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Have a Positively Fabulous Easter!

April 14, 2011
Retail tips for Easter

Positivity? - Why Not !!

Budgets, bad weather, IMF bailouts, things are tough, sales are bad, wages are down, burn the bond holders, senior bond holders, junior bond holders, any bond holders – Oh my God, my head is bursting ! Enough is enough ..

In business all the marketers will tell you about the importance of having a Unique Selling Point, a USP. It is that element that is unique that makes your business special and makes you different to your competitors. In a busy marketplace that can be hard to achieve. In the current climate it can be even more difficult as everyone is afraid of mistakes so we end up playing it very safe, even boring at times.

Now go back to my first paragraph, read it again and then read further on and let’s discover a really simple way to make your business stand out this Easter.

Here goes..

This Easter draw a secret line around your business and make it a haven for all those who enter or deal with over the phone or on email – you are going to give them a gift, something that is quite unique, something that are not getting in most other places. When anyone crosses that secret line they are going to experience nothing but positivity – yep, that’s right simple positivity.

That’s all well and good but how do we do it? – Here is my 10 step plan!

1.       Yourself – You start! ( “Good morning, Greg”)

2.       Your Team – Tell them that negative talk is banned, you want them cheery and bright with customers – watch what happens (have a negative jar instead of a swear jar!)

3.       Bright – You want to see bright merchandise in the windows, bright visuals on your website, bright stock in the stock list, bright clothes on the staff. Buy flowers!

4.       Sales – Increase your sales targets. We all know it’s not easy but tell the team you are budgeting for an increase (let everyone else do the opposite, prepare for the negative it and it will definitely happen)

5.       How to? – Ok, while you are positive you are also realistic. You want positive plans from your team as to how the sales targets will be achieved

6.       Bonus – Promise bonuses for those who succeed, win/win if you make it

7.       What to do with that bonus? – Get everyone in the team to write on a piece of paper what they will do with their bonus (put their private responses in an envelope with their name on it – keep it for them)

8.       Drinks/dinner/chocolates/coffee – When the sales plans are done and the bonuses are decided on do something as a team. Bring chocolates or buns into work.

9.       Customers – treat them really nice, offer them coffee, offer them biscuits. Tell them about the secret line if you have to – they will think you are nuts but they will appreciate it

10.   The World – little enough that you can do about the other stuff, keep it outside the line!

Sorry I have one more tip – why stop at Easter?

Happy Easter!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Business Planning, Customer Care, Ireland, Irish Economy, Marketing, Positivity, Retailing | 12 Comments »

Writers Block !

April 12, 2011

All sorts of direct mail comes through our letter box everyday of the week ranging from free newspapers, special offers from pizza and Chinese restaurants and local hardware stores.

At work the direct mail tends to be a little bit different, we do get the free newspapers but we also tend to get some special offers from gyms and some notifications about lunch time specials in local restaurants. The odd time you will get someone offering some type of business to service such as IT support. Mostly this material goes direct to the bin after a quick glance.

The very odd time something very special comes through the letter box and this happened yesterday in the office. This very special piece of direct marketing immediately brought the gift of laughter and joy to everyone – in fact it was so good that the effects of it lasted the whole day.

It brought smiles – sorry that it a huge understatement – it brought uncontrollable laughter from the minute it was discovered. During the day this unique piece of direct marketing was spontaneously grabbed by whoever was passing – it was picked up and even though everyone knew the joke already it did not matter – the roars of laughter just kicked off again.

I don’t think anyone in the office will take up what was being offered any time soon but to those who delivered this unique gift through our letterbox we cannot thank you enough. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Direct Matketing that makes you laugh!

How is your writing?

Writers block?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Direct Marketing, Marketing, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

True Heroes of the Irish Economy

April 7, 2011
Resilience - The Broken Man

Resilience - The Broken Man

Sometimes I try to find words to describe what I am witnessing around me and the things that inspire me.

Sometimes you are better off letting the words to those who are in the mix.

In response to my blog “Broken Man – We need him now more than ever” , which received incredible response there is one that just blew me away.

