Today, the BBC is asking the question ‘do small firms really need a website’?

According to the Federation of Small Businesses, only about half SMEs have an online presence.

The article goes on to point out that having a website is not always appropriate, depending on the business concerned. However, it also makes the point that an effective site allows people beyond your usual catchment area to find out about you and potentially become your customers.

Even without online sales functionality, a website can be a great asset as a marketing tool or as an online portfolio, listing your goods, services or past projects. This can give interested parties a sense of who you are and what you do, thus creating an element of trust and confidence in you before they even get in touch.

Obviously there are many different levels of web sites available. From all singing, all dancing e-commerce sites to simple brochure sites, the choice is yours. It doesn’t even have to cost a lot. You could have a company blog (like the one you’re reading now) up and running in an afternoon, and all for free. We use Wordpress, but there are lots of simple, low cost solutions out there.

Liverpool Chamber is a firm believer in using technology to boost business. If you need any help or advice on how ICT can help you, please contact us or our good friends at Merit.

Please note that James Street is due to re-open on Thursday 29 November.

Details of the new arrangements including bus stand allocations are available on the Merseytravel website.

Thursday 29th November 2007
“Whose Identity is it Anyway?”

i-start is a network event for digital media businesses, budding entrepreneurs and graduates. It is a bi-monthly informal event that pulls a cross-section of the local industry together around a keynote talk.

The Topic…
“Whose Identity is it Anyway?”

The Speaker…
Phil Redmond

Phil Redmond’s personal and wide-ranging exploration of the competing political and cultural forces redefining our personal identities: “Whose Identity is it Anyway?”.

Fittingly for a man whose programmes have had such a broad impact on the public imagination, his lecture will embrace topics as diverse as cultural identity, ID cards, and DNA databases.

Questions arise about who owns the right to exploit your own personal data.  Businesses already benefit from utilising your personal details in targeted and verifying customers.  Along with the right to privacy issue Phil will also speak about the right to profit from this mass of data.

Phil Redmond is today one of Liverpool’s leading voices on the city’s creative, media and technological future, and was recently appointed deputy chairman of the Liverpool Culture Company, responsible for delivering the cultural programme for Liverpool, European City of Culture 2008.

The venue…
Sir Thomas’s Hotel, Lounge Bar
24 Sir Thomas Street (Corner of Victoria Street)
Liverpool
L1 6JB

http://www.sirthomashotel.co.uk/

The Itinerary…
17:30 - Registration
18:00 - Introduction
18:05 - Speaker / Q&A
19:00 - Networking / Refreshments
20:00 - Close
The damage…
FREE to attend
The registration process…
For further information about this free event and registration details, please visit: http://www.icdc.org.uk/

…or you can contact the ICDC Events team on:

Email:
 icdcevents@ljmu.ac.uk

Call:
0151 231 4704

.we just need your name, email address and organisation name (if applicable).

Note: You will receive an email to confirm your booking.

i-start is run by Digitalinc, ICDC’s digital media incubator at Liverpool John Moores University and is sponsored by Gregory Abrams Davidson LLP.

Chamber UtilitiesT has launched a new carbon footprinting service to help members calculate their carbon emissions and minimise their environmental impact.

Environmental performance is becoming increasingly important to business success. Your carbon footprint is the measure of the amount of carbon (mainly carbon dioxide, or CO2, from combustion of fossil fuels, but also some other greenhouse gases) your organisation emits.

Financial help and funding is available to help you reduce your emissions.

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