June 2003, Volume: 6, Issue: e/6, ISBN 1527-5175

~~~$25,000 saved... "My mental light bulbs were flashing so quickly during your workshop. I surprised you weren’t blinded by the light! Most importantly, I learned we are not ready for the marketing materials and marketing plan we're negotiating with a local vendor. We are nowhere near ready, and they don't understand our business-to-business marketing needs. You saved me $25,000 that would have gone down the 'consumer marketing drain'!" Participant in Blane, Canada Ltd.’s Physics of Marketing, April 2003.

~~~Yes, we're inundated... with literature and e-mail promoting economic development. You compete for our attention. As you can well imagine, it's impossible to allocate time to read or even skim each one. However, we found several publications of particular interest: Progress Energy in southeastern U.S. presented excellent information on the economic impact of the military bases. For instance, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, generates $1 million in daily economic activity. Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base produce a significant stream of medical professionals, aviation technicians and other transferable skills to employers regionally. This communicates valuable information without the hype. A catalog of activities and accomplishments can have less impact than the right photo. Leveraging this principle, the Wayne County Economic Development Commission, NC included pages of 2" x 2" photos highlighting marketing activities and milestones. Clear, compact, and memorable. Well done, Joanna!

~~~Nano... doesn't refer to Mork and Mindy of '70's TV fame.  We mentioned nanotechnology in the last issue of this newsletter. Nanotechnology is being utilized in products ranging from automotive, aviation, and pharmaceutical, to cosmetics. Dick Hoffman, attorney with Marshall, Gerstein, & Borun, indicates there's a very active group in the Chicago metro area pursuing nanotech opportunities. The Chicago Microtechnology & Nano technology Community (http://www.chicagonano.org) helps foster a regional presence. Fundamental criteria of the organization are to educate, synergize, collaborate and commercialize. These core goals are supported by local industry along with the U. of Illinois/Chicago and Northwestern University.

~~~How... can we help you prepare your organization for the future? Organizational assessment? Marketing evaluation? Marketing strategy and plan? Contact Eric at 630.462.9222 or ecanada@blanecanada.com

~~~Speaking of regional presence... four cities in Georgia combined efforts to market the region beyond Atlanta to become “Greater Georgia”. Because Atlanta sells itself so well, the newly engineered foursome is able to leverage their budgets while continuing to market on their own. One of the strategies they completed was a five-day trip to New York City and Chicago calling as a unified group on 50 site selectors. They present their similarities as well as their differences. Augusta stresses biomedical, Columbus maritime logistics, Macon aeronautics, and Savannah IT. The response from the site selectors was very positive about the joint effort.

~~~"Very forward thinking... makes you understand that what you've been doing in now passe. We must move to a higher level to provide real services to our existing businesses." Participant of Blane, Canada Ltd.’s April conference on advances business retention. Next session is scheduled for Oct. 13-14 in Charlotte, NC. Contact us: info@blanecanada.com or go to http://www.blanecanada.com/BCL_retention.html

~~~Pixxures... is the world's largest provider of digital mapping services and products. They offer an array of high-resolution aerial mapping products, an online library of imagery from multiple sources, data hosting, and Internet portal products and services. www.pixxures.com http://m1e.net/c?16624387-Ye42ilx4skx6Y%40217319-wulOc1RfpU3po  Source: RealWired News, May 21, 2003 (Volume 4-Number 20)

~~~How do you calculate ROI?... We asked last month how you evaluate/present “return on the investment”. Blane, Canada Ltd. has used a general economic analysis to represent the financial impact of adding 100 new manufacturing jobs. The end result is to evaluate the ripple effect of additional housing, retail purchases, eating establishments, etc. There is no “right” or “wrong” method to calculating ROI. The selection of a model or process depends on what you are trying to communicate. The following reader responses provide a range of ideas: -Charlie Mitchell of Grants Pass, OR tracks grants and loans as money “in and out”. “Money in” is the sum received for local business development and infrastructure projects. “Money out” is the total provided to the local business community.

-Angie Meyer of Stellar Fundraising in Alpharetta, AG indicates they provide clients with a Job Impact, a Bank Deposits Analysis, or an Expenditure Detail. The first report offers a soft sounding of the number of jobs to be created and the average wage associated with that employment. A more detailed presentation includes the Progress Report to calculate the number of jobs created, the associated saving and spending, and the use of multipliers.

-Ron Kitchens from Corpus Christi, TX sent us a zip file with the past two years of spreadsheets and annual report analysis. Ron indicates they rely on an outside firm to create this business model. They go into great detail to identify the sources of new revenue, as well as the direct and indirect impact on the local economy. Some of the numerous categories includes: jobs announced versus jobs filled, employees moving to a residence within the area versus those seeking rental property, taxable spending within the community, etc. The bottom line is an ROI of 1,382%. This type of analysis is critical to building support and gaining new investors.

~~~2 fe... Eric just returned from Southern Indiana after speaking at the Vision 2000 Annual Meeting and giving a professional development course. By working together, the Southwest Indiana Industrial Development Council, the regional partnership, and Vision 2000 were able to improve skills as well as deliver important messages to leadership at a lower cost. Everyone won!