These are not my words they are his – one of those broken men who is picking himself up again..

“Speaking as what you term a “broken man” – I lost everything, dreams out of the window, in debt up to my ears – it took a couple of years to get things back on an even keel and begin to accept the loss but, having done it once, I couldn’t imagine working for someone else again. Working now on a new project with confidence having taken a knock but with my vision and determination intact……..maybe not broken, perhaps just wounded!”

Broken Man, thanks for getting up again

I salute you

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Business Start Ups, Irish Economy, Marketing, Self Help | 8 Comments »

Perfecting imperfection ..

April 2, 2011

Cafe de Flore - Paris

Do we really want everything to be absolutely perfect?

I absolutely love those places, products or services where you get a genuine, authentic experience that connects with you in a particular way that just cannot be beaten.

The magic ingredient is that besides being great at what they do or sell they have maintained some element that is actually imperfect and genuinely authentic, which is what makes them extra special.

You know what I am talking about .. that market stall, that character pub, that artisan cheese, that hotel with character, that boutique with unusual labels, that restaurant or coffee shop with a great buzz. In these places the crooked pictures on the wall, the charismatic character behind the counter, the candles burning in the wine bottles and the unusual product packaging all actually make the experience better instead of worse.

Just think of Cafe de Flore in Paris – expensive, chic, atmosphere and yes .. perfectly, imperfect!

The opposite is the franchise hotels, shops, restaurants and coffee shops where you get the standard experience, the same look and feel and staff well trained in executing the standard operation manual. Operating at their best you are guaranteed a good experience but you will never get that little bit of magic and authenticity.

Maybe, just maybe the manual needs to be loosened a little so that the local manager can be encouraged to do something authentic and get closer to being perfectly imperfect?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Paper doesn’t refuse ink!

March 26, 2011
Sheep Advertising

Baaad or Good idea?!

Paper doesn’t refuse ink

A website won’t refuse content

A photograph won’t refuse what you put in front of the camera

This week a client reminded me of his photo shoot a few years back where we pushed him out of the “comfort” zone and we managed a photo that was not only quite different, but one that really communicated what he was all about. To this day he is amazed by how many people notice and comment positively on the photo, which he still uses to this day.

Be careful with your content, whatever it is – make sure it gets you noticed and that it tells the right story about you and your business!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Advertising, Graphic Design, Marketing, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Sniper Marketing

February 21, 2011

Online Marketing

Should your be more specific?

If you throw enough mud at a wall then eventually some will stick! – you have often heard that expression and when it comes to advertising and in particular at a time when most people are carefully watching their budgets. It can cause problems when it comes to justifying spend in this area.

Influenced by this very argument and also because it often makes total sense, where appropriate we encourage most of our clients to allocate some of their advertising budgets to on-line Pay Per Click advertising, or sniper marketing as we like to call it.

With some of the recent and new on-line tools it is now much easier to target your exact target audience for your product or service, just like a “sniper” would. Why advertise to everyone just to get the attention of a narrow more exact target audience?

With a combination of Google Advertising, Facebook Advertising, and even LinkedIn advertising it is possible to target your customers very specifically.

Most of these initiatives operate on a pay-per-click basis so you only pay for results, even though you can also achieve some visibility for free with those who do not click on your adverts. Just to replay that in simple terms – You only pay when someone has clicked on your advert and come to your website or facebook page. You do not pay every time your advert is shown.

To briefly explain how each of the platforms work:

Google Adwords – here you select (or bid on) keywords that when searched by a user will activate your advert. You can limit your adverts to a specific area or location. You can actually go further and specify which page on your website the user will land on when they click on your advert. Let them find exactly what they want as quickly as possible.

Facebook Advertising – This is quite different to how Google works. Here you target demographics – you can specify types of people in different areas and even with declared special interests. With adverts here you have a choice of bringing bring them to your website or your Facebook business page (this can be very effective in building followers on your page).

LinkedIn Advertising – Advertising here operates more like Facebook with the exception that the environment is much more corporate. You can target types of people, making choices about location, company size and even levels of seniority.

