INSIDE: Nominate YOUR company in the Business Champion Awards.

March-April 2015Despatches

It’s all about being different. Be it classy, loud, cheap, or on the cutting edge of innovation you have to have something that makes you unique. And the people that focus on and develop their differences create a brand loyalty tailored by the people that those qualities appeal to.

It’s all about your target market. Finding your niche. And to make yourself or your company very desirable for that niche to hang out with.

Here at Diamond we are the champions of small business. Our target market is the businesses who really need our services and can’t get that quality or breadth they need elsewhere, nor the tailored and personal service their businesses needs. It’s all about the quality delivery of services at a local level. That’s why we have locally owned and managed depots, not a centralised call centre – because it’s very relationship based. And that’s rare in our kind of logistics.

Whether you need to be the crème de la crème in your industry (like Burberry) or the cheap and cheerful (like Poundland) it is the successful tailoring of your message to match the desire of your prospective clients that makes it so very important.

Where it starts to go wrong is when your message gets diluted. If a luxury car producer starts making a small, cheap version of their luxury marque doesn’t that potentially endanger the perception of the brand by their core audience? It’s dangerous waters I think.

Know your market, drill into what that market particularly desires, and pitch your focus on fulfilling those specific desires. The great news is the better you tailor your message the more passionate an advocate for your business will be – because it ticks so many boxes. And it also means that there is plenty of room for competition – because this specific niching down, tailoring of services, appealing to a very specific audience, means there are plenty of niches for businesses to target regardless of their industry.

Whether a grocer, be it Aldi or Waitrose, a car manufacturer, be it Bugatti or Kia, or a hotel, Premier Inn versus The Ritz, there is a market – as long as you define it well enough – for everyone.

How do you differentiate yourself in life or business, when there is so much noise, so much competition? How can you get noticed?

Breaking the mould

We work with many amazing companies and felt that it’s time we gave a little back.

This is the launch of the Diamond Business Champion Awards. It’s free to enter, the criteria is straightforward, and you and your business may be nominated for an award and all the publicity that comes with it.

It will be judged by Marin Norbury of Advocate, Aynsley Damery of Tayabali Tomlin and our CEO, Kate Lester who judged last year’s National Entrepreneurial Awards at the ICC, Birmingham.

It’s completely FREE – there’s no award ceremony this year, but you’ll receive a jolly nice award, a nice photo and a press release to tell your region all about your SUCCESS.

Go to diamondlogistics.co.uk/business-champions and register today. Closing date for entries 20th April 2015.

It’s great for your team moral, great for your company and great for your profile.

Business Champions – Diamond salutes you!

Diamonds supports thousands of SME’s around the UK providing them with the backbone of their business by delivering their promises and profits with one stop logistics solutions.

Are you a Diamond Champion?

Categories... Retail Manufacturing Business Services Medical Online Retail Trade Rising Star The Diamond Champion

OurMissionStatementWork in mutual benefit, delivering time-critical delivery solutions to our clients.

Provide great career opportunities to our team and subcontractors.

Contribute positively to society on local, regional and global levels.

Be a really good company to trust, work for and to belong to.

Why logistics?We have been in Logistics for over 10 years originally with Fastway couriers and then XDP. Everyday is a new challenge but we love the industry. We believe the industry is growing day by day and creating more opportunities all the time.

Why did you choose Diamond?We chose Diamond Logistics because we wanted to be rewarded for our efforts. This was perfect for us. The MCS system gives us new strings to our bow that we’ve never had before. We are able to get greater spends per customer.

What can you offer businesses in Leicester?We can now offer our local customers an overall solution for all their Logistics giving us greater revenue and margin.

What learnings have you achieved being part of the network? We have got a greater understanding of the industry and the way Diamond works. We’ve had fantastic support so far from everyone involved in the team. Everyone has been approachable and understanding.

How have you managed such a good start? We have planned and targeted certain customers in small areas building up regular consignments.

What are your goals for 2015?We aim to have 3 vehicles collecting by the end of the year. We would like to hit 300 consignments per day by the end of our first year.

Why logistics?I came into logistics quite by accident really. I was working in Investment Banking, but left that industry after the July 7th bombings as I did not want to risk my life just by going to work! I relocated to Dorset and got involved in importing goods, utilising my extended family out in China. We were distributing jewellery, clothing and pet supplies.

The service that I got from my courier company, Business Post, was very poor at the time. The driver sometimes didn’t turn up, or he would turn up late, and I was constantly getting complaints about my parcels arriving damaged. I telephoned the depot manager to make a complaint and he apologised, saying that he was struggling to get a good driver for my area. I asked him if it were possible for me to provide a driver to him on a sub-contractor basis so that I could control the forwarding of my goods, and that’s how we started off in logistics!

Why did you choose Diamond?I looked at many different franchises in the logistics industry and Diamond suited me best. The most valuable resource to any company in the logistics industry is the drivers. Given that I had 30+ drivers working for me, I had the most valuable resources already, I just needed a platform for them to perform on! That’s where I realised that the Diamond model was the perfect fit for my company.

