We need a NEW Green “Irish” Agenda

November 2, 2010
Irish Flag

Irish Flag

To be honest I’m not too concerned about the Green agenda as we know it.

Of course I care about the environment but at the moment I care a lot more about our country, the economy, our people, our children and our attitude towards ourselves’ and where we live.

I feel we are in danger of losing sight of the good things about Ireland or at least forgetting what we have and how it is such a special country.
At the moment it feels like we are all working in a company that is going into liquidation, we have to get on with our work but we know the place could fold any day. As regards being forward looking, what’s the point as who knows if the place will even be open next week?

We urgently need a NEW Green Agenda for Ireland.

As is the case in business with any objective for this to work everyone must be clear about the goal, we must understand it and we must play our part in achieving it.

All of this sounds wonderful but I believe it can be achieved if we do following four things:

Adopt a Make it Happen Approach

We have to get more Irish people working and Ireland making money again and this will happen if everyone in whatever role they have adopts a genuine “Make It Happen” approach.

If regulators, fire officers, planning officials, politicians, bankers, health & safety officials, ESB, phone and broadband installers, approach their jobs with a “Make it Happen” approach then more businesses would open and more events and activities would be possible. I am not saying allow bad practices but approach the problem with a solution mindset instead of a “Can’t do that” one and watch the difference.

Liquidators, bankers, NAMA, regulators – there is an insatiable appetite now to shut people and businesses down (and this does include builders). Work to the Green Agenda – keep business open, keep people who want to continue, open, instead of shutting them down. If this was a genuine objective, then better solutions would be found than those we are seeing currently.

We are haemorrhaging money in the public service and we just can’t afford this anymore. Let’s provide for our people who are sick, let’s give our children the best possible education and let’s provide financial support for those misfortunate enough not to have work. However, don’t rip Ireland (us) off with unnecessary bureaucracy, claiming welfare and other benefits illegally and not working at full capacity. Be honest, have a Green agenda, it’s our country, let’s protect it.

Initiate Real Positive Initiatives

The budget, the budget ..Ok, this will take money out of the system, which is going to affect everyone.

A few things here – If we adopt a Make it Happen approach the fall will not be as hard, if we take the opportunity to squeeze out excess and inefficiency in the public service it will be a great days work, which should have been done a long time ago, if we use the taxation mechanisms to encourage the better utilisation of assets and encourage people who are sitting on Celtic Tiger wealth to start investing then it won’t be so bad.
I’m ok with taking some bad tasting medicine as long as there is an equal package of Real Positive Initiatives. I’m talking initiatives to encourage new business, to encourage investment in capital, incentives to do something with our vast property portfolio, training and investment initiatives as encouragement for new business and real taxation incentives for people who are willing to Make It Happen. (Since the recession has kicked in I have seen virtually no Real Positive Initiatives)

Encourage a Spend Ireland Campaign

We have to encourage people to spend money on Irish products and Irish services, proactively keeping money circulating in the country.
I’m talking a lot more that consumers looking out for Irish products when they are doing their shopping. I am talking about purchasing managers deliberately choosing Irish products and services and retailers making this a priority and giving the Irish products pride of place on the shelves. This isn’t a cop out for Irish suppliers, who have to manage their businesses to the extent that they can compete with foreign alternatives. Besides products we need to choose Irish service providers – have a genuine buy Irish agenda. This money will come back to you somewhere along the way.

As part of this initiative I would encourage all companies to keep as many people working as possible. Not a time for making a few quid extra by outsourcing to India.

Work hard on “Ireland PR”

Finally and most importantly we need to get back to celebrating our fabulous country and start talking it up. It is a great place to live and we need to stop knocking it. In everything we do we need to be conscious of our Irishness and do everything to project the right image. This includes all of us including even Brian Cowen! We should continue and encourage events and activities that showcase Ireland abroad. Quite simply we need to start “Talking Ireland Up”.

Maybe all of this is a little Utopian but I do feel that collectively we need to lift our heads, pull together in the same direction and grasp a NEW Green Agenda, an Irish agenda.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, PR, Recession | 1 Comment »

What do you think of me?

October 26, 2010

Greg Canty - Fuzion Communications

Greg Canty - Fuzion Communications

“What do you think of me?” is a strange question to ask anyone but every day we are putting ourselves out there in the firing line and whether you like it or not, people will judge you and are thinking of you either negatively, positively or neither.

