Ready to create better business … Cr Kathy Duff with Ross Anderson and Rachel Chambers. from BIEDO, and MBDA Secretary Margaret Long, from Murgon Real Estate 

November 3, 2014

One of the biggest problems facing Murgon’s small businesses is the perception amongst some customers that they don’t offer the range, the prices or the services that businesses in bigger towns offer.

And one of the best ways to improve local business conditions is to change customer perceptions, because what people think is often incorrect.

This was one of the key messages that 54 businesses who attended the Murgon Business and Development Association’s “Business Bucket List” dinner heard on Thursday night.

The dinner was held at the Murgon Services Club and was jointly sponsored by the MBDA and the Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation (BIEDO).

Rachel Chambers, who was recently appointed to coordinate BIEDO’s “Town By Town” project, gave a 30-minute talk on the importance of customer perceptions.

It was peppered with examples of small businesses which had undergone remarkable growth after they changed customer perceptions about what they did.

Rachel also talked about the perceptions big corporations try to create in the minds of consumers, and the best ways to determine what current customer perceptions were about a business and how best to alter them.

After dinner, guests were invited to list the three biggest roadblocks they currently faced in growing their existing business, and then toss their lists into a bucket.

Rachel then drew individual responses from the bucket and discussed them.

Some roadblocks nominated included “escape spending” to bigger centres; the lack of support given to local events by local residents; and the small number of tourism-related businesses being open in the town at peak tourism times, such as weekends, public holidays and Easter.

Others included the unwillingness of some customers to buy locally; a lack of product diversity in town; and insufficient time to attend to all the demands placed on modern small businesses.

Mrs Summers, who owned and sold five small businesses before joining BIEDO, said the problems nominated by Murgon business owners weren’t unique and – in her experience – were common in rural and regional centres throughout Australia.

But Murgon’s positive business community and the co-operative attitude of local business owners was a much bigger asset than many businesses attending that night’s event might imagine, she said.

The town actually had a far better attitude than many towns on the coast.

“Just try to change one thing a week in your business and see if it makes a difference,” she advised dinner guests.

“And try to spend 15 minutes a week thinking about your business and how you might make it better.

“Amazing stuff can happen if you do these simple things.”

After her talks, MDBA President Leo Geraghty advised guests the MDBA hope to erect some new signage boards around Murgon in the near future which would feature local tourist attractions and businesses.

The MDBA will also be holding its Annual General Meeting in November; plans for this year’s Murgon Christmas Carnival are proceeding smoothly; and the group will be running a “Buy Local” campaign shortly.

Margaret Long and Mark Smith, from the MDBA, at the “Business Bucket List”

Ross Anderson and Rachel Chambers, from BIEDO, came to share inspiration and ideas
Cr Kathy Duff and MBDA President Leo Geraghty said the dinner was “a great success”

UPDATE November 5, 2014: The complete, unedited list of all suggestions made by Mugon businesses at the dinner and put into the “ideas bucket” is reprinted below:

2014 Murgon Business Bucket List

  • I would like to see Yallakool be made the tourist attraction with outstanding facilities, security for tourists and “things to do” that I know it has the potential to become. That requires however, a proactive council.
  • Lift the alcohol ban in Cherbourg
  • Something for the kids to do. Some form of attraction we can be known for so tourists will come to use it
  • Better security (CCTV) for business monitored 24/7
  • The pool should have been demolished sooner so it could have been open for summer – buses for community members to attend other council pools
  • Cheaper paper advertising
  • Attract tourism for outside $$$
  • Perception of each other/business
  • The horror of competition!
  • People within the business community not having a “good-great” perception of ‘our’ community
  • Lack of time (would be improved by a 40hr day)
  • Improve the streetscape of the CBD
  • We need larger companies such as eg. Meat works, industries, fabrication, trusses, shed companies to employ larger amounts of people who will relocate to this area Council need to assist with this but not forgetting the small businesses
  • I feel the council doesn’t put any effort into to making shop fronts presentable. Although gardens are landscaped, rubbish and litter including cigarette butts line the gutters from end to end. If I was a tourist I would have the opinion that it was a dirty and unapproachable place to visit
  • Murgon’s attractions is small boutique town with wineries, Will have the rail trail, indigenous population. Vision: inland Bangalow/Montville. Cafes and boutiques, gift shops, art galleries, indigenous shops/art/craft, indigenous culture/music. Bring Cherbourg to Murgon, accentuate culture in town. Wine, art, eating, music, shopping
  • Rates need to be lowered as rates at the moment are similar to major cities eg. Brisbane/Sunshine Coast. Encourage other business to work with one another otherwise we can’t help but outsource our products and produce!
  • People aren’t coming to town. Need a major attraction. Need to stop Murgon being a secret. Let people know what’s here.
  • Motor bike shop, Hungry Jacks
  • The people in Murgon don’t realise how great a town they live in. They need to appreciate it and move forward, has great potential
  • The intimidation of longer standing business owners with newer business owners with joining in with community networking events etc
  • Support of new businesses within the business community
  • Promote each others’ business, work together as a community, all for one, one for all, communicate with each other, promote the whole town, think of fresh ideas for your business, fresh outlook, see what visitors see, look, listen, learn
  • More local community support in local events
  • Afraid of failure with lack of confidence, drought holding back economy, poor product range, too wide product availability
  • Consistent trading hours
  • We need to promote the local wineries for weekend trade and therefore bring people to our town. Promote local trade and restaurants. Our markets, sporting events and venues. Promote the safety factor. Promote local employment, give jobs to locals and keep people in our town, they become our customers.
  • We are fortunate to have an IGA open 7am-8pm. We need: Bakery with more variety, Newsagency to stay open until 12pm Saturday, I know this is a country town but we need a passion to improve our business – open longer hours – a little bit like Brisbane – so visitors appreciate coming at the weekends. We need shop keepers to keep positive and smile and go the extra mile so customers don’t travel to Kingaroy/Gympie.
  • Negative attitude. An isolation policy – not working together for mutual benefit. Perception of high crime rate – especially indigenous. Restaurants/cafes in town not open weekends etc
  • We definitely need a coffee shop for tourists in the main street that is open all weekend. If tourists stop in our main street on a Saturday afternoon it is a ghost town
  • Town talks negative. They are all competing too much with each other stock wise. Eg giftware, ladies handbags etc. Don’t have to be exclusive but consult with each other on stock
  • To improve town – cross promote. Council to de-centralise from Kingaroy especially with maintenance issues, to improve – open longer
  • External influences and financial limitations, have more time to follow up on customer requests, cultural centre
  • Work out how to have the town population support the town so more shop locally, events to draw people to the town stand at Brisbane ekka or similar events in large cities to draw people to the area (word of mouth!)
  • Our business is in Wondai so it’s harder to work in Murgon. Our opening hours need to be extended. Participate in more community events, show prospective clients we offer more professional service than the business in Kingaroy, our results are consistently higher than an independent business as compared to the franchise business in Kingaroy
  • Time and lack of control, buy it, cultural centre that recognises the value of our indigenous citizens and displays their artwork etc