What can you offer businesses in Dorset?In short, we are here to take the headache away from your logistical problems. Between our large network of drivers, we cover every inch of Dorset. Therefore anyone who is experiencing problems getting carriers to collect from them in the more remote parts of Dorset will not have the same problems with Diamond Logistics Bournemouth. Furthermore, all of my drivers are trained to be polite, courteous and helpful to a customer. Our Customer Network Team will track and follow up on every parcel until it is delivered to your customers hands. This is a service other carriers just can’t accomplish.

How have you managed such a good start? 1) My network of drivers. Because they have all been providing a top quality service to customers all over Dorset, it has been very easy for me to get customer leads.2) My Customer Network Team. It’s one thing getting customers on, but without Greg, Craig and Scott helping me to look after the customers, I would not be able to keep them all happy.

What are your goals for 2015?Our team ambition is to become the carrier of choice in Dorset. Once you try the services of Diamond Logistics in Bournemouth, you will not need to look elsewhere.

Franchise Focus...LeicesterJason DacresT 01162 986953E leicester@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Bournemouth Hon LeungT 01202 069460E bournemouth@diamondlogistics.co.uk

SurreyUnit 9, The Pines Business Park,Broad Street, GuildfordSurrey GU3 3BHT 0845 591 7334E info@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Basildon 1 Noble Square, Courtauld Road,Basildon, Essex SS13 1LST 01268 857 854E basildon@diamondlogistics.co.uk

BirminghamUnit 31, Evans Easy Space,Middlemore Road, West Bromwich B21 0ALT 0121 667 8283E birmingham@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Bolton Unit 2, Moses Gate Workshops,Manchester Road, Bolton BL3 2QGT 01204 896 359E bolton@diamondlogistics.co.uk

BournemouthUnit D2 Cirrus Court, Aviation Park West, Bournemouth Airport, Dorset, BH23 6NWT 01202 069460E bournemouth@diamondlogistics

BristolUnit B 7A4 Victoria Road,Avonmouth Industrial Estate,Avonmouth, Bristol BS11 9DPT 01179 119664E bristol@diamondlogistics

Central Scotland Unit 9/10 Biggar Road Industrial Estate, Cleland, Motherwell ML1 5PBT 01698 442 336E cscotland@diamondlogistics.co.uk

CoventryUnit 14 Stampings Blue Ribbon Industrial Estate,Foleshill CV6 5RBT 0247 6666 240E coventry@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Croydon7a Beddington Gardens, Wallington SM6 0HUT 020 8003 4668E croydon@diamondlogistics.co.uk

DerbyUnit 5C Sinfin Industrial Estate,Sinfin Lane, Derby, Derbyshire DE24 9GLT 01332 897 674E derby@diamondlogistics.co.uk

East LondonUnit 27 Walthamstow Business Centre,Clifford Road, London E17 4SXT 0203 603 9458E eastlondon@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Leicester420D, Thurmston Boulevard, Leicester, LE4 9LET 01162 986953E leicester@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Lichfield Unit 33 Britannia Enterprise Park, Britannia Way, Lichfield, West Midlands WS14 9UYT 01543 889601E lichfield@diamondlogistics.co.uk

NorthamptonBrixworth Coldstore, Old Harborough Road, Northampton NN6 9BXT 01604 806314 E northampton@diamondlogistics.co.uk

NorwichThe True Centre, 31 Caister Road, Great Yarmouth NR30 4DAT 01603 859401E norwich@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Nottingham131 Town Street, Nottingham NG10 5DST 0115 871 5235E nottingham@diamondlogistics.co.uk

PlymouthUnit 13 Faraday Mill Business Park, Prince Rock, Plymouth PL4 0STT 01752 547992E plymouth@diamondlogistics

SheffieldUnit 10, Carbook Industrial Estate,Dunlop Street, Sheffield S9 2HRT 0114 299 4844E sheffield@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Slough 914 Yeovil Road, Slough Trading Estate, Slough SL1 4JAT 01753 257 299E slough@diamondlogistics.co.uk

SouthamptonUnit 30, Claylands Road,Bishops Waltham, Hampshire SO32 1BHT 02380 988919E southampton@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Sussex7b Durban Road, South Bersted Industrial Estate,Bognor Regis, West Sussex PO22 9QTT 01243 885729E chichester@diamondlogistics.co.uk

Coming soon:Exeter, Mid Wales and much, much more!

Keep in Touch

Due to popular demand she’s had a few printed but as the books are selling so well on Kindle, she is donating 100% of the proceeds of the sale of the books to charity. But not the charity of her choice – to the charity of YOUR choice.

To receive your copies of Stop Reading Self Help Books and JFDI simply send a screenshot of proof of donation of £10 to the charity of your choice and Kate will send the book out by return.

A double whammy of self-improvement!

Email Kate at kate@diamondlogistics.co.uk and get your copies today.

This month’s charitable caper is inspired by the success of Kate’s latest books that are receiving 5 star reviews on Amazon.

Feed your brain and the charity of your choice