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Wednesday, November 23, 2016 40 www.alloaadvertiser.com Gean continually adapts to stay ahead of the competition Team’s main target is youth unemployment THE Developing the Young Workforce Forth Valley team are here. They are a dedicated resource with an overall aim to support the Scottish government’s headline tar- get of reducing youth un- employment by 40 per cent by 2021. They plan to make that happen by working with education and businesses throughout Forth Valley OVER recent years the wedding market has be- come a highly competitive business, with so many diverse venues offering to host marriages, from the ceremony to evening re- ception. And, while brides and grooms (and mums and dads) resign themselves to the cost of making the wedding day special, they still expect val- ue for money in all their ar- to grow and develop mean- ingful and sustainable partnerships to develop young people and the econ- omy. They aim to improve the work readiness of young people when leaving school or further educa- tion; increase the number of employers offering ap- prentice opportunities and increase the number of employers directly recruit- rangements – and none more so than in their venue. Gean House has undergone a number of changes over the years, mirroring the changes that have affected the house itself. Gean has developed from being an extra special high quality wedding gift through to an extra special high quality wedding venue, with in between periods as a family house, Temperance Society venue, hotel and lat- terly a conference venue. ing young people. If you are a local business and want to get involved, go along and meet the team at their Investing in Youth event at Gean House in Al- loa on Wednesday, Novem- ber 23 at 6pm. Alternatively, for book- ing or more information, please contact Michelle Carr on 01259 726690 or email michelle.carr@dyw. forthvalley.ac.uk When the recession hit Scotland at the tail end of 2007, there was an immediate decline in conferencing and training business from the Public Sector, Government and private sector compa- nies. While management had already taken the decision to supplement income by build- ing up the wedding and social function business, the reces- sion necessitated a fairly dra- matic speeding up of those efforts. It has been a long hard slog. With so much competition from venues all over Central Scotland, the team have had to work constantly to ensure that our reputation spread by word of mouth. They found that advertis- ing would perhaps bring peo- ple through the door, but it is customer reviews and word of mouth recommendations that help secure the bookings and now Facebook and other social media platforms have become some of the compa- ny’s key methods of commu- nication with existing and potential customers. Gean has faced all the is- sues that many businesses faced during the recession, including: N Ever increasing competi- tion N Transformation of target market N Cost of advertising and re- turn on investment N Staff management (Gean has a great team of casual staff, but that takes time and effort) N Cost of capital investment N Price consciousness of cus- tomers, while becoming more discerning The company is pleased to say that while 50 per cent of the weddings are local peo- ple, it also has visitors from all over the globe, including the United States, Japan, Eu- rope and the Far East. Gean will never be a “stock ‘em high sell’ em cheap” type of business. Quality of venue and cus- tomer service is the key to success and the team prides itself on attention to detail and quality of service. This is borne out by the recent Clackmannanshire Business Award for Excellence in Cus- tomer Service. Manager Billy Robertson said: “We do everything we can to ensure each couple’s wedding day is that bit more magical. Our staff main- tain a superior standard and every aspect of the wedding day is delivered to the high- est quality. We believe that Gean House retains a rustic charm, yet is in a great cen- tral location.” Margaret Mary Rafferty, managing director at Ceteris, added: “The team at Gean do their utmost to put customer service top of the list. We also have a good list of high quality suppliers within the wedding market, and we try to source locally wherever possible. “We believe Gean House brings many benefits to the local economy, as well as pro- viding a dream setting for any social and business func- tion.” ADVERTISER business Got a business story to tell? email us on [email protected] or phone 01259 230631

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Wednesday, November 23, 201640 www.alloaadvertiser.com

Gean continually adapts tostay ahead of the competition

Team’s main target isyouth unemploymentTHE Developing the YoungWorkforce Forth Valleyteam are here.They are a dedicated

resource with an overallaim to support the Scottishgovernment’s headline tar-get of reducing youth un-employment by 40 per centby 2021.They plan to make that

happen by working witheducation and businessesthroughout Forth Valley

OVER recent years thewedding market has be-come a highly competitivebusiness, with so manydiverse venues offering tohost marriages, from theceremony to evening re-ception.

And, while brides andgrooms (and mums and dads)resign themselves to the costof making the wedding dayspecial, they still expect val-ue for money in all their ar-

to grow and develop mean-ingful and sustainablepartnerships to developyoung people and the econ-omy.They aim to improve

the work readiness ofyoung people when leavingschool or further educa-tion; increase the numberof employers offering ap-prentice opportunities andincrease the number ofemployers directly recruit-

rangements – and none moreso than in their venue.

Gean House has undergonea number of changes over theyears, mirroring the changesthat have affected the houseitself. Gean has developedfrom being an extra specialhigh quality wedding giftthrough to an extra specialhigh quality wedding venue,with in between periods asa family house, TemperanceSociety venue, hotel and lat-terly a conference venue.

ing young people. If youare a local business andwant to get involved, goalong and meet the teamat their Investing in Youthevent at Gean House in Al-loa on Wednesday, Novem-ber 23 at 6pm.Alternatively, for book-

ing or more information,please contact MichelleCarr on 01259 726690 oremail [email protected]

When the recession hitScotland at the tail end of2007, there was an immediatedecline in conferencing andtraining business from thePublic Sector, Governmentand private sector compa-nies.

While management hadalready taken the decision tosupplement income by build-ing up the wedding and socialfunction business, the reces-sion necessitated a fairly dra-matic speeding up of those

efforts.It has been a long hard slog.

With so much competitionfrom venues all over CentralScotland, the team have hadto work constantly to ensurethat our reputation spread byword of mouth.

They found that advertis-ing would perhaps bring peo-ple through the door, but it iscustomer reviews and wordof mouth recommendationsthat help secure the bookingsand now Facebook and othersocial media platforms havebecome some of the compa-ny’s key methods of commu-nication with existing andpotential customers.

Gean has faced all the is-sues that many businessesfaced during the recession,including:N Ever increasing competi-tionN Transformation of targetmarketN Cost of advertising and re-turn on investmentN Staff management (Geanhas a great team of casualstaff, but that takes time andeffort)N Cost of capital investmentN Price consciousness of cus-tomers, while becoming morediscerning

The company is pleased to

say that while 50 per cent ofthe weddings are local peo-ple, it also has visitors fromall over the globe, includingthe United States, Japan, Eu-rope and the Far East.

Gean will never be a “stock‘em high sell’ em cheap” typeof business.

Quality of venue and cus-tomer service is the key tosuccess and the team pridesitself on attention to detailand quality of service. Thisis borne out by the recentClackmannanshire BusinessAward for Excellence in Cus-tomer Service.

Manager Billy Robertsonsaid: “We do everything wecan to ensure each couple’swedding day is that bit moremagical. Our staff main-

tain a superior standard andevery aspect of the weddingday is delivered to the high-est quality. We believe thatGean House retains a rusticcharm, yet is in a great cen-tral location.”

Margaret Mary Rafferty,managing director at Ceteris,added: “The team at Gean dotheir utmost to put customerservice top of the list. Wealso have a good list of highquality suppliers within thewedding market, and we tryto source locally whereverpossible.

“We believe Gean Housebrings many benefits to thelocal economy, as well as pro-viding a dream setting forany social and business func-tion.”

ADVERTISER businessGot a business story to tell?

email us [email protected]

or phone 01259 230631