With all of the above options you can control your campaigns by setting daily budgets and also by limiting how much each click will cost. Google reporting in particular can provide you with very valuable information about your customers. (they are all relatively easy to set up but I would strongly advise seeking professional help setting up these campaigns as you can easily make expensive mistakes – they never refuse your money!)

To support this activity you might also consider email marketing – use an on-line email newsletter service (there are many good value options such as MailChimp and Constant Contact and for more sophisticated requirements you could try Newsweaver) to your database of contacts, reminding those who you have already developed a connection with of you and your services.

This sniper approach to marketing can work for all types of businesses as diverse as:

The Ballroom Dance teacher who can target engaged women in Cork with his adverts for dance lessons to get them ready for their first dance at their wedding (there are 1,210 of within a 20 km radius of Cork City!) – Facebook is perfect for this.

The Tax Consultant who wants to target senior executives in Ireland for specialist tax advice – this can be done by advertising on LinkedIn.

We find that on-line campaigns can work very effectively as part of an overall campaign for clients to achieve their objectives.

Could this be something that would form part of your Marketing Plan in 2011?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Business Start Ups, Facebook, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Uncategorized, Web Marketing | Leave a Comment »

Flip a Coin

February 9, 2011
Sober Lane, Cork - Flip a Coin

The next round could be free - Heads or Tails

My poor son!

Well, not actually.. Brendan is a great kid and for the most part he has a pretty good time doing exactly what he wants in his life with his multi media course at CIT (he is in his last year), his new website, his films and comedy projects – the world is his oyster and he approaches it in such a positive way. I’m sure he will do great.

One of the things that goes against him is his birthday! He was born on the 4th January, 1989 so there is always a danger that Christmas presents can merge into birthday presents and the big problem now is that very few of us are able for the “birthday celebrations” on the 4th January, typically when we are going back to work for the first time in the new year.

This year we had the same dilemma – Brendan was 22 on the 4th of January and as always we wanted to celebrate his day. The problem was the 4th was the Tuesday that we were all heading to work for the first time in the new year – not practical.

The solution was a gathering of Brendan’s friends and a few of us “older fogies” on the Sunday night before that and we left the choice of venue to him. Sober Lane in Cork was his choice, a place he is always raving about. I must admit that at the very tail end of Christmas a night out wasn’t something I felt like and I know Brendan was worried that most of his buddies would be in the same boat – for them it would be a case of  no “bobs”!

In we headed on the Sunday night and I was really surprised to see a packed Sober Lane pub with a great buzz – my god, what was going on here that wasn’t going on everywhere else? Brendan’s buddies arrived in and he ended up having a great night but on top of this the pub was hopping.

The Marketing Guru’s (I’m taking some licence here – why not!) sense of curiosity was working overtime trying to figure out why this pub, which to be honest didn’t seem to be anything really exceptional was so busy.

Up I went to the bar to buy the first round for the thirsty troop – no surprise it was a large order that came in at about €30 – I was nervous.. this birthday was going to clean me out! After settling up with the cheery bar man he asked me did I want to “flip a coin“?

Excuse me? Again he asked me did I want to “flip a coin”. Two guys perched at the bar supping on their pints quickly jumped in and clarified the matter “Go on will ya, heads or tails – if you get it right you get the same round free next time“. My suspicious mind started looking around for the cameras or I wondered what the big catch was about this – ok, heads it is. The barman flipped the coin and surprisingly enough heads it was!

With no real expression one way or the other the barman handed me a receipt for the drinks that I had just bought, he signed his name to it and explained that when I was ready I could bring the receipt to the bar and I would get the exact round free!! Speechless .. (where is the camera?)

Wow – I went back to our troop and told them of my great “win” – “Oh yeah” they do that here every Sunday night, I was told.

The night rolled on, I won another few rounds, there was great crack with everyone in the bar with a constant murmur of “Did you win?“. When I went to the bar the two guys still perched there were having great banter with me “You lucky xxxxxxx” … you can imagine what they were saying.