My son recently told me it annoyed him how I use Foursquare as he ends up seeing updates from me constantly on Facebook about where I am and what I am saying about these places.

It got me thinking…

If that is annoying him then what does everyone else think of me, what do you think of me?

In the new world of communication with the different Social Media platforms making it much easier to spread your message quickly to a wide audience, those of you who embrace the available tools are asking that question on a regular basis.

Every time you publish a blog, upload a photo, upload a link, give an opinion, join a conversation, pass on interesting information, make a video or simply make a status update you are putting yourself on the line with friends, clients, very lose acquaintances and possible new clients.

Social Media without a doubt is a terrific way to convey information about you and your business, spreading valuable messages but if you get it wrong you can just as easily turn people off as you can turn people on!

While social media is very much in the fast lane we are still at the very beginning, with the functionality and features evolving on a constant basis and the rules and etiquette still forming.

Chris Brogan a very popular writer and total expert in this area published a book called “Trust Agents” where he acknowledges the power of the web to build your reputation but acknowledges that the most important stepping stone is behaving in a manner that first builds trust online. With trust you can spread your message, without it you can waste a lot of time and run the danger of turning people off you.

If you are going to dedicate time and resources on social media both building a following and spreading your message it’s vital that you get it right.

There are no right or wrong answers here but how and what you post and how you conduct yourself generally online will determine how people will think of you. Even how you set up your social media tools, the pictures you use of yourself and your even choice of features such as LinkedIn automatically updating from Twitter, which updates automatically from Four Square can also affect how messages are delivered and interpreted.

When I start analysing how I behave online there are so many unanswered questions:

I try to use a particular style of title that grabs attention for my blogs – does that annoy the reader?

I try to be a little informal and “unstuffy” with my posts – does that suit the clients I am trying to attract?

I talk about everyday things as well as topics relevant to our business – does that make me look foolish and should I just stick with industry specific items?

I like to use a positive approach as much as possible – in the current environment, does that annoy people?

I post discussion items on various LinkedIn groups about once a week – do people get fed up of seeing these so often?

I follow some incredible marketers and I have a link from their blogs, which populates the Fuzion Facebook page – does this annoy people?

If I see something funny or unusual I will photograph it and upload it on Facebook – maybe my friends or acquaintances think these are silly?

On Twitter I use a mix of my name and the business name “GregCantyFuzion” as my identity – what do people think of this compared to funnier, customised or descriptive names?

Right or wrong all you can do really is measure your effectiveness as best as possible – watch traffic to your blog, see if your LinkedIn and Facebook posts get a reaction, watch if people engage with your discussion topics, see if your posts are retweeted. Also you can observe other people’s behaviour online and take on board the style of activity you like and more importantly the style of posting that you don’t like.

Better to burn than to fade away, better to put yourself and your business out there, drawing attention to your message and trying to make sure you maintain your online visibility. That’s a decision I made and I invest time in it. My one piece of definite advice is to be true to yourself or else you will not come across as being genuine.

So, back to my question.. What you think of me?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Marketing, PR, Social Media, Web Marketing | 20 Comments »

Small Gestures that make a HUGE Difference

October 14, 2010
Thank You - Fuzion

Small Gestures that make a HUGE Difference

We came into work today and as usual first thing, collected the post and went about opening each of the envelopes .. the usual few bills, some promotional mail, a cheque or two (we like them!) , bank statements and a nice square unusual hand written envelope, which we left till last.
That last envelope was a simple “good luck in the new office” card, handwritten with a nice personal message. A really simple gesture at a time when we just don’t tend to get around to doing things like that anymore.
Quite simply it put us into great form and it put the sender in a great place in our heads. You would do something special for them, you feel appreciated and you would go the extra mile for them if the need arose.
I have been meaning to write this piece for a while because it has really struck me in the last few months the power of simple gestures. This year alone we received thank you cards for work done, a thank you voucher, thank you emails, a personalised gift that was brought back from holidays by a client, flowers, wine, scones to the office, chocolates, thank you notes accompanying cheques and even a really clever personalised t-shirt.

The fabulous thing is that none of these gifts cost the moon except for a little thought and effort.

