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"Economic Development Marketing Letter"
A Blane, Canada Ltd. Publication
Nationally Recognized Experts On Economic Development Marketing and Retention
May 1998, Volume: 1, Issue: e/4
~~~"It is not so important as to what direction we are heading as to whether we are moving at all. For we must sail sometimes against the wind and sometimes with it. But we must always sail and not drift or lie at anchor." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. ~~~Speaking of Nashville...if you have an interest in business retention and will be there (AEDC conference), look up Eric Canada. He will be demonstrating the latest in business retention, a new software based system called "Synchronist Business Information System®." ~~~Euro challenge...experts believe many firms are ignoring
the European transition to a single currency which goes into effect on
1/1/1999. Are your companies ready? If they have overseas customers, employ
workers, buy goods, or services they will be affected. Sponsor a session with a
regional bank's international department. Success Magazine, 4/98. ~~~More bang!... from marketing research: think perspective. The vast majority of development research consultants assume the perspective of an economist/geographer, compiling available data, assuming the client can correctly interpret it. The classic target industry study is an excellent example. At Blane, Canada Ltd. our perspective is that of the marketer. We encourage clients to avoid wasting limited resources on "suspect" research. Want more bang for your research buck? Invest more time defining the questions to be answered, use your own words, discuss outcomes, and most of all, avoid jargon. It could lead to significantly better marketing decisions. ~~~Trends...in development marketing include the increased use of post cards. Post cards are being used by development organizations to increase frequency and drive recognition in a target group(s). Carefully crafted, a post card campaign can be extremely effective because they capitalize on the 2-3 second decision process before round-filing. ~~~Reverse manufacturing...Dell Computer's Manufacturing Model is becoming an increasing popular model for business...first sell the product, then manufacture it. How will the growing use of this model impact economic development and real estate demands? Reverse manufacturing places the emphasis of the corporate business plan on direct marketing, assembly, and distribution. This pushes risk back to the component manufacturer who lacks leverage with the ultimate user. Expect continuing and accelerating stress on companies in the supply chain. Few suppliers will wield name recognition among consumers like Intel, a chip supplier, with their brilliant "Intel Inside" end-around (around the computer manufacturer) strategy. ~~~Being privacy sensitive is
a positive marketing message. ~~~Sweet..."The secret to success in marketing is not claiming the lowest cost or the most incentives. It is in demonstrating value." A Warren Buffett quote taken from "Success: Volume 1" edited by Ron Kitchens, Moberly, MO. "Success: Volume 1" is a great example of counter trend marketing. Instead of the same-old same-old, the Moberly EDC is being noticed by breaking the mold. "Success: Volume 1" is a cost-effective direct mail campaign built around a pocket size book of positive quotes with a tasteful blend of Moberly facts. Since you know we love stimulating quotes, his tactic struck a nerve with us. Interestingly, I left it out on the desk. Three people picked it up and read it cover to cover on the first day. Editors' note: Ron is one of many who have read our book, "Economic Development: Marketing for Results!" who have gone on to produce results. Share your success story... ecanada@ix.netcom.com ~~~Credibility gap...is widening on the Internet. Mountains
of information are available to anyone. Unfortunately, a great deal of the
information is hearsay and/or opinion. Don't force prospective clients to
wonder about reliability. List sources for any data or information presented as
factual. If your organization is the source, list it as such. The same rule has
always applied to print marketing materials even though few take it seriously
enough. ~~~Call center attraction..."TeleProfessional
Magazine" is doing their first major article on call center attraction in the
June issue. It will cover select communities pursuing a call center attraction
strategy, incentives, and related issues. The article is being written by CB
Commercial. While the article has been "closed out," due to the
printing schedule, the editor is very interested in learning more about
development organizations pursuing call center attraction. Angela Karr,
TeleProfessional Magazine, 319.235.9850 or akarr@telepro.com ~~~Speaking of...speaking, three of Eric's current speeches include: "10 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Messages, and Materials;" "Marketing Tips and Tricks From Coast to Coast;" and, "Strategic Information, the Opportunity Ahead" (a new approach to business retention based on Blane, Canada Ltd.'s award winning research). ~~~Area code confusion...is rampant as people try to adjust to the proliferation of new area codes. Help your contacts by identifying the time zone you're calling from - mention your city before or immediately after you say your area code, then continue on with your phone number. Then repeat the entire number for a clear imprint. ~~~Hawking Your
Message...Author Eric Ward has posted the overheads and notes from his
presentation at the 1998 Nonprofits Online Seminar entitled "Hawking Your
Message in the Virtual Marketplace: Using the Web as a Marketing Tool" http://www.netpost.com/speaking/npodc/private.html.
Nonprofit Online New, via Benton Foundation, <benton@benton.org>, http://www.benton.org ~~~Shelley Cadamy of the
Oklahoma Department of Commerce has her own way of dealing with information
overload. She uses the free,
personalized news service from Infoseek. "A person enters as many key
words or phrases as he or she likes and Personalized Infoseek delivers news
articles that correspond to those keywords on a daily basis. PikeNet Dispatch,
March 27, 1998, http://www.pikenet.com ~~~"Well, you've done it again!! Your (Blane, Canada Ltd.'s) Marketing Letter raises the bar for the rest of us in the E.D. consulting field. Congrats, it's really great--concise, to the point info.--just remember your colleagues when you're inundated with responses from this!!" David A. Dodd, CED, consultant
Blane, Canada Ltd.
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