teamwork, communication, business language, negotiation and presentation skills to succeed in business.  These skills will stay with them for life whether they choose to start their own business or work for someone else”.

More events are planned for the coming year at colleges throughout the UK. To learn more visit www.twkg.net/ridethewave .

Learn more about ADK Ltd at http://www.adk.ltd.uk