For all of us they are Wow!

We always work hard for our clients but for these guys we would move mountains, if that is possible.

My message, is think about saying thank you, buy some thank you cards, bring scones to a meeting and even something a little extra if the situation warrants it.

You will not only stand out as being special but you will always get it back tenfold, but as I said, that’s not why you do it.

You do it to say thank you.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, PR | Leave a Comment »

Buying with a PR Objective

October 12, 2010

When anyone in the retail sector is doing their purchasing they already have many objectives in mind such as:

  • The Margin that is available on the stock
  • Credit terms
  • Reliability of supply
  • Resulting Price points
  • Range of stock
  • Storage
  • Returns policy
  • Ability to compete versus competition
  • Will it sell!!
Buying with a PR Agenda

Buying with a PR Agenda

I know you probably have enough on your plate but (the famous but!), I would strongly encourage every purchasing manager to also include a definite “PR Agenda” as part of the criteria when deciding on which suppliers to buy from and which stock to choose.
If your purchasing is approached in this way then there will be opportunities for valuable Press Coverage, which will be terrific for awareness and for attracting shoppers into your store.

So.. what exactly do I mean when I say purchase with a PR Agenda? – I have a few tips that may help you as follows..

Look for suppliers that have a pro-active PR resource – what will they do to promote the stock you buy from them?
When choosing a supplier look for one that is actively engaged in PR, which when operated properly will result in your store being mentioned as a stockist in Press coverage that is achieved in your locality. Don’t be afraid to ask for evidence of this including copies of press clippings for other stockists etc (make sure your supplier also includes your details on their website as a stockist)

Choose suppliers that have timely press images available of the stock that you are purchasing
If the supplier does not have a PR resource the next best thing is that you are able to do your own PR in your locality and beyond. This will be made a lot easier if the supplier can provide you with timely, good quality, attractive (high resolution) images. With these you or your own PR firm can issue your own press releases. (another tip – include these images on your Facebook page)

Choose products that are exclusive and unique
When deciding on which stock to purchase, try to secure brands or ranges of stock that will be exclusive to your store. A second point here is to purchase “unusual” items that will by their very nature turn heads and achieve coverage. You may be tempted to play it very safe with stock and avoid unusual items that may not sell – take a risk here, even with a small quantity of “PR Stock”. Get this one right and the PR value will well exceed the cost of the stock purchased.

Frequency of PR
Try to plan your buying so that you have new stock and the ability to issue an interesting Press Release as often as possible during the year. The Press will write about your store quite often as long as you have a new story to tell.

National versus loca
Achieving PR is really valuable for your store as we have discussed – will your plan achieve local PR or is it possible to achieve national PR? Try hard to have something that will bring you attention with the press nationally. As discussed already this will be down to you being the “exclusive stockist of unusual items”

For example at Fuzion we have achieved national coverage for small stores as a result of them having quite unusual stock items in their range – this will generate curiosity with customers and press as well as a national reputation for your store.

Overall Review of your purchase plan
Once you have made the bulk of your purchasing decisions in terms of suppliers and stock sit back and review this to ensure that the plan has sufficient “PR Ability” applying the PR criteria as discussed above: PR Resource, PR Images, Exclusive Stock, Wow Stock, Frequency and National versus Local.

Maybe you need to make a few changes or add something into the mix to achieve your PR Objective?

Customer “Wow” & Word of Mouth
Not only will the unusual items of stock help you to achieve Press Coverage but they will also achieve valuable “Word of Mouth” with customers. Help this along by displaying unusual items prominently in your store and by distributing the images on your Facebook pages. Customers could well make the assumption that if you can purchase usual items in the store, then surely there will be a great selection of “other” stock?

At a time when budgets are very tight (or anytime to be honest!) bringing a PR “agenda” into your purchasing criteria could play a very valuable role in attracting new customers to your store as well as  building your reputation as being quite special.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Marketing, PR, Recession, Retailing | Leave a Comment »

Bill Clinton – Understanding bread to avoid making toast!

