The first stage of a blueprint outlining a vision for Clunes as a shopping and investment destination is complete, revealing Clunes had a good mix of products and services relative to the size of the town.

The survey results indicated that there was easy access and adequate parking in the main street.

Results also revealed Clunes shoppers do shop outside Clunes, most frequently in Ballarat. Clunes Tourist and Development Association president Graeme Johnstone said the Clunes Marketing Strategy would prove invaluable to helping the town's businesses

better service their customers, and in promoting Clunes as a destination for visitors and tourists.

"Shoppers report customer service levels vary greatly between Clunes businesses from poor to excellent," he said.

"An interesting point for business operators is nearly all respondents rated themselves very highly in customer service delivery. These results suggest that some businesses may not be delivering to their customers as effectively as they think they are."

Results from the survey were obtained through the Clunes business community and residents living inside and outside of Clunes.

The Clunes Marketing Strategy is now in the process of developing branding concepts, detailed action plans, potential costs involved and sources of funding and is designed to boost Clunes' capacity to compete for custom with other major regional centres.

The Strategy is scheduled for completion in October. The business community has been invited to attend an evening on the August 2 to hear feed-back from survey co-ordinator Brenton Han-cock.

As part of the customer survey, a $100 shopping voucher redeemable at participating Clunes businesses was offered as an incentive to those completing the survey.

The winner of the voucher was David Lawrence of Clunes, who can look forward to a spending spree with local businesses.

For further information contact Brenton Hancock, Change Concepts Pty Ltd on 5345 4026, 0419 313 128 or email brenton.hancock@changeconcepts.co m.au