Monday, February 8, 2010

If We Had a 100,000 Users

So it’s like this. www.mylunch.ie is a new website, and like many new websites it was started with great intentions in mind. We want to bring value and choice to all our users, whether it’s a 2-for-1 lunch voucher, or a free bottle of water with your sandwich, we want to know about it, so we can bring it to you.

So far we’ve got a number of these deals on our site, but we want more.... a lot more. We want to ensure that any user of www.mylunch.ie, anywhere in Ireland, can find the best lunch value in their area, on any given day, on www.mylunch.ie. We want to ensure that our users know which retailers on their street are willing to go the extra mile and fight for their custom. We want our users to get a great lunch, at great value, but we also want to reward the retailers that are making that extra effort for your business. That way, they keep running specials, and you keep getting value. The best way that we can do that is by bringing them custom from our users.

So if we want to bring you the best deals in your area, then we need to let the retailers know that we have the users. This begs the question, what would www.mylunch.ie do if we had a 100,000 users.

First off, 100,000 monthly users may sound like a lot, but this wouldn’t even put www.mylunch.ie in the Top 30 busiest websites in Ireland, so it’s a good place to start. Most of all though, 100,000 users would mean that rather than www.mylunch.ie going to the retailers and asking them to run a lunch offer for our members, retailers would be coming to www.mylunch.ie and asking for a way to target our users. In other words, www.mylunch.ie would have the combined bargaining power of 100,000 users (are you thinking He-Man at Castle Greyskull? or is it just me)

So what could we do with all that power? Well at www.mylunch.ie our concern is about 2 things.... your stomach and your wallet, so let’s keep the focus on these.

First off, www.mylunch.ie is about real choice. This means bringing you a wide selection of retailers, from the convenient shop on the corner, to the bar down the road, to the Michelin recommended restaurant around the corner that you didn’t even know was there. With a 100,000 users we will get 2,000 retailers on www.mylunch.ie before the year is out. That means that wherever you work in Ireland, we will have the retailers in your area on our site, and we will continue to ensure that we display their menu updated on a daily basis (because that’s just what we do).

So let’s talk about your wallet (or purse for the fairer among us). To date we run a lot of vouchers on www.mylunch.ie, but here’s the thing.... whether it’s a hangover of days that have passed, or something deeper in the Irish psyche, we’ve found that people just don’t like using vouchers with lunch unless there’s a significant saving involved. So with a 100,000 users, there would be great benefits available with the www.mylunch.ie card. All you will need to do is check out www.mylunch.ie before going for lunch and see the retailers that are running special promotions for www.mylunch.ie cardholders. Then simply show your card when ordering or paying and you could benefit from a range of treats be they 2-for-1 offers, a free beverage with your meal, or maybe an upgrade on the size of your coffee. What you can be sure of though, is with a 100,000 of these cards in circulation in Ireland, every retailer will want to show the www.mylunch.ie users that they are willing to fight for your custom.

All of this means your week of lunching will result in better variety, and more money in your pocket. So if you think www.mylunch.ie having 100,000 users sounds like a good thing, then help us make it happen. Visit www.mylunch.ie and register today for updates and our regular competitions, tell your friends about www.mylunch.ie, become a fan of www.mylunch.ie on facebook, follow us on twitter, (tweet or retweet) or create a link from your webpage to ours and help us all.

Thanks for reading

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A Week Of Using www.mylunch.ie To Decide My Lunch: The Outcome

So I decided it was time to put www.mylunch.ie to the test, the test being to select places to go for lunch every day this week based on the offers they were displaying on the www.mylunch.ie website and to see what lunchtime value was really out there.
Here is how I got on:

Monday
The Monday blues were in full force and I wasn’t feeling too social, so I went for a quick soup and a sandwich from Spar on Dame Street. This cost me €4, including a free 500ml bottle of water. A good start to the week I thought.

Tuesday
Feeling a little more social, I decided to meet a friend for lunch and check out Dandelion’s new special offer. They are running a voucher on www.mylunch.ie Monday to Wednesday of 2 main courses for the price of 1. I printed off the voucher and made my way to Dandelion. Friendly staff, great food and a super location. I went for a chicken fajita and fries for €11.00 and my friend went for the lasagne at €10.95, so with our voucher it worked out at just €5.50 each… Sweet.

Wednesday
CafĂ© en Seine’s new offer looked intriguing so I decided to check it out. €5.90 for Soup & a Sandwich and I was very impressed. One of Dublin’s most upmarket night venues offering great lunchtime value too.

Thursday
Feeling like something different yet healthy, I headed for Wagamama. They’ve a great lunch special menu and I went for the yaki soba for €9.95, which came with a choice of free drinks. As I said, I was feeling healthy so I went for the Apple Juice, but the offer of a free Tiger Beer was very tempting.

Friday
It being the start of the weekend, we in at the office decided to treat ourselves. We checked the site and found that FXB on Lower Pembroke Street were serving up a steak sandwich for only €10. These guys are known for their great steaks, so at just €10, this capped a great week’s lunching.

So I think that’s some quality lunchtime eating for an average of just over €7 a day.
Think about what you spent this week. Did you get the same choice & value?
We’d love to hear your thoughts…..

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