Interview with Michael Cahill 21 September 2009

We are very pleased to introduce Ireland's newest website dedicated to connecting property owners with Tradesmen, Manufacturers and Distributors who specialise in the supply and installation of Renewable Energy Technologies.
Below is an excerpt from a recent interview conducted with Michael Cahill, Co-Founder of
GreenTrade.ie:

LB: Michael, tell me about how the idea for GreenTrade.ie came about?

MC: The idea for this web portal came from genuine enquiries from our sister website BERia.ie where homeowners kept asking about how to go about sourcing reliable information regarding sustainable and renewable resources.

LB: So what is GreenTrade.ie's purpose?

MC: We specifically cater for those who are embarking on or thinking of embarking on a building project - whether that is a new-build, an extension or a renovation.
The main challenge right now is that all the information relating to 'Green Technology' is out there in various online and offline forms but it is a bit of a rabbit warren. What GreenTrade.ie has set out to do is to bring all that information - that is relevant to the Irish Market - together in one place.
This allows a visitor the opportunity to see at a glance a comprehensive list of resources, manufacturers and distributors of these products and most importantly the installers in their locality.
We are endeavouring to balance the site as a public information one-stop-shop with a commercial slant where the contributors secure new business leads.

LB: So is GreenTrade.ie just another an online 'directory'?

MC: Ha, Ha - being very crude, you could describe it like that. However, some crucial differences between what we are doing and what other directory business are doing worth noting are:
Our Content - Greentrade.ie is wholly dedicated to the construction/building industry. We are not a broad eco-site or generic business Directory service. This means our visitors find what they want quickly and easily and are more inclined to ready to do business. Everyone listed on the site have the opportunity to re-enforce their brand, their key eco-friendly message directly with their target audience.
Price - From the outset we decided that we didn't want price to be a prohibiting factor in businesses engaging with us. Therefore, we are a substantially cheaper and a more effective means to promote your business than paper listings, flyers or print ads.
Knock On Traffic - We have teamed up with a number of complimentary websites to help buyers find their way to GreenTrade.ie and to listed websites. As the website is targeted specifically just to the renewal energy sector, it attracts a very specific buyer profile.
Mini Website - Included in our price plans is a mini website for each listing. Many Tradesmen don't have any online presence other than a free hotmail or Gmail email address. With GreenTrade.ie prospective buyers can find them which would not have happened before. For businesses with existing websites, the GreenTrade.ie mini-site complements that existing site in terms of diverting traffic. We have given full control of the content to everyone listed and built in some really cool Search Engine Optimised tools so they see the benefit in increased organic ranking in Google searches. Everyone with a listing is also able to access visitor traffic reports so they can see at a glance how many times their profile has been viewed and whether the listing is doing the business for them.
Renewable Products Profiled – We actively encourage everyone to contribute their domain knowledge and expertise through the GreenTrade forums and blogs. This enables all visitors to interact directly with one another.

LB: So has the site gone live yet?

MC: We have launched the website on 15th September purely to allow us to collect expressions of interest from Manufacturers, Distributors and Installers.
Once we have a fair cross section of Green Trades represented in each of the geographical regions we will execute a Business to Consumer marketing campaign… so watch this space.

LB: Thanks Michael - we look forward to hearing more from you in the coming months.
So, if you are in the 'Green Trades'/Renewal Energy sector and want to find more about how to be involved in this exciting project see http://www.greentrade.ie/ or contact us here at Product2Market and we'll be happy to arrange the introduction.