Mantle Monthly

In this Issue: 

• Strategising to maximise your recovery

• In Focus: Red Line Instruments

• Wokingham Borough Council, optimistic for 2010

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Business Strategies to Maximise Your Recovery:

How did your business do? – Put a hold on critical purchasing decisions; froze training, consultancy, advertising and sales budgets, chased debtors unreasonably, kept creditors waiting, discounted to win business contracts?

Many businesses seized the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and made some really tough decisions – they changed, acted decisively and planned for a more successful future.

It’s not too late to take control and maximise your success going forward.....

Key Steps to Success:

• Get Positive & Focus on Opportunities: marketing is more affordable at the moment and you could capitalise on your competitors’ disarray by focusing on your strengths.
• Conduct A Strategic Review: take time to review your business. Stick to your core values and don’t undervalue your services. Get closer to your customers, staff and suppliers and re-emphasise your core values.
• Understand What Business You Are In: think about the specific needs of your target market.

• Create a Clear Vision for Your Business: make it stretching and achievable with measurable objectives each month, quarter and year.
• Create a Sales Plan: define your most valuable customer and super-serve them. Arrange review meetings with your top 10 clients.
• Make Your People Profitable: Involve the rest of the company. Share the challenges and get their input and ideas. Use employee input constructively to give them ownership of the strategy.

Mantle ltd work in partnership with Martin Vessey of Business Doctors a local business strategy expert.

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• Establishes a stronger brand image

• Enables access to cost effective office space solutions

• Reduces business overhead

• Matches business resource to client demands on an ad-hoc basis.

• Technology solutions specialists manufacturing electronics for marine, engineering and industrial markets.

Mantle Solutions:

• Postal Address, Post Handling & Virtual Office

Taking on the Challenge

“The past few months have been challenging for business but many of Wokingham’s firms seem well placed to benefit from the upturn when it happens” says Andy Nicholls, the Council’s Economic Development Officer. “While companies have been working doubly hard at keeping afloat we’ve been making plans for the future, including the regeneration of Wokingham Town Centre. The Council has recently created a limited company, Wokingham Enterprise Ltd (WEL) which has just purchased properties along Peach Street including 30 shops offices, offices and flats. This will enable us to control the phasing of the redevelopment of the sites far easier without any unnecessary delay. Other welcome news includes an exciting new Science and Innovation Park, which will attract research and development, laboratories and high tech industries to Wokingham Borough.

The University of Readings application for outline planning permission was given the green light in May by the Government Office for the South East.  Local developments such as the rebranded IQ Winnersh, which used to be called Winnersh Triangle, also provide an optimistic outlook for the local jobs market. Several major firms including Harris Systems, Jacobs have opened up HQ’s there and the new 174 bedroom Holiday Inn has also opened up for business.

The business park has the potential to create an additional 15,000 jobs over the next ten years as further phases of the development are completed. All this news was endorsed in a recent survey from independent business experts The Work Foundation which has put Wokingham, along with Reading and Bracknell as the top of a list of towns with most potential for growth in their job markets.

Although the number of jobseekers in the borough has dropped from two percent of the working population to 1.5 per cent in the last year, a big challenge for Wokingham is the trend in the increase in the rate of unemployment over the coming months. It’s important that we continue to work with our partner organisations such as Wokingham Job Support to help people back into employment or retraining as quickly as possible”. 

For more information about doing business in Wokingham, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone Andy on (0118) 974 6018.