Until last Saturday, most of us hadn”t even known there was such a thing as a ‘contamination narrative’ but writing in The Irish Times, Maureen Gaffney put her finger on Ireland’s very irregular pulse and told us how to make the patient better.

A narrative is how we view and tell our story of what is happening to us. As a nation that has suffered a major blow to its sense of self, we may be drawn to divide our story of […]

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• Categories: Business Communications, Marketing, Selling
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Recessions make people Slam on the Brakes (SOB)!

In one of Olivia O’Leary’s contributions to Drive Time at the beginning of the recession, she talked about some of the good things that have come out of the recession. One was that you can now tell your kids that “you can’t afford it” when they demand a new phone, a new pair of runners or something new to wear.

That is what we are saying to ourselves about so many potential […]

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Dressed in the corporate colours of Neary Marketing’s new logo, the Queen of England spoke with President Mary McAleese about her hopes for the new website and the future of this dynamic marketing company, now celebrating eleven long years since its foundation.

Barack Obama sent his apologies, saying “Ni feidir liom!”

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Writing Brief

Let’s face it, most of us don’t want to read a new message or document unless it’s made very enticing. And how often does that happen. So these are tips for people who have to write in situations that can’t be spiced up with outrageous headlines, wild photography or juicy gossip.

1.       Don’t back into a point.

At school, when we were writing essays and exam answers, we were told to start with the background and introduction and build […]

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A 2% increase in customer retention is equal to a 10% cut in costs. Now that’s pretty interesting for any company that’s gone about as far as it can go in paring back costs. So how can you ramp up your customer retention strategy?

While customer service might have improved in Ireland, I regularly check out service standards in hotels, restaurants and shops and there is still so much room for improvement. And the great thing about customer service is that […]

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A good,  solid customer relationship is built on trust and commitment. But how can you build trust quickly, or is that the point: trust must be built through positive experiences over time?

I know one shop that manages to build trust in one single transaction. Not only that, but this shop builds positive word of mouth (PWOM) even among first time customers. OK, enough of the mystery then, I’ll tell you the name of the shop. It is Martyn Evans Tennis […]

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