Almost 90% of D2N2 Growth Hub clients, who answered a survey, said they would recommend it to another firm and three-quarters of ‘high growth’ enterprises spoken to had acted on the business advice they were given, says a new report.
The Growth Hub – part of the private sector-led D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, promoting economic growth and jobs creation in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – was launched in December 2014. It has since provided more than 1,500 businesses with free advice on training, growth, accessing funding to expand; and held dozens of its own business events, and attended other organisations’ to spread the word about its services.
A phone survey of 200 Growth Hub clients found that:
- 88% (176) would recommend the Growth Hub to another business;
- more than three quarters (77%, or 154 clients) rated the service or advice they’d had as either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’;
- 59% (118) of all businesses had taken action as a result of the Growth Hub’s advice or service, a figure which rose to 77% among (17) businesses which classed themselves as ‘high growth’;
- the Growth Hub ranked highly among those surveyed for being ‘helpful’ and ‘informative’.
The customer satisfaction survey, commissioned by the D2N2 Growth Hub to assess its impact after one year in business, was undertaken by Nottingham marketing firm dh insight. The phone survey was conducted last month (February 2016), with roughly half the clients from Nottinghamshire and half from Derbyshire.
Comments from businesses made to the report authors included:
“They couldn’t have been any more helpful at Growth Hub. They gave me lots of really useful information that I think has really helped.”
And..
“The advice they gave me was exactly what I needed at the time.”
And..
“Everybody that we’ve spoken to at the Growth Hub has been really helpful, they’re incredibly knowledgeable, they’re always willing to go the extra mile for you.”
Sales and marketing, business finance and market intelligence were areas where the surveyed clients said they would be likely to need help in future, from the Growth Hub.
The D2N2 Growth Hub’s successful delivery over the past year resulted this month (March) in the Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) agreeing a further £861,000 funding for it, over the next two years.
BIS funding will cover Growth Hub management, website development to improve accessibility for businesses, D2N2 Business Advisors, events and communications, delivering tools and systems supporting high growth businesses, and assessment of business trends.
Lindsay Allen, D2N2 Growth Hub Senior Programme Manager (Sector Development) – pictured above, at the Growth Hub’s first anniversary event, December 2015 – said: “We try and offer a ‘one-stop shop’ for businesses in our area so that, whether it’s someone just setting up an enterprise or a well-established firm with 50 employees, we or one of our regional or national partners can do something to help them grow.
“It’s gratifying to see that the clients who’ve actually dealt with the Growth Hub value its advice so highly. It’s their opinions that count in the end.
“Our new funding from Government, just announced, will enable us to do even more to help people power up their business in future.”
To learn more about the services offered by the D2N2 Growth Hub, see its website at www.d2n2growthhub.co.uk . The website received a ‘Highly Commended’ accolade in the 2015 Good Web Guide Awards, for its accessibility to users.
The Growth Hub team can also be contacted on its helpline at 0333 006 9178 or on email at info@d2n2growthhub.co.uk , or via its social media channels on Twitter @D2N2GrowthHub or LinkedIn ‘D2N2 Growth Hub’.
For further information about this news release contact D2N2 LEP Communications Manager Sean Kirby on 0115 9578749 or email: sean.kirby@d2n2lep.org
