Archive for March, 2009

I was pointed in the direction of an article in today’s edition of the Globe and Mail: Banks begin to decline federal aid in first sign of recovery. According to the article, at this point in time, banks aren’t struggling as much to raise funds for giving out loans, and have a more ready supply of cash on hand for these loans. Hopefully the situation will continue to improve.

Today, I want to take a little bit of time to talk about the recent redesign of the Northbridge Consultants website and the importance of consistent branding.

A brand image is, in the most basic sense, everything that a person thinks about your company. So, if we were to take Tim Horton’s, for example, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind? For me, it’s fresh coffee. I also think of fast service, a (healthier) alternative to fast food, and (of course) hockey.

Brand identity is how you want a person to think about your brand. Brand image and brand identity are not always the same thing – usually the most challenging part of branding is making the brand identity and the brand image consistent.

So, now that we have a bit of background on branding, why did we redesign our website? The easiest answer is that we wanted to make it more consistent with the other marketing materials that we use, and to make the underlying messages across all marketing materials conform with each other. So the website had to reflect this too.

In order to do this, we made some changes to the design (the colour scheme, as well as streamlining the organization and appearance of the content being the biggest changes design-wise). But most of what we changed had to deal with the content itself – we’ve made it more readable. Each page was broken up into several smaller, more coherent pages. We’ve made the text less technical and easier to understand. And we’ve added content that we feel is important for those looking into SR&ED and other federal funding.

So, how would something along these lines help a company’s brand identity? In our case, we want people to think of us as an authority on SR&ED and federal funding. We want people to know that we are working with them to help them further their business. And we work towards putting those values in everything we do, whether it’s marketing materials, our seminars, or our face-to-face meetings with clients.

Because in the end, a company’s website is only one small piece of brand identity, and needs to work well with everything else your company puts out. As a whole, branding comes down to everything that is used to get in touch with your clients – newsletters and bulletins, customer service, the quality of your product and, of course, your service.

The current economic recession has proven to hit even harder than many economists anticipated. An estimated 129,000 Canadians lost their jobs in January alone, of which Statistics Canada reports that Ontario workers lost a staggering 71,000. Alberta, once a thriving, profitable province, is even feeling the blow, having recently announced another 15,000 jobs lost. Forecasters predict a loss of yet another 250,000 manufacturing jobs over the next five years if the Canadian manufacturing sector follows similar trends occurring within the developed industrialized nations.

For several industries, there is little to no chance of a significant sales increase in the near future. With businesses grasping at straws to stay afloat in this downturn, it is more critical than ever to find a way to increase revenue.

Canada is internationally heralded as a leader in R&D funding for domestic-owned small to medium sized enterprises. The SR&ED program (Scientific Research & Experimental Development) is one avenue that businesses, especially manufacturers, can pursue to improve their bottom line. The goal of the federal SR&ED program is to encourage experimentation and technological advancements within Canadian companies, and this is of particular benefit in the recovery of our economy.

“Companies need to sit back and assess their individual circumstances. It’s time for a second look at the SR&ED process, whether you’ve claimed previously or not.” says Ajay Sinha, VP Operations with Northbridge Consultants. “That old adage is true – knowledge is power. In regards to capitalizing on the benefits of SR&ED, it is worthwhile to seek assistance from a reputable SR&ED consultant.” Sinha is reminding clients that the CRA has hired more auditing staff and made many revisions to the T661 and filing process. He emphasizes that navigating the maze of technicalities correctly is imperative to maximize the size of your claim, and increase the rate of approval to enlarge the dollar amount of returns or tax credits. “It’s a sink or swim situation.”

Sinha mentions that “For those who have had a negative experience or have been disappointed with the results, it is often due to qualifying activities that have been overlooked, and thus not claimed for, resulting in a much smaller return, or in some cases, rejection of the claim.”

Many companies use their SR&ED returns of offset incurred development costs. Alternatively, funds can be invested in new equipment and materials, new hires, or even facility expansion. Sinha adds “We also teach our clients how to track their future eligible activities to make documentation for claims easier and more substantial. This promotes repeated success with the program in the future. The extra resources to put towards the advancement of technology also give Canadians that edge above competitors internationally.”

A short while back, Heather Reisman (President and CEO of Indigo books) was interviewed on The Hour, and brought up a couple of points that piqued my interest. According to Reisman,

• 40% adult Canadians functionally illiterate
• That 40% of Canadian adults are the biggest drain on social services, hospitals, and are more likely to end up in jail
• By increasing literacy in adult Canadians by 1%, we would be adding $17 billion to our economy

In all honesty, I was a little surprised and greatly skeptical about the figures Reisman brought forth, especially about how increasing literacy could help our economy. So I’ve done some research, and have uncovered some facts. But first, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has defined literacy as

the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

In other words, if you aren’t literate you can’t communicate well enough to survive well in the Canadian job market.

In 2003 a survey was done by the Government of Canada, among other organizations, called the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey. This survey tested over 20,000 Canadians on their literacy, and it discovered that only 58% of adult Canadians had good literacy skills. So, that leaves 42% who don’t have good literacy skills. Wow!

But how would improving literacy skills help out economy?

• Studies have been done that show that low literacy skills can be related directly to poor health, social assistance, poverty and unemployment.
• If people are more literate, they will be more likely to get better paying jobs. This would decrease the amount of government spent on employment insurance and social assistance.
• More people with good literacy help with economic growth.

I don’t know exactly how money much that would save or make, whether Reisman’s figure of $17 billion is right, but it is some food for thought.

Northbridge Consultants have increased our service offerings! We now offer ISO 9000 Certification, Kaizen/Lean/Time & Energy Management, Customer Service Professionalism and 5S Systems.

What does this mean for you?

It means that we want to work with you to help you improve your business.

Plus – we are now a SMART provider. The SMART Program helps small and medium-sized manufacturers in Ontario improve their productivity so they can compete more effectively in the global economy – in other words, there is funding available to help you create a more effectively run business.

Let us assist you achieve a competitive edge! Contact us today for an assessment.