Agenda item

Mike Langan, Chairman of Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce attended the meeting and provided the review with his organisation’s views on the operation of the Hillingdon First Card in relation to the business sector.

Issues raised were:

·        The businesses which were part of the scheme were mainly High Street businesses

·        There should be more businesses in the scheme and some more thought needed to be put into the categories businesses were put into for the scheme

·        The business discounts did not suit all businesses and there should be some flexibility on this

·        Consideration should be given to changing the emphasis to offers, which would bring some flexibility for individual businesses

·        There needed to be a re-promotion of the business directory

·        The Hillingdon First Card website was very useful but sight must not be lost of those residents who were not internet users

·        Reference was made to the Card being for residents of the Borough and there being no direct benefit for businesses

·        Reference was made to the success of the Card in relation to car parking for residents but not for employees of businesses who worked in the Borough

·        There needed to be a re-promotion of the Card to enable residents to know what they could get with their Card

·        The Chambers of Commerce had started a Members’ pages on their website which could also be used for Hillingdon First Card promotions

·        Reference was made to the Card not giving businesses financial benefit as the Card did not bring in new customers

·        There could be publicity given in the form of case studies, of those businesses that had found the Hillingdon First Card a success for their business

·        Businesses on Industrial estates, self employed businesses such as plumbers, electricians etc who were residents of the Borough could also be captured as part of the scheme

·        Leafleting could take place at the Boroughs various shopping areas to re-promote the Card

Members thanked the Chairman of the Chamber for the useful information and views he had shared with them.

The ICT Strategist attended the meeting and provided the Committee with details of possible technologies which could be used to further promote the Hillingdon First Card.

Issues raised were:

·      Quick Response (QR) Codes – These were essentially a compact barcode which were read by a barcode scanner, typically on a mobile device such as a smart phone or tablet. When QR Codes were read, the code displayed promotional material or can take the smart phone user to a specific webpage. This could be used to take people through to the Hillingdon First Card webpage

·      QR Codes could be generated at zero cost and be included on websites and printed in promotional literature

·      QR Codes could inform residents which shops and businesses were participating in the Hillingdon Card scheme

·      The Hillingdon First Card QR Code could be displayed on public notice boards, in libraries and other Council establishments or even be displayed by businesses

·      Mobile application (Apps) was a term which was used to describe software that runs on smart phones and other mobile devices, often as a stand alone programme.

·      Reference was made to Bracknell Forest Borough Council who had developed a mobile app for both Apple and Android devised to promote their local privilege card. Members were informed of the costs of this which would be prohibitive for the Hillingdon First Card at this time

·      SMS Text messaging was used by the Council as a communication channel between the Council and residents. For example parents were informed of the confirmation of children’s school places via SMS text rather than by post

·      Businesses often used text messaging for marketing activity with messages including QR and other promotional codes

·      The Council’s current SMS Text contract costs were 4p per outbound message and 2p per inbound message. As an example, if 20,000 residents have provided a mobile phone number and indicated they would like to receive SMS Text updates, the cost would be £800.

RESOLVED -

1.      That the information provided for the session be noted and be included as part of the evidence for the review.

 2. That for the next meeting of the Committee a draft final report be produced to enable Members to formulate recommendations.