~~~"The objective... of positioning is to persuade someone that there is no completely satisfactory substitute for your product or service." Bob Lauterborn, U. of NC. Well said!

~~~Library access to subscription databases... You may find access to Hoovers, Gale, ValueLine, and other business and media databases at your library. In Minnesota, the county library system offers online access for their patrons, as is done in numerous locations. So, check out what your local library can offer you. Source: Kristin Anderson, MN, SpeakerNet News. Editor's note: Check out resources from your State library also.

~~~Reading options... The Journal of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies offers an alternate mental exercise. The editorial board includes representatives of academia, the World Bank, and the National Bank of Croatia. What intrigued us was the phrase “transition economies”. Isn’t that exactly what economic developers need to contemplate for current and definitely long-range planning? www.palgrave-journals.com/ces

~~~"I really enjoy your newsletter... I print each newsletter out and make copies to discuss at staff meetings. It is part of our capacity building effort. There are always positive things that come out of these discussions." Stephanie McKinney, Flagstaff, AZ

~~~Update yourself... on the calendar of opportunities available across the continent for economic development professionals. We try to keep up with the various organizations presenting ED training. See if there are programs to expand your thinking and professionalism. http://www.blanecanada.com/Newsletters/NL_2003/NL_2002_Events.html

~~~What’s the best... thank-you gift for the golf-aholics who populate nearly every sales team and customer organization? Sure, you could give them clubs, visors, shoes, balls or the limited-edition Happy Gilmore DVD, but the reality is that true duffing fanatics probably already have all these accessories. What golfers really want is to get out and play golf. So, hand out free rounds of golf via the Universal Golf Ticket from Corporate Sports Incentives. Redeemable at more than 1,600 resort courses throughout North America, the Universal Golf Ticket is a wallet-sized prepaid voucher that recipients simply hand over at the resort pro shop to cover a single greens fee or greens fee and cart. If you purchase 50 tickets or more, Corporate Sports Incentives will customize each ticket with your company logo, reminding clients just who’s responsible for getting them out on the links. For more information, http://www.universaltickets.com.  Source: http://www.sellingpower.com

~~~In use in 36 states... "Staggering" was the word one user of Synchronist said after reviewing the quality of data from the first set of 47 interviews. More than 400 new jobs were expected from this group. 70% projected growth in their markets this year. Yet, some of these "growth" companies and their existing and new jobs are at risk! The ability to understand growth companies and risk drivers for each company gives the ED professional the ability to focus energies and resources as never before. Isn't that the type of information you could use to assist local business growth?  Synchronist Business Information Software. http://www.synchronist.com and/or Eric 630.462.9222

~~~"Taken at face value... it is easy to miss the subtle R&D that is obvious as I learn more about the Synchronist tools and software." Roger Feldhaus, IN

~~~SPAM... that disgusting, time-consuming junk mail we all receive. It's estimated that 50% of all e-mails are spam. The result is a loss of employee time along with the annoyance. The annual estimated expense associated with spam is $11 billion. Possible alternatives to ridding your mail of these time-wasters are included an article by Anne Stuart in "Inc.com - CONNECTIONNEWSLETTER", May 20, 2003 http://trax.inc.com/k/w/mailman/inc_connection/20030520/spam

~~~NCSC... The National Center for Small Communities announces the Grassroots Rural Entrepreneurship Award. Elected officials serving small communities (less than 10,000 population) and have a demonstrated record in promoting local entrepreneurship are encouraged to apply.  Applications must be received by NCSC by June 30.  The achievements of three will be celebrated during an awards luncheon at NCSC’s annual conference in Washington, DC, Sept. 3-5.  The winner will also receive a $5,000 grant to further the community’s entrepreneurial development efforts. Information and application materials are posted on the NCSC Web site at http://www.natat.org/ncsc/Kauffman/entrepdefault.htm.

~~~Disappearance of manufacturing?... "A number of economic trends explain the shrinkage of the manufacturing sector. These include the growing importance of the service sector and productivity improvements in manufacturing, which have facilitated output growth with stable employment," according to William Strauss, senior economist, and Scott Walster, research intern, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Fed Letter, June 2003, Number 190.

~~~In the mid 1980's... the Canadian government contracted Blane, Canada Ltd. to develop a comprehensive list of R&D facilities in the U.S. with which Canadian companies could joint venture. The location, the focus of the R&D operation, the budget, and the primary management contacts were provided. It was a superb strategy toward the development of value-added projects. 

~~~"The Physics of Marketing"... (Your seminar) "changed the way I daily think about my job and has opened my eyes to a completely new approach to E.D. marketing." Attendee at April 2003 seminar.

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

info@blanecanada.com