Testimonials

It's been manic all week, partly after the interest we received following the Chamber Networking lunch. Thank you email for hosting us on Wednesday, and giving us the opportunity to speak to so many businesses about the Art Trail. We have sourced two new sponsors already, and are in conversations with many more. Thank you so much. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it!? — Lisa Long, Highland Hospice

I just wanted to say thanks for all the work you put in last week promoting sfG. The Member of the Week posts were excellent and gave us a very good profile throughout the week! — David Garvie, sfG Software

Since joining the Inverness Chamber of Commerce (ICofC) earlier this year, I can only describe my experience as exceptional. The ICofC have consistently helped to raise Redstart UK's profile by supporting our social media campaigns and promotions and given us access to other marketing platforms including, Meet the Member, Executive Magazine, Member of the Week to name a few. The ICofC are proactive and host a large number of varied events throughout the year, which represent good value. As well as being fun and informative, they are a great networking mechanism. To maximise your membership get involved and ask for help, in my experience the ICofC are more than willing to assist. — Natalie Perks, Redstart UK

I've met a lot of people and learned so much from them over the last couple of years through networking at Chamber events. It's great getting our name out there and helping folk out, but the whole experience has helped me grow as a business owner. — Luke Slater, Pelican Design

I really enjoy engaging with other members, especially through the wide range of events. Building my network and getting updates from businesses of what’s happening in the area allows us to develop relevant avenues of support. It’s a continuous learning journey. The Chamber offers so many opportunities to make networking very easy, whether it be from their database, events or their social media channels. — Rhiannon Merrit, Interface

We value the ability to network with like-minded businesses and market directly to each and every member through the email database. The Chamber is also our voice on many issues around local government that affects our business in Inverness area. Being a chamber member delivers a great deal of credibility in the way other businesses perceive us. — Michael Freeman, Panasonic Store Inverness

I value being a Chamber member as the Chamber of Commerce has worked hard to increase Highland Graphic's visibility - undoubtedly assisting our subsequent growth during our membership period. As a new business or a devloping business, having such a resource in your corner can be invaluable for putting your skills and abilities in front of your target market through established marketing channels and promotional platforms. Don't look at the cost of Chamber membership as an expense but rather as an investment - I can pretty much guarantee it'll pay for itself, almost immediately. — Dan Sutherland, Highland Graphics

Chamber HR and Chamber Legal provide valuable advice and ensure that we comply with our legal obligations as employers. Make use of the benefits package – Chamber HR and Legal are extremely cost effective, being included in the membership fee. — Frank B Nicol, Frank Nicol Farm & Garden Machinery Ltd

We love all the networking events - we attend as many as possible and find it a great way of making new connections. They also allow us to have a wider audience and gives us great access to create new connections to further our corporate social responsibility. — Innes & Mackay

I never fail to recognise, in any number of large and small ways, just how much we get as as a return on investment from our Inverness Chamber of Commerce membership fee! — Brian W Sherret, GHRL

I just want to write and thank you for a great night on Friday. I really enjoyed myself - the company was brilliant, the conversations flowed and there were many laughs. I thought the whole evening ran very smoothly which is testament to all the hard work and months of planning that goes on behind the scenes. Thank you once again for a great night. — Sheila Campbell-Lloyd, Inner Works

Just a quick note to thank you and your Chamber colleagues for your hospitality at Friday evening’s Highland Business Dinner. Fantastic food and cracking company combined to make for an excellent event. — Mark Bramley, Pat Munro

You must have been delighted with Friday's dinner which was the usual outstanding success. — Lorne Crerar, Highlands & Islands Enterprise

Since joining the Inverness Chamber of Commerce, Pelican has seen its workload double, leading to our busiest year to date and granting us the ability to take on new members of staff in 2016 and 2017. The Chamber raising the profile and awareness of our Skye-based studio has been invaluable. The benefits of membership are real and I would recommend it to any Highland business. — Luke Slater, Pelican Design Consultants

We decided to join Inverness Chamber following a meeting with Craig Black, who talked us through how they could help to support us and work with us to increase our exposure in the local area. Our participation at the Highland Spotlight event last year has been most valuable to us as members – making some excellent business connections as well as gaining one or two potential projects off the back of it. As well as this, we’ve benefited greatly from Màiri Macdonald and the Chamber team in helping to share our online content including our weekly blog, project news and newsletters which in turn has helped to grow the number of people in the area that are aware of who we are and what we do. — Kenneth Stone, AIDH: North

Since joining, the Development Trust has realised the significant benefits of membership: the networking, training and information sharing at every point of contact. What has been most valuable to us are the variety of relationships gained through networking events, the Members’ Hustings and Highland Spotlight, as part of Highland Business Week. The profile of the Trust has now been raised far outwith our local catchment and this has been through the increase in social media followers and indeed direct emails and calls to members of the team commenting on the work of the Trust. — Helen Houston, Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust

The access to networking opportunities is why we first joined Chamber – both face to face and non-face to face. With years of experience in the hospitality industry, we recognised the value of what the Chamber offers in this area and we knew it would be a fantastic organisation to be involved with, particularly for a start-up company. 90% of our clients come to us through referral or word of mouth, so the networking aspect of our membership is critical to us. We get connected to businesses in the area and it’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening locally. — Cecilia Grigor, Planit Scotland

The Chamber staff are an excellent resource; a font of help and support. The contact that the Chamber gives us with our business colleagues across the region is invaluable to us. Speak to the team; offer something back too. We provided free Occupational Health introductory sessions during Highland Business Week 2016 and it was a privilege to work together with the Chamber team to do this. — IQ Occupational Health