Not only did we get great value, but there was a great sense of fun and the place was packed. I noticed a funny thing as well – any time I won I felt obligated to stay and buy another round, not to try and win again but to give them something back – very few people seemed to be leaving – brilliant!

Eventually we wandered home leaving the “young guns” to do their thing – on the way to the car we passed a few pubs, which were all pretty much empty.

What the pub was doing was incredible – I can imagine when the crazy idea was first suggested it would have been shot down straight away. The accountants without a doubt had heart attacks, the managers would have argued about how it could be controlled, What about stock control? What about barmen giving free second drinks to their buddies? What about recording the free stock? What about the margins? (its actually not that bad as on average people will only win every second time – and besides you can’t pay your staff with a better percentage) What about the tax man? What about our Profits?

On top of that the Vintners organisations would have tut tutted this “stupid” idea. This crew made it work, the place was packed – and whatever the drawbacks were they still went for it and enjoy a busy pub every Sunday night when others are empty (Sober Lane is busy the whole time – as you can imagine it’s not the only creative thing they do).

When someone comes up with a crazy promotional idea in your business, look past the problems and the issues and give it a chance – you might actually gain more than you lose ..

Ok, heads or tails? – the next years services could be free!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Entertainment, Marketing, Recession, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

The Candidates – Simon Coveney, Fine Gael (Cork South Central)

February 7, 2011
Simon Coveney Fine Gael

Really Impressive Simon - Well done!

As part of the election process I am going to do a “Ronseal” (what does their tin say about them) review of the political candidates literature that comes in through our letterbox and score them accordingly!!

Candidate: Simon Coveney, Fine Gael (Cork South Central)

I must admit this impressed me the minute it landed in my hand – It looks different, it feels different and my only complaint is that I wish Simon was in my constituency!

Design and Layout (5)
This is refreshing, a big glossy A3 sheet (double the size of an A4 page) delivered in a landscape 3 panel format – why not? It looks and feels good and it is totally different to all the other literature I have reviewed – what a great way to stand out!

The other and really important thing? – it is printed in Cork. I just spotted this very subtly, not oversold but a point I appreciate – score 5

Photo (10)
The main photo used for Simon is one of him “in action” – it captures someone with a real task in mind. On the inside there is a casual photo of Simon, showing a more relaxed down to earth guy – this one was just ok, but it does show a different aspect of what he is all about. All in all I would want to vote for the guy in the photo – score 9

Contact Details (5)
He includes both his email address and his personal phone number on his flyer, as well as his own website his Facebook page and his Twitter page .. that puts him in the very progressive box and gives everyone an opportunity to really find out more about what he is like and what he is up to and a real chance to interact with him (tip for Simon: more effort on the profile pic and presentation on Facebook)  – score 5

Background (10)
This is the one area where Simon left me down (I’m sure he will be gutted!) – with such a comprehensive package he didn’t tell me anything about him. Ok, you can see his positive attitude, he gives his opinions and some of his philosophy, which is really strong but what about him? What qualifies him to take a seat, what has he accomplished? – Please let me know, it’s important – score 6

Sales Pitch (10)
The sales pitch for Fine Gael is really refreshing and strong on the flyer and I would definitely get a sense that this is the way I would like to vote. However it is mostly about Fine Gael and not enough about Simon. I do like the “personal” letter that Simon has written “To every Cork person“, which appears at the back of the flyer and carries his signature. This is really about Fine Gael with just a tiny flavour of Simon as I have already mentioned. As a Fine Gael pitch it excels and I love the avoiding of the blatant Fianna Fail bashing – it is positive and forward looking, more about solutions than pointing out problems – score 8

Big Picture (10)
The big picture arguments are really strong with solid approaches and policies for the main areas. I love the “Irish pride” angle and the sense that we need to work together to drive into the future. Well done here – score 10

Overall Score
I am totally sold, but I would love to have learnt more about Simon – wasted opportunity. The arguments and presentation are strong enough for me to be convinced that Simon means business and is very serious about winning a seat. He makes promises here and they seem to have substance.

