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Our blog a year ago on 5 Things I’d Like To See Happen in Altrincham in 2013 was our most read blog of 2013

Looking back, the 5 ideas we put out 12 months ago are very much still work in progress so once you’ve read this years dreams please go back and refresh yourself with 5 ideas that WILL make Altrincham better if implemented

Here are this years dreams and ideas for Altrincham 2014

Altrincham UK Map
1. Remember Altrincham Is More Than Just The Confines of The Town Centre

There were 2 incidents in 2013 that left a bad taste in the mouth and highlighted how many in Altrincham see Altrincham

The 1st was the Asda Broadheath debate, and while I didn’t think we necessarily needed another supermarket, there was definitely a huge amount of anti-Broadheath rhetoric on view on twitter. Broadheath shouldn’t be amputated to save Altrincham Town Centre!

The 2nd was the Altrincham Neighbourhood plan debate which again focuses on the town centre at the exclusion of those outside of a very tight boundary around the town centre

To ourselves Altrincham is Lymm Roundabout to South Trafford College and all inbetween and we should focus on Altrincham as a whole rather than just a few streets in the town centre

There are many independent businesses outside the tight town centre boundaries, Altrincham HQ being one – we’re 2 mins walk from Navigation Road tram stop, and we should celebrate all of these Altrincham businesses.

Look for the gems we have outside the town centre, Essence for instance the Number 1 Restaurant in Altrincham on Tripadvisor at the moment are a prime example – a quality business that falls way outside the boundary of our town centre

Stamford Quarter at Christmas - by http://www.hambletonweddingphotography.co.uk/

Stamford Quarter at Christmas – by http://www.hambletonweddingphotography.co.uk/

2. Events, Events, Events and some more Events Please

If I had to name the 3 things that got truly Altrincham Buzzing this year i’d say they were 1. Altrincham Christmas Lights Switch On 2. Frank Sidebottom Statue Unveiling and 3. Altrincham Christmas Markets

There’s an unquenchable desire for events and I’d love to see the likes of the Stamford Quarter make more of their space available outside New Look (RIP) this year for outdoor events that bring people into Altrincham.

Family events are a no-brainer – there’s dozens of schools in the area that all could be a starting point for great events every single week

Events to attract teenagers and twenty-somethings are somewhat harder. But we have the likes of Beatnik Records, South City Music holding all the cool cards

So so much that could be done with that huge space available

Socia Media ROI
3. Social Media is taken To The Next Level & Businesses Really Look at ROI (Return On Investment)

Ok, time to stop patting yourselves on the back for joining twitter, facebook et all and actually start looking at it’s true ROI for your business

Our Social Media ask last year was that businesses became more Social in 2013, they did and it’s now the norm for businesses to promote themselves on social media, but we need to look at a deeper level

Genuinely – how much business social media has driven for you? Compare it to tradvertising (newspapers, flyers etc) ?

If the answer is zero sales it’s time to stop patting your back for simply using it and look at why it’s not working

Hard selling, weak sales messages, irregular use, no interaction are the classic reasons we see businesses fail to make social media work

Email us on alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk with the answer to those questions and we can help you generate the return our clients are!

B2B and B2C
4. B2B and B2C Communities learn to work & support each other for the betterment of the community

In every given month we probably meet 60+ businesses at Business Networking meetings. These are predominantly B2B businesses and include accountants, solicitors, web designers, business coaches and of course us leading online marketing.

On the high street retail, bars and restaurant businesses come & go. Some fly and are massive successes. Others come and go within 5 weeks. A huge amount of these businesses go into business because of passion rather than actual business acumen and could learn from the B2B businesses

And you know what – rarely do any of these 2 different sectors speak to each other for the betterment of their own businesses or the community.

* Imagine if the B2B businesses tweeted about the B2C businesses they visit and supported the local businesses (how many of the sectors above have you seen tweeting local on the #altrincham hashtag for example)

* Imagine if the B2C businesses introduced themselves to B2B businesses – Blue Dog Bar did it at Bowdon Biz Group this year (smart move)

* Imagine if community organisations Retweeted and shared the huge amount of free business advice on local blogs as well as local B2C business tweets

Altrincham HQ are in the ROI business, not the RT Business, but B2B and B2C you must work together!!

Mobile Phone Charging Points
5. We introduce Mobile Charging Points and become a more Tech Friendly Town

One of the best things I heard recently was that Altrincham Market is including High Speed wi-fi network when the market has its renovation over the next few months

It’s the first sign of Altrincham becoming more tech friendly and I think we need to embrace technology all over the town

The 1st thing that needs introducing are a number of Mobile Charging Points, which are popping up in town centres across the country. We live in a world where people are permanently connected to their mobile, use their mobile as a watch and would rather go home and come back later than stay out with a dead mobile battery for 1 hour

Whether it be an individual business led decision or Stamford Quarter Decision I feel that this would encourage dwell time (and spend time) in Altrincham.

This is just the start of tech friendly Altrincham, but it’s a good start!

PLEASE SHARE YOUR COMMENTS AND IDEAS BELOW ON THE ABOVE AND WHAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE IN 2014

Alex McCann

Author Alex McCann

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