January 2002, Volume: 5, Issue: e/1, ISBN 1527-5175

~~~"May your New Year... be filled with much wisdom, warm smiles and laughter, true insights, sweet surprises, endearing friendships, meaningful lessons and tremendous blessings!" We couldn't have said it any better.  Source: Melissa Morgan, KY

~~~Marketing Letter 10 years old!... Many of you are not aware of this newsletter's earlier life. Started in 1991 as a hard copy twice yearly, the ED Marketing Letter evolved to this monthly electronic version four years ago. The feedback we receive is very gratifying. To make the letter more worthwhile for you, we offer a "search" feature for four years of issues. Look at the left column for the search button at: http://www.blanecanada.com/Newsletters/frameset_newsletter.html

~~~e-Synchronist... a virtual reality. e-Synchronist(R) delivers all of the functionality of the desktop version of the Synchronist Business Information System(R) via the Internet. ComEd (an Exelon company), the City of Chicago, and World Business Chicago have been spearheading the beta tests. The Chicago program has 17 individual user sites covering the city. Each site manager is responsible for meeting with business execs, collecting, and inputting the findings. Each site manager can generate reports on their service area at the click of a button. ComEd and the City can generate reports on any of the 17 areas, a region, or the entire City, always with the latest available data, at the click of a button. A powerful partnership, delivering new insight into the dynamics of business in the City of Chicago. Created by Blane, Canada Ltd. Check out additional info at http://www.synchronist.com

~~~Serious stuff... YOU NEED TO FIND OUT if your e-mail service provider operates an “open relay” service. If he does, you are in trouble. Some of your outbound e-mails are being blocked by firewalls and filters. And, it will only get worse. “Open relay” e-mail services are the servers hackers use to distribute spam, thereby covering their tracks.

We don’t know all of the details. Frankly, we don’t want to know. But, if you are using e-mail as part of your marketing formula, you will want to make sure there are no barriers between you and your prospects. We are told the changes required are simple and should cost little, if anything. Your administrator must do it. You can’t.

This came to our attention because SOME clients were calling to tell us their e-mails to us were being bounced even though we receive hundreds daily. If our service provider is using this strategy to avoid spam, rest assured others are also.

~~~Trial lawyers practice... You should, too. The National Law Journal (www.NLJ.com) issued a special section on trial lawyers. Here is one of their ideas that presenters could use: Develop the other side's best case first. Talk about your competition as well as you talk about your own product. Be prepared to discuss all the objections someone may raise about your ideas better than the person raising them. Source: PRESENTATION POINTS, October 2001, Wilder Presentations, http://www.wilderpresentations.com

~~~It isn't all high-tech... "Should Cities Always Pursue High-Tech? The Guru of Industry 'Clusters' Says No." In the article, Michael Porter stressed that regions shouldn't ignore traditional, even mature local industries "that may have equally good if not better growth prospects."

For our money, Porter is absolutely on target. Source:  Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2001

~~~Contrary boards... was featured in last month's letter and received some strong feedback. Mark Waterhouse (CT) suggested we collect a "Top Ten List Why Cold-Calling is a Waste of Resources for Economic Developers". GO FOR IT!! Send your thoughts to us at info@blanecanada.com

~~~Feedback... "Once again, thank you for the informative newsletter.  It helps us understand the bigger picture across the nation, even though we are in contact with many EDO organizations and large corporations." Patty Wright, FL

~~~Fool's errand... We are told by those who know more than we do that the search engine game (attempts to tune your site to top the search engine list) is a "fool's errand." Is it impossible to beat the system when the rules are constantly changing? Or, are time and energy better spent marketing and linking your site as Bob Glover recommends in: http://www.sitelocationassistance.com/who.htm

~~~Catch that number?... Call your office number or cell number. Leave a message and telephone number. When you replay the message, do you hear each number clearly enough to write it down, or is it said too fast to be easily captured? Check out your delivery.

~~~Pass it along... to five of the new economic development professionals in your region or others who have changed positions. Encourage them to subscribe to ED Marketing Letter. Hey, the price is right!