We have had a fantastic start with Inverness Chamber of Commerce and cannot wait to continue to nurture the relationships we have already built within membership. Networking at Chamber events has already introduced Office 121 to new opportunities and allowed us to grow and develop from feedback. — Stuart Mackenzie, Office 121

The Inverness Chamber of Commerce is a fantastic resource for business in the city. They hold regular events which are always well attended and add real value to the attendees. The personal service that you receive from all the team there is second to none, they are proactive and always happy to catch up on a one to one basis and really help us get the most out of our membership. Look forward to working together closely in 2017. — Simon Fraser, Royal Bank of Scotland

Dear Paula, Many thanks to you and your team for organising such a successful event yesterday at Achnagairn Castle. It was a great opportunity for us as a new member of the Chamber to mix with and meet other members. Stewart was particularly helpful at raising our PR profile when presenting the Tomatin Cu Bocan to Edward Mountain and explaining to the assembled company where to buy more. — Elizabeth Rose, WoodWinters Wines and Whiskies

I have found the Chamber to be a valuable link to businesses in the Highlands. I have gained many contacts and the Chamber team are really passionate in their efforts to make local businesses succeed and thrive. Events are fantastic, the team make any event I have been to a successful and worthwhile venture. Events provide opportunities to meet local like minded business people that you would rarely have the chance to meet. After recently moving to a new company and seeing the value in membership at my previous employer joining was at the top of my to do list. — Chris Stone, Easydrive Car & Van Rental

We have been members of the Chamber for almost 2 months and they have been a great support in helping us build our profile locally. Màiri & Craig have been available for so much, including brokering a deal with Aberdeen and Moray Chambers, attending our events and being available to answer questions at the drop of a hat. I would encourage any business regardless of size to look at Chamber membership to benefit from the expertise and support on offer. — Scott Roberts, Citation Professional Solutions

On a personal level, as somebody new to Inverness, our Chamber membership has been invaluable in meeting people and starting to form the relationships required to do business successfully in the community. On a business level, the team are passionate about helping you make the most of the opportunities available to you through Chamber membership - they will even help you create opportunities you might not have even identified for your business! I’d absolutely recommend joining. — Hanna Garrett, Glen Mhor Hotel & Apartments

Having been a member of the Inverness Chamber of Commerce for many years we realised the potential and opportunities that could be achieved by becoming an Executive Partner. To further enhance our partnership we also recently became the official print partner to the Chamber, rolling out a state-of-the-art Samsung Multifunctional Printer in the process. The team at the Chamber provide second-to-none support, excellent networking opportunities and progressive marketing strategies. We upgraded our membership to become an Executive Gold Partner in May this year and we are already reaping the rewards. The support you receive from the whole team is beyond expectations and they are always on hand for any queries that you may have. We believe that the best way to make the most from your membership would be to stay in contact, even if it’s for a bit of advice, promoting a short news story or something that you may want to share on social media - the Chamber will make the most of any opportunity helping your business to reach a wider audience. — Rachel Hives, Danwood Highland

As a small independent city centre business, we don’t have a dedicated HR department, health and safety or a legal team, so having the support and resources of the Chamber have been invaluable. We have also offered the Health plan to our employees and use Worldpay for our merchant services. Happy to recommend to any business. — Gemma Taylor, Our Blend Ltd

As a new, small Highland business I knew that I had to be a member of the Inverness Chamber. I could see how the networking opportunities would benefit my business but I really didn’t expect the results to be quantifiable. However, within my first six months of membership, I secured a really lucrative contract as a direct result of being in the Chamber and have since had business off the back of that! — Abbie, Adder Business Solutions

The support has been tremendous, and so personal. The membership manager visited us, gave great tips and advice and opened many doors for us. This enabled us to raise our profile, and make some very useful contacts with other members. We receive ongoing advice and ideas, and always feel the personal support offered is tailored to meet our needs perfectly. We took advantage of the Executive magazine and put a small article in, which was so beneficial and we intend to use this to advertise ourselves more fully in the future. Our web page and Facebook have received lots of hits, as the Chambers support, and help circulate our exciting ventures. The networking lunch is a wonderful way to meet a huge variety of people and to enjoy a nice meal whilst making contacts, chatting and generally talking about our individual organisations. As a third sector member, a charity supporting adults with disabilities, we were not sure that we could get much from joining the chambers of commerce, but we were quickly able to see the benefits, and would advise others to join also. — Helen, L’Arche Inverness

The membership of the chamber is going good for me. I have been in contact with various member of the chamber and am now pricing work for them and have secured a contract with one of your members. I have also received a good rate from a printing company through being a chamber member. Plus just having the logo in my email and that it is seen by all who read my emails raises awareness and the profile of my business. — John, Seaboard Scaffolding

We genuinely think the Chamber is excellent, especially as we would never normally get as much as a letter in front of some of the people but the Chamber gives everyone the opportunity to have contact with public figures of interest. — Anne, Caithness Business Self Cater Properties

Many thanks to you and your colleagues for putting on such a great programme of activity this week. I have really liked the concentrated programme and innovative events - electric vehicles, todays procurement session etc. — Archie, Practically Green

In terms of Spotlight, the quality of the stand holders was excellent and we managed to do a lot of networking within the room. — Ewan, Northern Recycling

I just wanted to let you know that the exhibition and seminar both proved successful for us, not to mention our partnership with Chamber - some excellent contacts were made across our team and we had a busy time with the EV test drives. — Bruce, Home Energy Scotland

Just to let you know we had a very good spotlight event with several good leads coming from the day. — Alex, Highland Office Equipment

Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed today's lunch - the format and food were excellent as usual and it's clear that Chamber is expanding its reach considerably. I'm looking forward to the next one already. — Gary, UHI