As I said in the beginning , I’m sorry Simon is not in my constituency – overall score 43 out of 50.

Best of luck in the elections Simon!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Ireland, Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Marketing, Recession | Leave a Comment »

The Candidates – Derry Canty, Fine Gael (Cork North West)

January 30, 2011
Derry Canty, Fine Gael

Derry - we want to hear about you!

As part of the election process I am going to do a “Ronseal” (what does their tin say about them) review of the political candidates literature that comes in through our letterbox and score them accordingly!!

Candidate: Derry Canty, Fine Gael (Cork North West)

Now this review is tricky as he is a namesake and I know him! .. but, the idea here is to review the candidates purely based on that flyer that comes through the letterbox. After all I reckon that is as much as most people voting will get to see of their candidates unless they have been really active in their particular area.

Design and Layout (5)
Derry and his team opted for a really small flyer, A6 size, it’s tiny but it is printed on heavier paper than the other candidates so far. For some reason there is no mention of which constituency Derry is running in – score 3

Photo (10)
There is a good enough photo of Derry, looking friendly and approachable. He is wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and a blue tie – standard attire for a politician I guess! Would you trust this man? On the higher side of average I guess! – score 7

Contact Details (5)
He includes both his email address and his personal phone number on his flyer, a nice “open” approach. As well as this he has his Facebook page listed .. ok, that puts him in the progressive box and gives everyone an opportunity to really find out more about what he is like and what he is up to – score 5

Background (10)
There is absolutely nothing on the flyer about Derry. When I say nothing I really mean nothing.. how can I be expected to vote for you if I know nothing about you, what you believe in, what you are qualified at, what you have achieved – score 0

Sales Pitch (10)
The sales pitch on the flyer is a generic Fine Gael pitch and not why we should vote for Derry. To be fair it does give a point by point review of what they would do. It is a little generic though using terms such as “radical stimulus plan” and “radical reforms” , tell me more, I’d love to hear more about these radical changes .. – score 5

Big Picture (10)
The big picture argument was the same as the sales pitch and did attempt to explain how FG would make a difference. At least there is an attempt at explaining how the “big picture” might be different if we voted for them – score 8

Overall Score
This is a Fine Gael flyer with Derry’s picture and contact details on it. I suspect we will see exactly the same across the length and breadth of the country with other candidate’s names and pictures.

Derry, people vote for people and you know this – your flyer is a wasted opportunity to get your message across to your voters. Lots of pressing the flesh is needed to show them you – check out Aine Collins flyer who goes some way to showing what she is like and why we should vote for  “her” – overall score 28 out of 50.

Best of luck in the elections Derry!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Marketing, PR | 1 Comment »

Would you text “Flirt” to 57333?

January 30, 2011
Text flirt

Who would text "flirt"?

Past 11 at night you will come across so many of these adverts, you know the ones, “text flirt to 57333, for friends, friendly chats or maybe more” .. and they promise even more.. “girls in your area are waiting to talk to you“!

Do we really think that you could be fooled by these adverts? Would you really call that number and expect to actually chat with someone genuine (if that has happened to anyone, I’d love to hear about it). You know without a doubt if you called that number you would end up chatting with someone programmed with standard chat up lines and a “put on” sexy voice at a huge cost (probably after waiting at least two minutes, pressing this button and that, eating up valuable time)?

Of course you wouldn’t , don’t be silly, who would? I am 45 and have never done this , nor do I know of anyone who has. At a stretch maybe a few lads larking around on their parents phone having the crack? Beyond that and applying my sense of logic and experience I can’t imagine anyone using the “flirt” service.

The conclusion is that no one really calls these numbers. Right?

While these adverts are not shown on prime TV, they are shown off peak with huge frequency and on the newspapers. They aren’t free and someone is writing cheques on a regular basis for them. Are they really stupid and foolish or just trying to get rid of money on an idea that will never work? I doubt it ..

Conclusion? Never assume you know about the marketplace, there is money in the niches, you just need to find them!!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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Posted in Entertainment, Marketing, Uncategorized | 14 Comments »

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