Public relations, online PR, marketing communications and event management

Here at Reflection PR we like to work with market leaders and we’re very pleased to announce our Income Protection Insurance client, dg mutual, has done it again by paying out one of the industry’s highest claim payout rates.

For the fourth year in a row, dg mutual has settled 99% of Income Protection claims for self-employed professionals, with over 60% of claims paid out within one week.

2011 proved to be a hard year for many with the cost of living rising, meaning it was harder for the self-employed to overcome illness financially. However, income protection insurance helps self-employed keep afloat by paying out a regular tax free income if they become ill or injured.

CEO of dg mutual, David Thompson, says “Our values in treating everyone fairly are reflected in settling claims quickly without hassle to enable members to concentrate on getting back to full health.”

“Infections were again the main reasons for claims which emphasises the need to insure for absences of up to a couple of weeks which our ‘Day One’ policy is specifically designed to do,” explains David.

2012 is on track to be a great year for dg mutual and it sees the launch of their ‘Keep Afloat’ campaign to show self-employed professionals that Income Protection is less expensive than they think.

Norwich based office equipment supplier Photostatic Anglia celebrates its 30th anniversary this month with plans to increase turnover by 20% next year.

Established in 1981, Photostatic Anglia has gone from strength to strength since starting out as a one man operation by local businessman Robin Warman, with a small shop off Heigham Street.

It has since moved to West End Street gaining a good reputation and becoming one of the top five OKI resellers in the UK.

The company has grown its workforce to seven and worked with customers including the former Norwich Union, installing 300 machines into their offices. It also underwent a management buyout in 2006.

Photostatic supplies printers, fax machines and photocopiers and is the region’s authorised agents for Sharp after being awarded their national dealership in Norfolk.

Despite the tough economic climate, 2011 has seen steady growth thanks to an increase of existing and old clients using its new print management service, where Photostatic looks after every aspect of print and copying. The company believes they are on track to increase turnover by a further 20% next year by growing this service.

Managing director, Caroline Martin believes strong, local customer service has helped their company prosper over the years; “Customer service is something we invest a lot of time into and it’s definitely a contributing factor to our success.  Printers and photocopiers are so vital to a business which is why we have three engineers providing a two hour response time to breakdowns calls.” explains Caroline.

Thriving through three decades, Photostatic has witnessed many trends including seeing printing technology become 60% more energy efficient.  Ten years ago, a printer that could print 26 pages per minute colour would cost around £25,000 – today the same printer will cost £2,500.

“We provide an audit looking at companies printing needs and businesses are often surprised at how much money can be saved.  Over the years we have continued to win more contracts with schools and charities because of this.

“Despite economic uncertainty, the business has stood strong and it’s a pure testament to Robin Warman who created the business.  We are delighted we have continued his efforts and hope the future remains bright for us.” Caroline adds.

Following several new account wins and recently expanding our team, Reflection PR has more good news as we’ve moved into a new city centre office.

The office is located on Thorpe Road, opposite Norwich train station. You can find us on the third floor (known to us as The Penthouse!) of a period building which overlooks the riverside.

Approaching three years in business, we hope our new location marks the start of further growth.

We have lovely meeting rooms and car parking, so why don’t you pop in and say hello to us? The door’s always open…

Find us at:
Reflection PR
Independent House
18 – 20 Thorpe Road
Norwich
NR1 1RY

Hope to see you soon!

The team at Reflection PR are looking forward to the ‘Engaging Enterprise and Education’ project which begins this Thursday at Taverham High School.

The project is a partnership between City College Norwich and business management consultancy Inspired Change and is all about bridging the gap between businesses and schools and encouraging entrepreneurship.

It is the largest tourism enterprise project of its kind in the Norfolk and Suffolk area and has attracted a lot of interest with over 70 businesses involved to mentor pupils as the children compete to create a fictitious adventure park.

There’s sure to be some great ideas from the young people and we are very eager to see what the future entrepreneurs of Norfolk come up with!

The project has received a lot of support from the tourism sector with businesses such as the Holiday Inn Norwich-North, Wroxham Barns, and Open Contact getting involved, so a lot of advice is going to be at hand for the students.

It’s going to be a hands on and exciting day, full of celebrations as the pupils will present their creations to a panel of judges with various prizes awarded.

Winners from each school will then get the chance to compete at a grand final in July and celebrate their success at an awards ceremony and gala dinner in 2012.

This is going to be an incredible event and we at Reflection PR are very proud to be involved!

To attend the next ‘Engaging Enterprise and Education’ project, visit Inspired Change at http://inspired-change.co.uk/ or call Rob on 01603 895 605

An energy contract management firm in Norfolk is celebrating a successful 18 months after achieving a turnover of £399,000 by helping businesses reduce their energy bills.

Emily Groves set up Indigo Swan in 2010 after identifying an opportunity to provide impartial advice and set new standards in an unregulated industry.

Acting as a businesses’ mini-energy department, Indigo Swan tenders and manages commercial gas and electricity contracts to achieve cost-savings.

With energy prices reaching an all-time high and the bank of England warning of further price rises, Indigo Swan has seen a 28% rise in new customers asking for help in the last three months.

The business managed 123 million kWh of energy consumption in 2010 and achieved a turnover of £399,000 in its first year, with clients including Godfrey DIY and Haymarket Media Group.

Indigo Swan’s rapid expansion has seen it grow from a team of five to eight people.  The company has just moved to larger new offices in Norwich and is looking to recruit another energy adviser by the autumn.

Emily Groves, managing director says: “Our first 18 months has been extremely busy and we are on track to achieve a turnover of £500,000 this year.

I think our growth has been down to our approach.  We are 100% independent which means the client’s interest is our top priority, not the suppliers and every client is allocated their own energy advisor.  We firmly believe ordinary is not exceptional and hope we can continue to help businesses across East Anglia make significant cost savings, despite the rising price increases.”

The business has also launched a free service for homeowners.  ‘CompariSwan’ is an energy comparison tool for homeowners to find the best gas and electricity deals – available at www.IndigoSwan.co.uk/compare

Check out this story on the Eastern Daily Press website.