Matt Dunford is in charge of the thriving local site the best of Nottingham. We caught up with him recently to ask about his work and the direction he sees the city going in. Here’s what he had to say.
Hi Matt, can you tell us a little about the best of Nottingham and what it is trying to achieve?
The Best of Nottingham is a marketing company with a difference. We only showcase the very best businesses in Nottingham. We ask local people to tell us which businesses have blown their socks off recently and we then go to check those businesses out for ourselves, just to be sure they really are the best in Town. The key areas of excellence underpinning thebestof and that we look for in every business we feature are Quality products & services and outstanding Customer Service.
If we do invite a business to join us then they actively ask their customers for regular feedback to ensure they maintain their position as the best locally. We even provide handy review cards that they can give to their customers to capture customers feedback. What we are definitely not is a business directory, what I mean by that is that we are not looking to feature every business in Nottingham, quite the opposite, we are looking for quality over quantity so therefore every category we have has a maximum limit of businesses.
You seem to focus a lot on the idea of generating a ‘community hub.’ Why do you consider this to be important?
Generating a community hub is absolutely fundamental to our goal of being the most interactive local space in Nottingham. We love to support all things local, like local charities and local events so we have big plans in development to support the community through the forthcoming development of our new website and initiatives like our Buy Local Campaign.
Nottingham is a growing city with a diverse creative and arts scene. Where do you see the city going in the next few years?
With all the investment and exciting new ventures in the creative and arts scene, I feel Nottingham will strengthen it’s already strong foothold as THE place of up and coming talent, creating more opportunities for people with ambition and drive to get noticed.
What, for you, makes Nottingham a unique place to live and work in?
Nottingham is such a vibrant City with so much variety and choice, such amazing people and amazing businesses it really is a fantastic place to be. I have witnessed such a huge amount of positivity about the City, especially within the past 12 months with local people and local business owners using their own initiative to make Nottingham a positive story. There is a real undercurrent building through social media where new connections are being made like never before.
Finally, with a growing online presence, what are the future plans for The Best of Nottingham?
Over the next 12 months we have a huge amount planned. We will be launching an area within the community hub section of our new website which will provide all local charities and non profit clubs/associations free space to communicate with their members and supporters enabling them to increase their exposure, integrate their social media, blogs, events and a whole lot more. There will also be the introduction of a business to business portal and plenty of new interactive widgets. We will continue to increase our offline presence focusing on our best business signs, networking evenings, billboard campaigns, door drops and lots more to come. It really is an exciting time.