~~~Soft sounding... For several years, we have been toying with the idea of holding a Marketer's Boot Camp...a serious training event for those ED professionals serious about marketing. Topics would be advanced, a mix of presentations, discussions/debates, and hands-on-workshops where you develop elements of your own marketing plan and/or your own materials. The Camp would have an all star faculty. It would be held in the Chicago area in late spring. The number of participants would be limited to 25. What do you think? Would you be interested in participating? Would you send staff? We would appreciate your comments. ecanada@blanecanada.com

~~~Interesting isn't it... about the only things that come over the fax these days are promotional offers which are trashed immediately.

~~~"Ring-around-the-collar"... advertising: use of an annoying device to bore into people's consciousness. It may be memorable, but if it causes the reader to say "ugh!", it may not be effective. And, yes, we do have some in economic development.

~~~Language a barrier?... With the growth of Spanish speaking entrepreneurs in many communities, language has become a barrier to providing assistance or making existing business calls. One enterprising community recruited Mexican/American high school seniors to go along on company calls as interpreters. Everyone won.

~~~Kate said it... At Virginia's fall 2001 Economic Development Association's meeting, Kate McEnroe of Atlanta made some outstanding points on site selection. Consultants are moving more to an arms length relationship. The distributed geography of company execs and consultants results in more activity occurring via e-mail and conference call. In some cases, the team never meets. How does this change your sales support to consultants?

~~~Tour advice... "Show more people, and less dirt." Clients want to know about doing business in the community. Listen, listen, listen. Source: Kate McEnroe, again, at VEDA's fall conference.

~~~Far flung ideas?... No, we simply have diverse reading patterns. Try if for yourself! Select some of the sources we reference in the newsletter. Copy the e-mail address to a file. Periodically, review the files for new ideas, additional points of view, etc.

~~~Speaking of reading... a friend has a fascinating reading pattern. She has a group of preferred newspapers. Daily she takes a short period of time on-line to review the articles covered by each paper. These can then be printed out or electronically filed for reference when needed. You can, too! Publications might include: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Times (UK), Le Figaro, etc. Add to the mix industry-specific monthly publications.

~~~Where is it?... Is your staff directory on your web site? If it is posted, can it be found quickly by someone unfamiliar with the site? Simple as it sounds, we often have great difficulty finding staff directories on many sites. Remember, it's a people business.

~~~Local wage data... used by site selection consultants is being displaced by national databases of wage and salary information. The leading salary by occupation databases include:  http://www.salary.com, http://www.wageweb.com, and http://www.salarysource.com  Source: Dennis J. Donovan, site selection consultant speaking at IEDC Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA. 9/01

~~~Get a perspective... The entire discussion of luring corporate headquarters is covered in a recent article by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. "Headquarters Wanted: Principals Only Need Apply" provides a detailed analysis of changing location patterns during the past decade of publicly traded large company headquarters. http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/fedletter/2001/cfljuly2001_167a.pdf

~~~A deal is a deal... Or is it? In 1991 United Airlines agreed to a $294.5M incentive package to build an aircraft maintenance facility at Indianapolis International Airport to service United's entire domestic fleet. With the economic changes occurring in 2001, the 20% decrease of flights and the related layoffs, the airline is stating the changed circumstances alter the assumptions behind the agreement. United has spent $536M on the 2.6M s.f. hangar, but has not moved ahead on the $800M engine overhaul facility. Only 3,000 have been hired, 400 being reservation agents located outside Indianapolis, falling short of job-creation goals. Indiana included a penalty clause in the contract.  United wants to refund $32M to the city, county, and state during the 2nd quarter of 2002. The possible penalty: $190M. What do you feel is equitable? E-mail us: nblane@blanecanada.com  Source of data: Chicago Tribune, 12/29/01

Sept. 22-25 - IEDC Ann. Conf. - Oakland, CA - http://www.iedconline.org/

Oct. 27- Nov. 1 - EDI - Indianapolis - http://www.iedconline.org/

Blane, Canada Ltd.
1506 Cadet, Suite 100
Wheaton, IL 60187-7380
ph 630.462.9222
fax 630.462.9210

info@blanecanada.com