Northampton Archives → Northamptonshire Business Directory

Omicron, Covid-19 and local business survival plans.

31 December 2021

Omicron is here to stay for a while.

We have all seen the continuing news, every hour, every day on television and heard it on the radio. Most people have now turned off from paying any attention to Omicron and Covid-19 in general.

Restrictions are in place, but in reality, people have already made up their minds on what they believe, and what actions they will take. It does not matter if nightclubs are open if people have decided not to visit. The majority have develop their own Omicron survival plans, no matter what the Government plans are.

It is different for local businesses, they have to plan for all the individual decisions made. Interesting Omicron article, might help with the decisions.

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Finding local customers: Tips for promoting a business online

15 May 2021

Who are my local customers, and where are they?

Where do online national and local customers come from? A simple question. For many businesses and organisations, this is very hard to answer. There are facilities to understand who and why people visit a website.

Listed in this free Northamptonshire Directory are a wide variety of businesses, and many different styles of websites. Having a website is only the first step in finding customers. Potential customers have to find the business website as well. For the smaller business owner or the manager of a local branch, this next step does not happen.

Business Promotion

Who takes care of the website? Unfortunately often the answer is nobody. It could be DIY, a website designer, in some cases a marketing company. There are steps even a small business can do to promote themselves and their website. …

Local Directories.

12 January 2021

Local Directories mean business.

We have written an article about the benefits of local Business Directories for businesses of all sizes. The information is too much to show in a post. Here is the full article.

Every business with a website, has the problem of how to be found if the business is not already well known. Some business names are nothing like their website name. People search for what they think are the right words to find a business, not always what the company is known for.

Don't use Google to search for your business

If you do, you will nearly always come out near the top. Why? Because Google understands people very well, and also understands interests and recent search words. If you frequently ask Google about your company, it remembers your interest, and provides information matching those words.

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New version of the popular local Northamptonshire Business Directory coming shortly.

14 August 2020

We have been working on a more modern up to date version of the Northampton Business Directory. The Directory started in 2014 and has been through many updates. This all new version will be ready by the end of August.

All existing member information, and listings will remain. One of the challenges has been to improve the Directory, but not lose any existing information. It is expected many companies will take the chance to upgrade their information and provide new images.

Security has been increased, listing made faster, and it is easier to find where customers are located, and travel information.

Local Services really do matter.

3 June 2020

Local Suppliers really do matter. Not just the Business Directory, but local public services as well.

It is a well known fact that local Government services are better for the population than those arranged from central Government. Local people know what is needed and where. An interesting article on Local Government is here. Both Northampton and Northamptonshire are mentioned.

Locally grown vegetables taste better and help local farmers.

That is why a local Business Directory will always be better than national or international Directories if your customers are based within 40 miles. For hotels, restaurants, local facilities, transport, small businesses, this makes sense. See our article on the benefits of using local companies.

Whether the UK stays in the European Union or mak…

Is your town centre successful?

10 May 2019

Is your town centre dying?

As Brexit takes its toll of businesses of all types and sizes, town centres across the country are facing major stores and small family businesses shutting down and leaving boarded up premises. This starts a change reaction as the number of people making the effort to visit any town centre falls, the shops they wanted to visit have closed or moved away to out of town shopping areas.

Update April 2019

Here is a classic example of what is happening in Northampton and across towns all over Northamptonshire and the country. Peppertrees is closing. Who will be next, until the town centre is empty?

Brexit and the Internet are partly to blame

Firstly Brexit. It is the uncertainty of the future and how customers are delaying purchases to see what happens after Brexit. No surprise in that. The Internet and online purchases have had a devastating effect on town centres across the country. Companies have failed to addre…

Marketing and Northamptonshire businesses

1 November 2018

Marketing preparations for the future Brexit dominates the news, and for many business owners and managers, there is nothing they can do, except prepare. We commissioned a report which goes some ways to explain what should be considered when planning for Brexit.With so little information and facts which seem to change as fast as the weather, what can be done? Will your business survive if you do nothing? At the heart of every business are the customers, and they are as worried about the future as well. If customer numbers fall, revenue falls, staff are laid off, banks consider their support, etc,etc. It is a vicious circle. Doing nothing should not be an option. How a local Business Directory can help? We are talking about Northamptonshire Marketing. It is not a word to be frighten of, it just means telling potential customers about your business. If customers don't know about your business, they can always find a competitor. So the winner is the business that has spre…

Northamptonshire business owners are strange

22 February 2018

Northamptonshire business owners are strangeEverybody in business knows customers are important, and promoting a business is also important. This can be in the normal way of leaflets, phone calls, advertising, emails and promotions. Often overlooked is the 24 hours a day 7 days a week that a free listing in the local Northamptonshire Business Directory can bring.Customers now search on-line for products and services, even though they may still visit a business to complete a purchase. Customers can find a business website on-line if it set up correctly. which takes time and knowledge. Another method used is a local Business Directory or a Directory specialising in certain types of products or service. The reason is because customers realise that all the companies are likely to be listed that are required. Then it is up to the listing to make the sale.As a business owner, could you write 300 words about your company and why it is the best? Unfortunately the case i…

Promoting a Northamptonshire business

14 September 2017

Your website is importantYour on-line Northamptonshire business website is more important than you think. As a busy owner or manager it can be easy to forget the company website, after all, there is one and that's all that matters. The Northampton Business Directory was started to provide a free Directory service to Northampton and Northamptonshire companies of all sizes, supported with selected advertising.Our membership continues to grow, but there are still many local companies not listed for a number of possible reasons. Did not know the Directory existed, the marketing department handles this, or maybe an outside agency, no money, or just don't have the time to do everything.Many Northamptonshire business owners think that a website is not required for their business as they consider their business local rather than international. However, analysis on the trend of internet search patterns have provided insight that people search products and services on-l…