It’s all go in the TQ this weekend – the massive Crown Princess cruise ship is back, and so coachloads of passengers are arriving at the Pump House for their Titanic experience.  It’s fab to see Belfast really starting to put itself on the tourist map – although if I was being mean, I’d have to say that the crowds on this occasion are a little on the geriatric side…

Watching them all milling around the Pump House cafe with huge cameras and scary patterned shorts, I wonder what deciding factor prompted them to leave the comforts of the Crown Princess to check out what Belfast has to offer.  The trendy business term is ‘USP’ – Unique Selling Point – and thankfully, the Titanic Quarter is crammed with such rich heritage that visitors and tourists are arriving in droves.  What kind of USPs provide a strong enough hook for these people to want to visit?

It’s a pertinent question for me at the moment.  If you’ve been following the blog you’ll know that we’re currently engaged in writing a Business Plan for The Dock, which requires the distillation of visionary Big Ideas (a floating chaplaincy space! a shared medley! a fresh expression of church!)  into concrete business proposals (day-to-day running… financial projections… funding options…)

Figuring out ‘The Gangplank Factor’ is a big part of this process.  If, as we hope and pray, a boat will soon take its place in the Abercorn Basin as a hub for ministry and community in the TQ, what kind of USPs will ensure that people come on board?  The last thing I want is for people to be wary or nervous of walking up the gangplank to The Dock boat – for it to be unfamiliar territory, set apart and out of touch with the community around it.  The boat needs to be in the centre of things, to have people visiting regularly, casually, habitually – for its gangplank to be a well-worn path.

One possibility that is often suggested is that The Dock operates as a cafe or coffee shop, and while that may well be part of the answer, it can’t be the whole story.  The TQ will soon be full of coffee shops and franchises – there are plenty of places to get a cuppa already – and so to have The Gangplank Factor, the boat will need a coffee shop with a twist – a USP.

So, over to you!  Email me, get in touch, post ideas and suggestions to this blog.  Let your creativity run riot.  Imagine a boat, moored out the back of the Odyssey, with its gangplank connecting to the footpath just in front of you.  What would make you feel comfortable and enthusiastic about coming on board?