South East Business Owners Fighting for their Share of Investment

New Research Reveals Infrastructure Priorities for South East

11,000 employees across 318 businesses in the South East want:

-          a stronger, cohesive regional voice for the five counties of the South East

-          expanded and improved direct international air services from Waterford Regional Airport

-          investment in high-speed broadband

-          a University of the South East

-          road improvement on strategic routes in the Region

INVESTMENT in infrastructure is a leading priority for business owners and their employees in the South East if industry, tourism and commerce in the region is to compete on a level playing pitch, an extensive new survey has found.

The ‘Access : South East’ survey comissioned by South East Chambers involved 318 business owners employing an estimated 11,000 people, and reveals infrastructure is a critical priority for respondents.

Those surveyed also want counties in the region working more closely together; they want broadband and air services improved and the establishment of the long-promised University of the South East.

Launching the report’s findings, Businessman and Chairperson of the Access: South East committee, Orm Kenny said: “It is clear the foremost conclusion from this research is that the people of the South East have the will and the energy to contribute strongly to national recovery to get this economy back on its feet, however it is also absolutely clear that this cannot be achieved without development of the highest quality infrastructure throughout the South East region..

The potential for the national economy to benefit from the hard work of South East based businesses is entirely dependent on having the infrastructure in place to facilitate commerce, to improve visitor access to the region and to demonstrate the area’s attractiveness for investment.

“We as a region have traditionally scored poorly on a range of economic indicators and this has been attributed primarily to inadequate infrastructure provision.  However, with a population of around 500,000, the region has significant economic potential that, if unlocked, can be a major contributor to the national economy.” Mr Kenny said.

The ‘Access : South East’ report research also reveals that a cohesive regional voice has emerged with stakeholders in the five counties, cities and towns in the region now finding new ways to  work closely together to secure adequate and equitable levels of Government investment.   

On hand to help launch the ‘Access- South East Report’ was Kilkenny resident and former Irish International rugby star Mick Galwey. Galwey instilled a “don’t panic” and professional attitude in his rugby team which became the hallmarks of Munster Rugby during his tenancy as captain. According to Mick ‘don’t panic’ is as appropriate for business today as it was for rugby in the nineties, “Throughout this research it is clear that South East business owners and their employees are operating in a  resilient frame of mind, continuing to work hard and contribute to the national economy.”

A key priority for business owners and their employees in the business and tourism sectors includes the development of Waterford Regional Airport with expanded and improved direct international air services. The importance of air connectivity to large organisations is highlighted in the online survey which found that 24% of businesses with more than 100 employees identified this as their number one priority.

Also commenting at the report launch and on this top priority Eric Barron, Chairperson of South East Chambers said, “The further development of the airport can be achieved cost effectively this will transform the attractiveness of the region to investors and will facilitate the expansion of regional tourism to exploit new trends in travel and leisure.  Of critical significance is the fact that air connectivity was cited by survey respondents as not only vital to attracting more tourists directly to the region but also as fundamental to facilitating increased commerce and to securing FDI, which will in turn boost employment and strengthen the regional and national economy.”

Also cited as a key area of investment is the availability of high-speed broadband which needs to be enhanced; this is seen as a key factor in rebalancing the region’s competitiveness.  The enhancement of broadband is seen as a fundamental priority across all sizes of businesses and the upgrading of broadband access in the South East will continue to be highlighted as a major priority to policymakers.

Establishing a University of the South East is still top of the agenda for the region’s medium and long- term development.  However, the advancement of this objective is seen as a significant challenge during the current national economic climate; despite this, the focus group and survey results both demonstrate that the region is united in its determination to continue to exert significant pressure on government regarding the university issue and for the delivering of continued investment in higher education in the South East.

The improvement of strategic road infrastructure was highlighted as a key factor in both survey and focus group discussions.  The completion of the M9 Waterford to Dublin motorway through counties Kilkenny and Carlow is very beneficial but road improvement on strategic routs such as the Atlantic Corridor would deliver very significant benefits to intra-regional access and would support increased economic activity and enhance the attractiveness of the entire South East region.

‘Access : South East’ is an initiative by South East Chambers representing the business community in the South East region. The project is aimed at improving access to key services and infrastructure for business in the five counties of the region – Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford.  The key objective of the project is to understand and prioritise the infrastructure needs of the region as identified by the businesses represented by South East Chambers, the umbrella organisation for the Chambers of Commerce in Carlow, Clonmel, Dungarvan, Enniscorthy, Gorey, Kilkenny, New Ross, Waterford and Wexford.

The executive summary from the research will be available shortly so email us at survey@marketdynamics.ie  for your copy 

SEBS November 2010 Full Press Release

While there has been little change in sentiment about current trading conditions among businesses in the South East there is a higher level of positive feeling about the prospect of an improvement in 2011.  It is now clear that 2010 will turn out to have been worse for sales than 2009 for the majority of businesses.  Stability is returning to the workforce too and though 2011 is likely to bring further lay-offs these will be insignificant in the light of what has gone before according to the findings of the latest South East Business Confidence Study.  This is the sixth in a series of twice-yearly surveys conducted in the South-East of Ireland by Kilkenny-based market research firm, Market Dynamics. 405 organisations in the region participated. 

A key finding of the survey is that the majority of businesses that are exporting are finding that their export sales are proving better than sales to the domestic market.  For this reason, presumably, 20% of businesses surveyed are taking steps to begin exporting in the coming year.  Nearly a third of businesses (30%) have seen a competitor go out of business in the past year, with construction, hotels/restaurants and financial services hardest hit in this regard.     

Commenting on the results, John Gilsenan, Managing Director of Market Dynamics, stated: “it is now clear that 2010 will turn out to have been a worse year for sales than last year for the majority of businesses. However, a majority expect an improvement in sales next year. It is interesting that businesses are more positive about their own prospects than they are about the Irish economy overall which suggests they believe they can thrive despite the impending budget. Once again, businesses in the South-East believe the worst is over and that the New Year will see the beginning of the road back to growth”

To date more than 400 organisations have taken part in each iteration of the research and we would like to thank them for their support.  Thank you also to the network organisations in the region and the Chambers of Commerce for forwarding on the survey link to their members.

Just 6% of respondents from Waterford expect sales to be higher this year, while 4% expect higher profitability. Half of those who expect sales to fall believe the fall will be greater than 20%. Over two-thirds expect to be employing fewer people at the end of 2009 than the previous year. The proportion of businesses making people redundant (35%), introducing shorter working hours (45%) or having a hiring freeze (46%) are all higher in Waterford than the regional average. One area where the county bucks the trend is in the implementation of pay cuts. Just 25% of businesses in Waterford have cut pay compared to the regional average of 31%.

Commenting on the Waterford findings, John Gilsenan, Managing Director of Market Dynamics, stated: “it is difficult to identify a single reason why Waterford-based businesses are more negative than those in the rest of the region. The proportion of businesses in the county that are in the hardest hit sectors like construction, retail/wholesale and hotels/restaurants/tourism is similar to that of other counties. It is likely that the difficulties at Waterford Crystal have had a major impact on businesses in Waterford not only in terms of reducing spending power in the county but also acting as a negative influence on consumer confidence. The outlook isn’t positive either with fewer than half expecting business to improve in the next 12 months”.  Click here for full press release.

Why do you think people change their product or service supplier?

• 87% believe their business isn’t important to their supplier. 
• 9% change because of price  

Research shows that just by asking a customer how satisfied they are with your product or service you improve your satisfaction ratings and increase the likelihood of your existing customer increasing their spend with you.  This is a virtuous cycle as it is much more cost effective to retain and increase the spend of an existing customer that knows and trusts you than it is to ‘buy in’ a new one. If you consistently achieve a satisfaction rating of more than four out of five then you can congratulate yourself that you are doing a good job.  If you don’t then there is clearly work to do.  

Now more than ever it is vital that businesses focus on what’s important to their customers and the first step in that process is to understand what that important thing is.  Most businesses think they know but can we really be sure that we understand why some customers buy from us and others don’t?

If you really want to know what your customer is thinking you need to ask them regularly.  Here are just a few things you could consider doing;

• ‘Touch’ your customer every 3-6 months – Ezines, special promotions, advertising/marketing campaigns are all great ways of engaging with customers regularly to remind them you are still there and open for business.
• Initiate a customer satisfaction programme either internally or with an external partner.  This can take the form of a customer comment card or a programme of customer call-backs with a structured questionnaire asking for their views. As well as asking how well you did remember to explore what you could we do better/differently and why your customer is with you/what will keep them coming back to you.
• Try to understand why some prospects don’t come to you. Asking these prospects ‘why not?’ will help you to identify the most effective way of attracting new customers.  This is a more complex question which usually involves working with an external partner to ensure confidentiality, a good response rate and, most importantly, that you are asking the right questions.  Undertaking this kind of work also provides an opportunity to offer an incentive for respondents to engage with your business e.g. €5 discount when you visit our store.   

Finally, measure, measure, measure …… and if you get great results, publish them and use them to pull in more customers. Measurable results can influence peoples buying behaviour. Most of us (who are old enough!) remember that 8 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskas. Highlight the demonstrable value that you bring to YOUR customers and if you can, point out the return on investment that your product or service offers.

The hardest thing in business is to acquire a new customer, make sure you retain yours. 

This is bad news for businesses in the South East in all sectors and while it remains to be seen what is contained in the April budget, it is hard to see much respite for those sectors that depend on big-ticket sales such as property, automotive and tourism.  Consumers reluctance to spend has evolved from being the reaction to a problem to having become the problem itself.