Covid Support Programme Extended to September 2021

A reactive Northumberland support service has been given the go ahead to continue its delivery to support small to medium business in the county until September 2021.

Launched in July 2020 the Northumberland Covid Business Response Programme (NCBRP) has worked with industry experts to provide support to over 70 businesses and with 200 Northumberland based businesses signed up to the unique and diverse offerings made to tailor multiple industries during the pandemic.

The Project is funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority and delivered by Advance Northumberland on behalf of Northumberland County Council and the Northumberland Business Hub.

NCBRP has two elements to the programme, Digital Advantage and Business Advantage, businesses will initially with advisors to identify and be signposted to which element is best suited for them and their business needs.

Business Advantage is an offering of 12 hours of 1-2-1 support from industry experts working with businesses to identify sticking points, the fully funded support to covers a range of topics such as; business planning, resilience planning, marketing and legal. Businesses can use the time to build on their business create plans and strategies to future proof the business. A range of industries have already taken the offer including businesses in the creative industry, hospitality, and those in financial services.

Digital Advantage, the other element of the programme covers a range of offerings for eligible businesses, these include a digital marketing campaign to the value of £500 whereby  businesses can use the offering to promote their services on Facebook or Google as a brand awareness campaign or to generate custom.

A fully functioning e-commerce website maintained and hosted for a full year. With over half of the websites launched it is vital that businesses take up the chance to secure their website where they can build create and edit as their business grows beyond the first 12 months.

Sarah Smith, owner of Chewing the Cud has taken advantage of the website offering and now has a fully functioning e-Commerce website

“(I) definitely recommend it, especially in this uncertain time, starting a new business in a crisis, it’s about getting the right tools and knowing that you have people on hand”.

The third offering is an APP for hospitality businesses that will allow customers to book tables (when safe to do so), order food, select a collection time and pay all from the APP.

Richard Wearmouth, Chair of Advance Northumberland says “Advance Northumberland is here to provide comprehensive support to businesses across the County and there’s never been a more crucial time as during this pandemic for them to tap into our services.

With the plan of how the economy is set to come out the other side of the pandemic now released, it is a great time for businesses to establish their online presence and utilise these services to maintain social distancing custom and build brand awareness.”

The project although extended is urging businesses looking for support to come forward and apply to the programme.

To find out more about NCBRP and getting your business the support it needs, please go to: northumberlandbusinessresponse.co.uk