October 5, 2010

Bill Clinton and the Irish Toast

Bill Clinton and the Irish Toast

Bill Clinton made a huge impression in Ireland last week during his visit and scored huge credibility points with his straight talk and in particular his comment that “Ireland needed to get a handle on the Economy and its Finances or else it would be toast”

This speech came at the same time as we announced even bigger banking deficits and serious noises about four year austerity budgets. Doom and Gloom in mega portions. Would you like some despair with that?

Bill was quickly compared by the media to our own leaders and we all fell into a hole of depression as we know we are seriously lacking in credible and inspirational leadership that we can genuinely believe in. Bill did say we could take the tough medicine IF we believed in the results that would follow.

He is right – we need to get a handle on our economy before we are all toast.

The big issue is that no one seems to have a clue about bread and how to avoid our bread (or lack of it!) turning into toast – it just isn’t understood. I am getting no sense from anyone that there is anything close to a solution, a definite and a clear believable plan.

I had a meeting this morning with an accountant friend of mine and the subject of Irish toast came up.

Quite simply my friend made a statement “As accountants, both of us we know that you just can’t take any more money out of this economy. People are on their knees so this is an impossible situation.” The elephant in the room was let out! Of course you can’t get blood from a stone, that is so obvious.

There is a tricky dynamic between confidence, spending, investment, disposable income, indirect taxes and direct taxes, which has us barely hanging in there. Without confidence we have not been spending, which has impacted on tax take and look what’s happened.

The feeling and atmosphere I witnessed since last week reminds me of the terror and fear that gripped everyone and resulted in choking the life out of the economy at the start of 2009.

Without a huge package of Real Positive Initiatives (RPI and not RIP!) that help to generate spending and job creation in the economy, some of which we heard about from Grant Thornton last week on Newstalk (for example in Australia 100% Capital allowances were introduced to encourage spending and investment) to go with some necessary cutbacks, where there is still serious excess we will in serious bother.

Do we need to understand about making bread if we want to avoid being toast?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Recession, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

The Shoe Polishing Award!

September 17, 2010
The Shoe Polishing Award

The Shoe Polishing Award

The whole idea of industry awards is really quite interesting and something that can often make you wonder when you see pictures in the newspapers or trade magazines of people holding their prizes for excellence in things you never heard of!

Recently we were caught in the “eye of the storm” and were first hand witnesses to the whole process, the effort, the submission, the anticipation, the nomination, the curiosity, the event, the nervousness, the elation, the photos, the congratulations and then the press coverage.

We were nominated and proudly won a national award for Excellence in PR, for work we did on the Cystic Fibrosis, St.Vincents campaign last year.

It was a total whirlwind for us, our whole team and even our families, clients and friends who were all waiting in the wings to celebrate our success or not as the case might have been.

While it wasn’t Hollywood, for us it was our Oscars and having won the award we celebrated and basked in a huge ray of satisfaction and achievement, just like Jeff Bridges may have done earlier this year.

Awards are relevant for every industry, wherever people and businesses take pride in what they do day in, day out, no matter what it is.

When you really think about it why should an industry hold awards?

1.       To raise the profile of an industry and those operating within it

2.       To help people’s understanding of the industry

3.       Raise the standards within the industry

4.       Acknowledge the important aspects of the industry and recognise some of the silent heroes

5.       Generate a sense of pride for the industry and the entrants

6.       Achieve PR for the entrants and the industry

7.       It gets people talking about the industry – the entrants will happily spread the award

8.       A great occasion for the players in an industry to come together and celebrate their profession

9.       Generates excitement for the entrants and a huge sense of purpose and satisfaction

10.   Tangible evidence of high standards through trophies and certificates that appear in meeting rooms around the country

11.   Terrific Fundraising opportunity –once nominated people will attend!

Having been through the process we are already thinking about next year and wondering which project will we be able to submit for an award. We’re hooked!

Whatever industry you’re in, even if that is Shoe Polishing, Go On, enter the awards, enjoy the journey and win yourself that Oscar!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Marketing, PR, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

A Modern Fairytale – The Beautiful Village and the Hole

September 12, 2010
A Modern Fairytale

A Modern Fairytale

There was a beautiful scenic village in the middle of the country that was the pride of everyone that lived there. In fact the village was so beautiful that everyone wanted to live there.

