Michael Courtney Tribute

February 1, 2010
We will meet again

We will meet again

Last week (26th January) a man that was very special to us sadly and unexpectedly passed away.

We were working together on the Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Committee in Killarney for the last two years. Michael Courtney, a Councillor in Killarney and Chairman of the Committee brought energy, warmth, commitment and a unique sense of humour to the project. The whole team have made terrific strides since we began the project and in Michael’s honour we will be even more determined to achieve our ultimate goal.

Michael always appreciated our input to the project and thanked us  in such a way that made you always feel very special.

We will miss him greatly at our meetings and we will especially miss the cup of tea afterwards in the restaurant at the International Hotel, where he always spent half the time chatting to pretty much everyone who entered the restaurant!

Michael, thank you ..

Greg Canty is a partner at Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

How do I find New Customers Easily?

January 24, 2010

I deliberately changed the heading I originally had for this article as I felt many of you may just switch off and not bother reading any further!

While that may not be a fair thing to do it is actually not too bad as the title I have chosen for the article is actually very accurate. However the title I had originally chosen was “Social Media is a form of free advertising – Use it!”

Already as I had feared many of you could be saying – I can’t even use a computer so I’m not even going to read this!

Please bear with me and read on. It’s easier than you think and this is a unique opportunity for your business. Many people are already using the different forms of Social Media and are successfully spreading the word about their business and winning new customers in the process.

Consider the different Social Media tools as forms of free advertising, free publicity and a free way to spread the word about your store or your brand. How can you ignore it?

You owe it to yourself to at least understand how it all works, how it could work for you and your business and then decide whether it is something you need to learn or something you need someone to do for you. Most importantly understand how some of your competitors are using these tools and the advantages they are gaining in the process.

Facebook

Facebook for Business

A small piece of information that might help to hold your interest – There are over 1,110,000 registered users of Facebook in Ireland, all over 18. You might assume that most of these are quite young? Nearly 500,000 of these users are 30 and over. My guess is a lot of your customers are busy using Facebook!

Some of you will already have discovered the power of the different social media for your business but for most it is a fabulous awareness opportunity just waiting to be discovered.

Let’s start with the basics – What exactly is Social Media?

They are the tools available on the web for socialising with other people online. There are many such tools and all totally free you will be glad to hear. The most popular and most useful of these are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

You don’t need to have a website to use any of these tools, just an email address. If you have a website they can be used to bring more traffic to it.

I will try my best to explain each of these in the most simplest of terms:

Facebook (www.facebook.com) is a powerful free resource for communicating with individuals and groups. At the heart of it you sign yourself up as an individual, build up a network of friends sharing messages, pictures and even video. You can also become a fan of business pages, which could include your favourite shops, charities etc. You can also set up a business page for your own business and encourage your customers to sign up as fans – through this you can add news about new products, show visuals of new collections, announce sales and even invite your fans to an event such as a sale.

I strongly recommend Facebook for any business in the hospitality or retail sector. We encourage all of our clients in these sectors to set up their presence on Facebook and to use it proactively. For example Starbucks have over 5.5million fans worldwide on their Facebook page, that’s a lot of coffee drinkers!

Twitter Logo

Twitter for business

Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a totally different beast. Basically you can set up an account or identity for yourself or your business and you then choose to follow others or let them follow you. You can then publish short messages referred to as ‘tweets’, which can be seen by the people following you and vice versa. For me quite honestly I am not totally sold on Twitter but I do see the sense in deliberately following businesses or journalists that may be of relevance to you and learn what they are writing about.

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) is quite different to the others as it is a business to business form of online networking. On LinkedIn you set up your profile and from here you can invite others to connect with you. With LinkedIn you can normally see quite detailed information about where people are working and the position they hold. LinkedIn comes to life through the ‘Groups’ facility. You can join groups on LinkedIn such as your local Chamber, trade Groups or different interest groups. You can also set up a group yourself and invite others to join. For example I set up a group called Spend Ireland, which encourages people to spend their money in Ireland. These groups can be excellent for discussing topics and finding out information. Another feature of LinkedIn is the ability to register personal recommendations for your contacts and vice versa and you can also request introductions through your connections.

You can spend a lot of precious time on each of these so are they worth it?

Must – My own view is that you absolutely must be using Facebook proactively for your business as a store or as a brand. Make sure you complete your profile and regularly keep it fresh with news, updates, offers, visuals and comments. Let your customers know that you have a Facebook page and encourage them to sign up. A vital point to remember is that it is a form of ‘Social Media’ – try not to be too formal, you will only turn people off. Learn as much as you can by joining other peoples pages and watch how they are communicating news and offers. If you feel you do not have the time arrange for someone to do this for you.

LinkedIn Logo

LinkedIn for business

Maybe – I would try LinkedIn and Twitter once I was up and running on Facebook.

One final tip for you – If you have a website make it easy for people to share it with their contacts on the different social media by adding an ‘Add This’ sharing button to your website. Check out www.addthis.com to learn how. If you have a website and are also using Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn direct them to these pages by adding buttons to the site.

I know that all of this can seem complicated and can be a little daunting but I promise you will get there one step at a time at you will win new customers for you business. What are you waiting for?

Greg Canty is a partner in Fuzion Communications, providing Marketing Consultancy, PR and Graphic Design and Web Optimisation services.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Web Marketing | Leave a Comment »

Blackberry Problems

January 3, 2010
Blackberry - Rollerball Problems

Blackberry - Rollerball Problems

I heard before about a blog that was written by a guy about terrible problems that he was having with his Dell computer, which resulted in a huge reaction from others and eventually a reaction from Dell itself.

I am having a simple problem with my Blackberry, the rollerball is sticking. Ok, small problem but I can’t check texts, emails without spending ages repeatedly rolling and rolling and rolling.

Of course I popped into an O2 store who told me that there was a problem but it would have to be sent away for a week for repair. I have too much information on it and use it too much. I will probably be given a new one but you always end up with a huge pain in the backside of transferring contacts and losing some photos etc.

The friendly guy in the O2 store “off the record” suggested using a pin to poke out the rollerball and then use some cleaning materials on it. I failed miserably at my attempts to squeeze the rollerball out.

I should have known … I had the same issue with the previous model and still agreed to switch to this one!

I put my trust in a Google search to realise that loads or people are having the same problem – surely Blackberry know that this is a huge defect but are not dealing with it officially.

I have decided to switch to an iphone but as an experiment I am writing and tagging this blog to see if I get any reaction from Blackberry!

Blackberry are you listening to what is being said about your products online?

Let’s see !

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications, Marketing & PR

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

2009 – The Ultimate Business Boot Camp?

December 22, 2009

2009 – The Ultimate Business Boot Camp

Pretty much anyone who survived business in 2009 has had to dig deep, start operating really efficiently, offering good service and value and genuinely appreciating their customers. It has been normal and a matter of course to demand the same from suppliers, looking for value and quality service from everyone. Business practices have had to be sharpened in every area – to survive the services provided have had to be excellent and no longer just ok.

We have learnt more about ourselves this year I suspect, our resilience, our adaptability, our ability to deal with adversity and worry, our ability to work even harder, our customer knowledge, our staff motivational skills without writing cheques, our negotiating ability and even our credit control skills!

Has 2009 been the ultimate Business Boot Camp?

My dad was in the US army for 2 years and he always talks about how the Boot Camp period at the beginning was absolutely terrible but he will always say how is was totally valuable and necessary.

While it was incredibly challenging and really tough we are now better equipped than ever to face the future and reap the rewards of the upturn when it comes. I look forward to it!

Greg Canty is a partner in Fuzion Communications

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

Budget 2010 – The Rewind

December 10, 2009
Brian Linehan - Budget 2010

Budget 2010 - Brian Linehan

All as expected really, with the pre-press, various leaks etc all preparing everyone for what pretty much happened.

Happy? – I guess being selfish about it we all examine how it affects us personally and on this occasion there were no direct hits to the ship! If we drink more than we use diesel then we are making money! That was a strange one that seemed to catch everyone by surprise.

Whichever way you look at it a lot of money will be taken from circulation, which will effect everyone both as private individuals and those in business. This has affected pretty much all of us this year already – I wonder in real terms how much less money was in circulation this year than before? It must be a huge figure.

The real budget headline for me was one of ‘Rewind’, the Government trying to take back what it probably gave away too easily in better times. It always amazes me how easy it is to get used to extra money, you seem to automatically adjust your lifestyle and mostly to the extent that you have a ‘new level’ of necessities.

Try taking it back after! Different story altogether.

So whether we think the public service or those on welfare are overpaid or not, this is real people we are talking about who are all waking up this morning contemplating significant financial adjustments. The unions will no doubt huff and puff and end up blowing nothing down, just raise a level of anger and frustration with a lot of people. At the end of the day it will be real people who will be really affected, some worse than others.

Today spare a thought for those who do not have a cushion of excess income and can comfortably take an income hit and as a result will be under serious pressure. Try to forget about all the public v private sector stuff, it does none of us any good, these are all our neighbours.

Rewinding is much tougher than fast forwarding.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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

It will get better when we stop saying it will get worse.

November 30, 2009

Brian Cowen - Fianna Fail

Getting Better

It will get worse before it gets better!

What was he thinking when he said this?

I am talking about Brian Cowen of course, the leader of our government, the leader of our country.   I consider myself to be one of the very lucky ones in the last week with the floods. Except for a leaky roof in our office and a lack of running water, no floods and pretty much business as usual.

It is difficult to empathise with people who have had their houses flooded and their livelihoods effectively ended or at least seriously threatened due to the floods. What is it like to be exhausted after days of battling with flood water, struggling with no water to drink or wash, trying to clean up and rescue what you can from the debris? I can only imagine.

In that position I imagine I want to hear things like: “Don’t worry, you will be looked after”, “We will have it all sorted really soon”, not “It will get worse before it gets better” – that must make your hole seem ever deeper. Hope or despair?

Come on Brian, have some cop on will you? Bring people hope not despair. Besides managing how about leading for a change?

You made the same comments after the last budget – why do you think most of the country is half petrified about the economy and their livelihoods. Confidence and positivity will bring optimism, will loosen the purse strings and assist recovery not “It will get worse before it gets better”

It will only get better when we stop talking about it getting worse..

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications, Dublin & Cork

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

The SuperValu Girl!

November 28, 2009

The SuperValu Girl !There I was shopping basket in hand at my local supermarket picking up a few bits for a night in watching TV and all of a sudden I spotted her! This was my moment at last..
As a happily married man this might sound very suspicious but let me assure you that there is nothing sinister about it.
You see, this day was a special day, in fact a very special day.
Liverpool had beaten Man United that morning and I knew the SuperValu girl was a Man U supporter and for once I was able to have a little fun with her, with me being able to take the upper hand eventually. She spotted me coming, threw the eyes up to heaven and just took the teasing like any true fan!
I pick up bits and pieces in the store on a regular basis and as a result would be quite familiar with some of the staff and this girl in particular. She has a pleasant word to say to absolutely everyone from young kids to quite old customers and she always seems to be in good form, even when Man United lose to Liverpool!

The store might be a little bit more expensive than the local Dunne’s or Tesco’s, the selection probably isn’t as good but at the end of the day you just can’t beat a good atmosphere created by efficient and pleasant staff.

The SuperValu girl and all the other really good staff in stores and different businesses all around the country are worth their weight in gold, more than any marketing campaigns can hope to achieve. Campaigns are terrific at communicating what your business is all about but the proof is in the eating. Excellent staff are the best marketing of all.

…so even though we are on a bad run of results I will still bravely return, do my shopping and look forward to the chit chat with the SuperValu girl.

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Irish Economy, Marketing, PR, Retailing | 3 Comments »

A Merry Irish Christmas and a Happy New Year?

November 21, 2009

Bah humbug – we have just seen the NAMA legislation passed by the Dail and we are about to face a round of public sector one day strikes with the government and the unions both posturing in a serious game of who has more bottle for a battle as we nervously approach the second Budget day this year. Who knows where all of this will lead and how it will affect us? For the most part we are quite helpless with little enough ability to influence anything. Are you as fed up with all of this as I am?

The one thing that we can be sure of is that Christmas is around the corner and as with every other year since we can remember we will all be stretching our budgets on presents for loved ones and friends and even gifts for our customers and staff who will have looked after us during the year. As always we will indulge in extra treats for ourselves and for our home between food and decorations… Merry Christmas, we deserve it!

How can we take this opportunity to take some small element of control of our circumstances and positively influence the economic environment around us and help not only to make it a Merry Christmas but also a Happy New Year?

My simple challenge is that we all consciously influence that spend on our Christmas budgets will be on Irish products and Irish services as much as possible. Without a doubt there will be less spent this year compared to last year but at least if we consciously Spend Irish, the money will stay in circulation in Ireland with more money in the country coffers come January, which will help kick off 2010 in a really positive way.

Ok, this may sound very noble and patriotic but when it boils down to it are we really going to be able to do it? .. I think so.

Let’s have a look at the typical shopping list:

– Books: Irish books by Irish authors by Irish publishers – make the effort to specifically choose Irish where possible. There are some fabulous books available
– Music & DVD’s: given a choice can we vote for the Irish artist, comedian, movie?
– Vouchers: can we opt for the restaurant, spa treatment or weekend break instead of an alternative?
– Turkey & Ham: make sure these are from Irish suppliers, that should be easy
– Other foodstuffs, relishes etc: Irish all the way, there is plenty of terrific choice
– Booze: which brands are produced in Ireland? – can we substitute our favourite for an Irish alternative? Cork Dry Gin isn’t a bad substitute for Bombay!

This list can go on forever but if we consciously make it our business to choose for the option that keeps money in Irish circulation then, that is better for our economy, for jobs and ultimately for us.

And how about thank you gifts for customers and staff?

If you are in a position to allocate budget for Christmas gifts then consciously choose gifts that are Irish, Irish food and beverages, Irish vouchers, Irish books, Irish Christmas cards and so on. Without too much effort we should be able to easily steer all our precious Euros towards Irish products and services. Many of the hamper suppliers specialise in Irish products.

Where it just isn’t possible to choose an Irish alternative (Transformers and Hannah Montana and nothing else will do!) you will at least help the cause if you carefully choose how and where you purchase these products. You can help keep more money in the country by supporting our retailers or if you shop on the web try to keep the business for the Irish providers.

The retailers and Irish web retailers can also play a huge part in all of this with their choices about the products that they decide to stock this Christmas and how these are displayed and promoted. Purchasing behaviour can be significantly influenced by the retail space the products are given, by products featured in window displays and adverts and by the products featured on the home pages of the websites. Suppliers and retailers should proactively work together to ensure that Irish products are given a fair crack of the whip or even a significant advantage. How bad? – We will all benefit.

Recession or no recession, a huge amount of money will be spent between now and Christmas
…so when you are making your list this Christmas, try to check it twice and where possible decide to keep as much as possible of that money in Ireland, have a Merry Christmas and help to make it a Happy New Year!

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Have you heard of Hugh?

October 19, 2009
Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty

Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty

Just as Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize you might think about Irish people down through the years who may have been worthy of the same award. How many people spring to mind and in the same breath I will ask you ‘Have you heard of Hugh?’

Two years ago I was coming back from Berlin after a fabulous weekend with some friends. We had a great time with the usual mix of late nights, shopping and visiting the various tourist attractions. We had a very sobering visit to the Holocaust museum, which was quite depressing and a very real reminder about how crazy our world is capable of being.

On the plane home I spotted an article in the Irish Examiner reviewing a new book The Vatican Pimpernel, about an Irish priest working in Rome, who had helped save over 6,500 people during World War II. First I thought that it must be a fictional story about the war and I read on quite intrigued. To my utter amazement I discovered that this actually happened and the Irish priest in question had been born in Cork and grew up in Killarney!

How could this be possible? How was it that for all 40 plus years of my life that I had not heard about this Irish hero who was from literally just down the road? Asking practically everyone I met I was getting the same response – no one had heard of this terrific Irish man.

The man in question was Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty.

During World War II, the Monsignor held a senior position within the Vatican. However despite the fact that the Vatican had a neutral capacity during the war the Monsignor could not just ignore pleas for help from people in need. When approached at the gates of the Vatican by people who were in danger and were looking for shelter the Monsignor decided he had no choice but to help. During the course of the war he provided shelter and ultimately saved the lives of over 6,500 people of all nationalities and religions.

Besides being incredibly courageous what I find most fascinating was the strategy, sophisticated planning, organisational and business brilliance of the Monsignor. Despite his life being in constant danger he managed to manage and finance a project that secured a network of safe houses to protect and shelter prisoners of war in Rome through a combination of friends and rented accommodation. With his own life at risk, he managed to raise funds on an ongoing basis that paid for these premises and also provided food and clothing over an extended period for all the people in hiding and kept all of this going until the Allies arrived in Rome in 1945.

A key element to keeping the operation going despite the constant presence of the Nazis was his intelligence network, which succeeded in keeping everyone safe despite many close shaves.

After the war his work did not stop there, the Monsignor spent much of his time visiting German prisoners ensuring that they were being treated properly by the authorities.

The Monsignor received many decorations, including, Commander of the British Empire and the US Medal of Freedom. The Monsignor retired to Cahirciveen for the last three years of his life and on 30th October, 1963 he sadly passed away. His death was mourned throughout the world, including a front page tribute in the New York Times.

Up until this past year, the Monsignor has never been officially recognised in Ireland by either government or church.

While we can’t exactly compare, we all are now in tough times and we need courage, flexibility, adaptability and ingenuity to steer our way through this tough economical crisis. At the same time we do need to do our best to work with our colleagues, suppliers and customers in a compassionate and respectful manner as they could very well be under severe financial pressure.

To learn more the Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty check out the book by Brian Fleming, The Vatican Pimpernel, visit the memorial website http://www.hughoflaherty.com or hire the DVD The Scarlet and the Black featuring Gregory Peck as The Monsignor.

On the weekend of the 6th November in Killarney, the second annual memorial weekend takes place, in honour of The Monsignor. The weekend includes a presentation of his life in pictures at The Killarney Outlet Centre, the presentation of the Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award and a fundraising concert so that funds can be raised for a permanent memorial to be erected in Killarney in honour of the Monsignor.

Have you heard of Hugh? We must never forget..

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

Getting Past the Menu

October 4, 2009

Getting past the menu

How can searching for the perfect meal in a really nice restaurant teach us valuable lessons about our own business?

I am sure like myself most of you absolutely love dining out!

After all enjoying a good meal in a good restaurant is one of life’s greatest pleasures and a bad meal is a huge disappointment and feels like a wasted opportunity and will leave you totally disgruntled.

Have you noticed with restaurant reviews that they talk about the food in intimate detail, examining each dish, discussing each flavour and the textures of the food – mouth watering stuff indeed!

I find it really interesting that most of the reviewers rarely talk about all the complicated steps that come before the food, which I find are often as important as the meal itself.

Ok, where am I going with this argument?

On holidays I always look forward to meals out – for me it is one of the very best parts of the holiday. In particular if you are in a place that you are not familiar with there is a fabulous sense of discovery and adventure as you search for the ‘perfect meal’.

Now this is where the difficulty lies – how to negotiate your way through the choices on offer and finally get past the menu and find the perfect meal?

If you have had the time to do your research in advance you may have been able to get your hands on some reviews, searched for restaurants on the web (how many restaurants have websites?) and then maybe visitors on Trip Advisor may give you a clue as to where to go.

Maybe some friends have been there before and can make a recommendation. No doubt they will have been through the same tricky process in trying to discover the perfect meal.

You may just wait till you arrive at your destination, study the local guide books and adverts or then again it might just be a case of hoping for the best and heading out and leaving it to your eyes and ears to decide where you will find the perfect meal.

If you are anything like me you will probably end up walking the streets and judging places by how the look. Very scientific!

What does the building look like, does it look clean on the outside, what kind of food are they serving, have a peep inside – busy or quiet, what do the staff look like – smart, casual or too casual, have a peep at the menu outside, what is your overall impression?

No doubt at this stage you will have looked at too many places, probably walked too much and starvation starts to kick in.

Eventually if you are lucky you will find a place that you are happy with or if you have been searching for too long you might just settle for a place that looks ok.

You are one step closer to the perfect meal.

And now for the closer look – the greeting, the cleanliness, the cutlery and the napkins, the toilets and the menu?

The menu – Besides the actual contents, is it clean, do the pages stick together with bits from previous meals, is it battered from overuse, are there pieces of paper covering over prices or menu items that have changed, are the menu items spelt properly? – chickne (I am not kidding!). How many times have you sat there and realised that you have probably made a mistake? – Get up and leave embarrassed or just give in and order and hope for the best?

It is your chance to have a perfect meal and you shouldn’t blow it!

We recently experienced the ‘sticky menu’  did just that, admittedly having ordered a starter and some wine, consumed them quickly and moved on. The food may have been superb but we weren’t going to risk it. Eventually we settled on another restaurant and a not-so-bad meal was had by all but the holy grail of the perfect meal was never found.

When you get it right it is fabulous, when all the parts come then you do tend to tell everyone how great a meal you had.

Eating out can be tricky and very frustrating – maybe that is why we end up going to the same restaurant over and over, where we pretty much know what to expect. The low risk strategy!

So how does all of this relate to you?

In your business, whatever that may be, do your prospective customers get past your menu?

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion PR, Marketing and Graphic Design, with offices in Dublin and Cork

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

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »