Consumer-facing business in Ennis are being provided with expert retail, merchandising and marketing advice through a new support programme organised by Clare County Council.
Supported by the Elected Members of Ennis Municipal District, the initiative involves a series of webinars and site visits to assist businesses in growing their sales and profitability.
The programme has been established to support businesses in dealing with any disruption that may arise as a result of ongoing work to deliver the Ennis Public Realm Regeneration Strategy, which is the largest public infrastructure projects to be undertaken in the town in decades. The first phase of works to enhance the streetscape of High Street, Bank Place, O’Connell Square, O’Connell Street, Old Barrack Street and Barrack Square in Ennis commenced in late October.
Mayor of Ennis Councillor Pat Daly said, “While access to all town centre businesses will remain open during the course of the public realm works, this support programme acknowledges that the disruption encountered during the construction phase can be challenging. It is critical that all businesses potentially impacted during the construction phase, plan for that disruption, develop marketing strategies to overcome any perceived inconvenience for consumers and ensure their business remains ‘visible’ to all consumers during the construction phase.”
Carmel Kirby, Director of Economic Development and Ennis Municipal District (MD) said, “This programme is targeted at the owners and managers of any business which is consumer facing, including retailers from all sectors, cafes, restaurant and foodservice outlets, beauty salons and hairdressers, opticians and other service providers. Our aim is to ensure businesses can sustain itself during a period of disruption and position your business to benefit from an enhanced customer experience in the town of Ennis.”
Commenting on the online seminars and site visits organised as part of the support programme, Ms. Kirby said, “Based on similar experiences in other Irish towns, leading food and retail business advisor James Burke and his team have developed a suite of proven strategies to overcome this disruption. Some of these are reinforcement of good practices and adopting a proactive approach to engagement with your customers. The real value in this programme will be the ‘one-to-one’ site visits which will facilitate consideration of an appropriate strategy aligned to the specific needs of that business.”
Further information available by contacting Local Enterprise Office Clare on 065 6821616.