One of the lords who owned land outside the town decided that it was a good idea to make the village even bigger so he asked his friends to buy some of his land and build new cottages outside the town. He asked other friends to give the first friends money so they could buy his land and start building. The builder friend became friendly with the banker friend and asked him if he could lend money to the villagers so they buy these houses and pay for them over 30 years. Even villagers who already had a cottage could buy another cottage if they wanted to and they could pay for them over 30 years.

The lord, the builder and the banker told the villagers that it was a fabulous idea for them to buy these cottages and pay for them over 30 years. They were not to worry as they would always have good jobs that paid good money so they could pay for these cottages and look after their families as well.

The banker friend told the builder friend that he could charge the villagers a lot for the cottages as they had 30 years to pay for them and he was happy to lend them that sort of money. After all the more money he could lend them the more money he would make and that would make both of them very happy and even better friends. The lord and the builder and the banker ordered the finest food and the finest wine and celebrated their new friendship every night in their new castles and planned on building even more cottages in more villages.

All the friends were happy and they started building lots and lots of new cottages outside the village. The heavy machines drove through the town every day as they brought materials to build the new cottages. Every time they drove through the beautiful village a hole opened up in the middle of the village that just got bigger and bigger.

Everyone was confused because everyone was supposed to be happy – the lord, the builder friend, the banker friend and the people who could buy their houses over 30 years. So, why was a big dangerous hole opening up in the middle of the village, that no one was doing anything about?

The other problem was that the beautiful village wasn’t so beautiful any more because of the big hole, which was very ugly. Some of the villagers who wanted to buy the new cottages changed their minds and many of those who had bought them were sorry that they had.

The villagers were worried about the hole so they asked a few labourers to have a look at it to see what they could do with it.

Not able to see clearly to the bottom they decided they better call some experts to see exactly how big the hole was so they know knew exactly what quantity of materials they had better order to fill in the hole.

The materials were quite expensive so the villagers asked the lord, the builder and the banker for money so they could buy them to fix the hole. After all the villagers felt it was ok to ask them as they felt the hole was because of all the building.

Unfortunately and for some reason neither the lord or the builder or the banker had any money. At least that is what they told the villagers.

The villagers were very confused, angry and upset but because the hole was so dangerous, they went to the King of all the land and explained to them how worried they were as the hole was very dangerous and that it needed to be filled in.

The King told them that even though the hole was not their fault he was going to bring in a new “Hole Tax” so that he could collect money from them to fix the hole.

The Lord, the Builders and the Bank friends told the King that they couldn’t pay the new “Hole Tax” because they had no money. He said fine very quickly. They then had some food and wine in his castle.

The villagers who had bought the new houses and were paying for them over 30 years were worried as they had very little money and they felt they couldn’t afford to pay the “Hole Tax”.

One of the villagers went home and was very upset because he was so worried that he would not have any money for paying the “Hole Tax” and feed his family as well.

His little girl saw him crying and asked why he was upset?

He told her the story about the hole and he did his best to explain to her what happened.

“Where is all the money gone?” she said after listening to his story “Someone must have it, after all”

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Recession | Leave a Comment »

16 PR Tips that No One can do for You

September 12, 2010
Answer the phone promptly

Answer the phone promptly

PR or Public Relations is all about Managing your Reputation– protecting, maintaining, building and managing your reputation.

There is nothing more valuable as a good reputation and this is about a lot more than employing a PR company.

Your reputation is every single aspect of how your business relates to the outside world, your customers, your prospects, the general public and the media. This applies equally to a small store as it does to a large store or brand.

Ok, how about 16 Tips for improving and managing your Positive Reputation (PR)

1.    Behave in an upbeat way with staff and customers
2.    Ensure your staff does the same
3.    Answer the phones promptly, politely, positively and helpfully
4.    Return missed calls promptly
5.    Return email enquiries quickly
6.    Deliver a good, friendly service to customers
7.    Handle complaints fairly and efficiently
8.    Deliver products and services on time
9.    Be polite, fair and efficient with your suppliers and staff
10.    Keep customers and prospects up to date with new products, features and services
11.    Treat your customers with respect (even if they are experiencing difficulty and are under financial pressure)
12.    Ensure that your website and all your printed materials are well laid out, with correct English,  easily understood, professional and properly reflect your business
13.    Ensure your store, premises and vehicles are kept neat and tidy
14.    Ensure the attire of your staff is in keeping with the standards of your business
15.    Ensure your staff always talk up your company and do not air grievances outside of the four walls with external people – make a pact to sort things out internally
16.    Talk up the achievements of your company and the staff working there – their talents, skills and achievements

This is not an exhaustive list – have a think about it and add another 5/10/20 points to improve your reputation even more. Even better get your team to help you with this task.

Ok, all of this is good for your business reputation, it didn’t require the intervention of third party consultants and oh yeah, it didn’t really cost a shilling – you still have your €1 left!

So far we have looked at some housekeeping reputation issues, what about behaving even more positively?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Customer Care, Marketing, PR | 2 Comments »

The Problem with the hole

September 1, 2010
Brian Cowen

Brian Cowen - Can someone fill that hole please?

I am so angry this morning.

Yesterday I drove through Bandon in West Cork on the way to a client meeting and watched a long queue of men (one woman) outside a Post Office waiting to collect their dole money. Depressing sight.

I watched Alan Dukes of Anglo Irish Bank this morning on Ireland AM in mono tone explaining how the hole gets bigger because the “property” assets keep reducing in value: “we have to protect the depositors!” – who are they, please tell me?

I heard 47yr old Declan Murphy, 4th generation menswear store from Newcastlewest in Co.Limerick passionately talk on Newstalk this morning about how he is taking his wife and 3 kids to Australia because he can’t provide for them here. He is a proud Limerick man but can’t see himself coming back to Ireland.

He made a very simple point, which I believe in strongly ..

Unless we do positive things to generate employment and get things going in this country instead of pumping money into a bottomless pit we will never recover. A “win-win” he called it.

The hole will get bigger unless we treat the symptoms.

We need positive activity (People are more positive but outside of that I see absolutely none, not with banks or government) – that does not mean decisions to pump more money into NAMA and Anglo. It means generating employment, more income for people which will in time generate demand for some of those ghost properties – maybe the hole will get smaller?

Maybe it’s being very simplistic but it does seem very obvious – I wonder what our old friend Willie Sutton would say about it?

Best of luck in Australia Declan, come back and visit your folks sometime.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Irish Economy, Irish Politics, Recession | 4 Comments »

Chow Mein Special! – Going further to find New Business

August 29, 2010
Chinese Takeaway

Chinese Takeaway

Eventually we arrived at my sister’s holiday home in Duncannon in Wexford having spent a few hours in the car and a short ferry ride from Passage East.

A little later when we were all a little peckish and no one at all fancied cooking, someone suggested a Chinese takeaway. The menus were produced and we all picked out a dish of our choice and rang in our order. I jumped in the car with Coley, my brother in law as we were dispatched to collect the grub to satisfy the hungry bunch.

After a few minutes I was quite confused as the car was headed in the direction of the ferry. Maybe I was wrong, but I couldn’t remember passing anything that resembled a Chinese takeaway along the route we had taken earlier. Eventually we arrived at the spot where the ferry operates from and Coley suggested that we get a quick pint at the conveniently located pub.

Totally bewildered at this stage I just said nothing and proceeded to order a pint but I must admit that my stomach was starting to moan and groan as I had started to look forward to my Chow Mein Special!

In the middle of our chat about whoever Liverpool might be signing this year, Coley pipes up with “Here comes our dinner”. The penny took a while to drop but eventually I understood as the ferry approached the pier and we were greeted with the unusual sight of our Chinese friend running up the pier on foot with half a dozen bags! In he ran to the pub without saying a word, handed over the bags of food to the barman and just as quickly as he arrived he had disappeared again, just in time for the return journey!

Without blinking an eye the barman asked was the food for us and if we wanted the food kept warm for a while?  We weren’t the only customers waiting for a Chinese as there were a few other hungry souls nursing a pint until our man ran up the pier. Each bag was carefully marked with the contents and the cost – we finished our pints, claimed our bags and settled our tab with the barman and returned to the hungry mob!

At a time when we all have to dig a little deeper and get up a little earlier just to keep the show on the road it was a terrific and simple lesson in finding new customers by being a little bit creative, working with partners who might also benefit from your offering and literally looking beyond your nearest port for customers.

The Chow Mein special was really special!
Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications, Marketing & PR

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Customer Care, Irish Economy, Marketing, Recession, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »