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Eircom Business – Are you listening to your customers (part 2)

February 8, 2010
Eircom Business

Eircom Business

This is a really strange one.

If you recall on my last blog on this issue I was sharing a huge frustration that I was having with Eircom Business for quite a while and quite politely getting nowhere fast.

I am not sure if this is good or bad? – Eircom actually responded literally within hours – ‘to my blog’ and not to my actual complaint.

The caller from Eircom Customer services, quite a nice lad Vince wanted to know in detail the nature of my complaint – this I guess is good?

Eircom cared enough to track what was being said by customers online and responded by tracking me down and listening to what I had to say.

On the negative side you must wonder why the ‘official’ channels don’t seem to work as well as the ‘online’ and unofficial public channels.

The issue still isn’t resolved, which is quite staggering, but I did get a response, which I guess is hopeful at least.

I will keep you posted ..

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion Communications

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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!

 

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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

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Dare to be Different

July 3, 2009
Cystic Fibrosis - Irish War Crimes Campaign

Cystic Fibrosis – Irish War Crimes Campaign

Dare to Be Different?

I picked up on an expression lately that I found was really interesting: “Sheepwalking”, referring basically to our general tendency to follow the norm, doing what everyone else is doing and I guess basically conforming to a general expectation or code of practice or behaviour.

We apply this to everything we do in our lives from the anguish of “What will everyone else be wearing?” to “I really have an opinion but I dare not say anything”.

There is a risk of embarrassment and feeling a little self conscious when you go that little bit out of the way but the person that is generally remembered will probably be the one who dared to be different.

When it comes to your business the same logic applies and you could argue that in the present climate it would be very risky to do anything that it is a little different. “Keep the head down”; “do what we always do”; “play it safe”. Sounds familiar? We are conditioned to obey the rules, stay within the lines of the conventional way of doing things and stay within the normal boundaries and expectations.

Now let’s turn the argument on its head and explore the dark side!

In the current economic climate, or in fact anytime for that matter: ‘Is it a bigger risk not to be different’?

Unless your business is one of few exceptions, you are feeling the effects of the recession and every day you are constantly making tough decisions; cutting back on staff, reducing wages, cutting back on marketing activities, supplying customers whose payments have slowed up, dropping prices, selling or even liquidating the business. We are all caught in this storm and are boxing our way through it in ways that are probably new to most of us.

Is it a time for playing it safe or should you dare to be different?
• Cut back or proactively look for the unique opportunities?
• Pull back or start marketing creatively?
• Pay it safe or Dare to be Different?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions but if it is right for your business to be proactive, it is clear you need to get maximum return for your activities and your investment.

Daring to be Different will get you noticed and will bring you the greatest return for your investment and change how the marketplace views your business.

What do we mean exactly by ‘Daring to be Different’?

Tick the Box and the Wild Card?

“Ticking the Box” is doing the normal thing for every situation: the typical advertisement, the typical sale, the typical window display, the typical mail shot, the typical response to a query, the typical company policy, the typical special offer, the typical business card, the typical sales presentation, the typical advice, the typical packaging, the list goes on..

“The Wild Card” is pushing out the boundaries and exploring some ideas that were never tried before in all these situations and considering them. Some of these you will throw out as being too costly, impossible to execute and totally impractical, but some might actually stay in the mix and merit further consideration.

Eventually you will land on a wild card ‘type’ idea that is feasible but will make you feel uncomfortable because it is not the norm and after all what will people think? What will my boss think? What will my customers think? What will my potential customers think?

The idea will be debated in the business and some will totally disagree and feel it is the wrong thing to do. Democracy probably won’t help you here unfortunately – Daring to be Different will involve someone being forceful and putting their opinion and conviction on the line. When you are in this ‘uncomfortable’ territory you have entered the ‘Dare to be Different’ zone.

Go for it? – This is a really tough one and you have to have a good look in your business mirror and decide what type of organisation and culture do you have.

The answer depends on a few simple criteria:
1. Make sure everyone is on board with the objective – at least agree on this much!
2. Ensure the business is capable of executing the idea properly
3. Does the culture support those with the conviction of their beliefs? There is no place for ‘the sitting on the fence brigade’ rehearsing patiently for the moment that they can recite a chorus of ‘I told you so’.

What if it does not work? – The worst that will probably happen is that you will get noticed and you move on and try the next thing. At least you tried and were positive – This is a good thing.

Let’s try a little experiment to test the ‘Dare to be Different’ argument by answering a few questions?

• What adverts can you remember having read through the newspaper today?
• What adverts can you remember on the TV and Radio from this morning or last night?
• What special offer that came through your letter box did you actually read instead of filing in the waste paper bin?
• Which bank would you consider switching to because they are doing something or anything different to the others?
• Which window display made you stop and consider going into the shop?
• What rep made a presentation to you that really impressed you by the level of preparation?
• What customer rang you and was really honest about being in difficulty instead of ducking and diving your calls? (Might you go the extra mile to help him out or call in the 7 day letter crew?)
• Which business card did you actually notice?
• Which politician really stood out in the local elections?
• What brochure did you actually stop and read?
• What event did you attend and you still talk about it?
• What product feature made you consider a product above another one?
• What have you seen or heard lately that made you laugh, smile, angry or talk about after and debate?

Whichever way you decide to go ‘Daring to Be Different’ is something to really consider for your business.

Do you have a culture that will support it? If not forget about it. However if you do, then you should strongly consider going for it. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but it will get you and your business noticed, something we all need right now.

Do you Dare to be Different?

Greg Canty

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion who offer Marketing, PR and Graphic Design services from our offices in Dublin and Cork

 

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Posted in Irish Economy, Marketing, PR, Recession | 4 Comments »

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