“Credit where credit is due ”

MARKETING TIPS

by Ken Mitchell

18 March 2002

Many ACT retailers, shopping centres and businesses in general have fallen into the trap of continuing to provide facilities for consumers that meet the basic standards of a bye gone era.  

The general nature of society in the ACT is not what it used to be.   In the 1960’s and 1970’s many young people moved to the ACT with little expectations for style and ambience.   They were merely satisfied with a government job and prospects for a career with the hope to make a good life.   As those flower power children have grown up, built houses, moved to a bigger house, had kids and now approach retirement - many have double income and double super-annuation financial power and together with the general shift in standards in society - they expect and demand better standards and a better life style.   For example the quick snack and beer swill on pay nights to 10pm closing is now quality dinner and chardonnay in modern luxuriously carpeted club oozing with ambience and comfort.   ACT clubs, for example, realise this and most have moved significantly with major refit and up-market surroundings.

Typically local shopping centers and many businesses represent a time-warp of the 1970’s with out-of-date look, feel and client performance standards.   This means that by standing still they have in fact fallen behind their competitors in many ways and have lost market share and have not yet woken up that the ACT market has moved significantly in the past generation.   For many such businesses they are so far entrenched in bad practices that it will require a major wake up call to bring the business back into realization of potential.   The ACT Business Office has many business development grants and other forms of free assistance available to assist these business and/or people looking at taking over these businesses.

Bearing in mind that Canberra has changed from a government town to a tourism city and has been growing/booming for the past 8 year, clearly there is the underlying potential for sustained growth to be extended for at least another generation and beyond as more and more businesses reach out to do better.   Many ACT businesses are now world class and are pace setters for ACT business aspirations for global markets.

Credit where credit is due - Successive ACT Governments (Liberal and Labor) have, through their proactive policies and practices, provided sound business leadership in this regard and should be congratulated for playing a major role in providing business incentives and infrastructural support for modernizing Canberra.        

Ken Mitchell is the CEO of Australian Marketing & Research Services and can be contacted on 62576677w, or kenmitch@austarmetro.com.au