May 1999, Volume: 2, Issue: e/4

"The future has arrived; it's just not evenly distributed." Quote: Paul Saffo  Source: PikeNet Dispatch

~~~Presentation power ... "People retain 20% of what they see, 20% of what they hear, 50% of what they see and hear, 85% of what they become involved in. Your chances of getting the sale are 79% if you use visual aids, but only 58% if you don't. Reasons: the brain takes information in at 500 words per minute. People speak at 140 words per minute. Visual aids prevent boredom from setting in." Quote: Guerrilla Marketing Weekly, 4/26/99 

~~~Involvement ... Having partnered on an assignment with AT Kearney, a global management consulting firm, we learned the power of involvement. Their consultants are trained to open their sales presentation and ask the first question within three minutes. Magically, the presentation shifts to a problem solving collaboration.

~~~Visually ... Having worked with Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, LLP, a major civil engineering firm, on the positioning of airport business/industrial parks, we have seen the power of large format visuals. These visuals are a signature tool of the engineering/architectural world. We brought the technique into our proposals. So, any of you who have seen our presentations or proposals will recognize both elements, adopted successfully years ago.

~~~"Information collection and analysis have always been separate functions. The Synchronist System (business retention software created by Blane, Canada Ltd.) brings the two pieces together." Dick Landis, Synchronist User, IA

~~~Joe Reagan, VP, Greater Louisville Partnership, was a featured speaker at the Kentucky Industrial Developers Association conference in May to provide a User's perspective on the Synchronist software. "Synchronist System is opportunity driven, not problem oriented. It helps us identify ways to use our resources to make a positive impact with local employers. It is one part of forming powerful relationships."

~~"MTV" attention spans ... Executives today feel so pressed that their attention span is measurable only in fractions of seconds. Reaching these executives (internal or external audiences) with a meaningful message is extremely difficult, expecially for verbal communicators (Wall Street Journal style). Beyond pie charts and bar graphs, development professionals are weak visual communicators...too many words and too few visual anchors to help readers find and remember our message. Improve your visual communication skills. Subscribe to USA Today and look beyond the charts and graphs. Study how they visualize complex messages.

~~~A major difference ... "brand" vs. "position"? To "brand" a product or community is to take something - word, phrase, slogan, color, shape - with no meaning and spend enough time and money promoting it to give it meaning among members of a target audience, i.e. an increased recognition factor. To "position" a product or community is to take something with meaning related to the product - fact, history, geographic location - and then expose it to a target audience to gain leverage for the product.

~~~Selling in economic development ... Blane, Canada Ltd. recently completed a two-day sales training course for the staff of the Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism. Selling skills have been a weak link in the profession. Communities and organizations invest tens of thousands of dollars to identify suspects without a solid strategy for how that suspect will be handled. The sales training course created by Eric Canada and Greg Kelly (former Virginia Partnership business development manager) is now available for the first time: sales training - from an economic development perspective. Contact Eric 630.462.9222, or ecanada@ix.netcom.com.

~~~"I re-read your book ('Economic Development: Marketing for the Results!') before attending the courses (Marketing for Results! and Advanced Marketing). Now I realize, reading the book without the course is like taking an MBA without going to class!" J. Anderson, MI

~~~Zen web master? ... We're not that but we're accumulating a lot of time at many sites to be aware of what's happening and what's not. Over the next several newsletters we'll share with you our observations. Perhaps the best starting point to frame the reality is an informal comment by Michael Svoboda, CB Richard Ellis. First, he notes that some peers regard the community/regional web sites for a singular purpose: get good information and move along. Second, others eliminate a prospective community from consideration if a web site cannot be found. Third, others don't bother with it as an element of their filtering process at all.

Be sure to work with a professional when developing your site. Appointing someone on staff who has worked with sites as a hobby isn't necessarily the best selection. Having an internal team rather than an individual work with the professional will also bring a range of thinking into your site's development.

Our thoughts about various sites? Depends on THE PURPOSE. Is it to generate leads, provide customer service, or be a gentle communications tool?

Keep the navigational bars SIMPLE. Make it easy to navigate, not a challenge. It is helpful to include a "return to home" option or the "back to top" option at the bottom of each page. Web pages are designed to be fast-paced media. The goal is to communicate information in a brief, concise way. (Well said by our intern, Rachel Miller!)

 

~~~Radical Marketing ... A solid concept centered on a new breed of marketing revolutionaries found in smaller, scrappier, more innovative companies that are changing the game - and winning. Diverse companies like Harley-Davidson, Boston Beer, The Greatful Dead, and Harvard Business School lead the way. Unfortunately, monotonous repetition clouds an otherwise insightful concept better suited for a two-part magazine article. "Radical Marketing," Sam Hill and Glenn Rifkin, Harper Business, 1999. ^  Editor's note: On the 10-point radical marketer scale, where is Blane, Canada Ltd.? Pushing the limits.

~~~Take heart radical marketers ... It's the time of year for professional materials competitions. Having served as a judge many times over the years, we have noticed that some of the most creative, innovative ideas were pushed aside - out of the running - as judges were drawn to the color, style, and flash that interests the designer. Remember, these competitions are not about effectiveness, they are about attention. In our experience, the best ideas will seldom win an award.

~~~Pat on the back ... "I really appreciate receiving your Economic Development Marketing Letter. It gives me a national perspective and several thought provoking ideas every issue." R. Richards, IN

~~~Another futurist ... Reading the list of futurists (Marketing Letter 3/99) triggered the following response. "Rick Smyre is a nationally known futurist who is doing a significant amount of work in the economic development field.  He teaches at Year 1 at EDI and has been speaker at World Futures Society annual meeting. Contact him at RLSMYRE@AOL.COM or 704.864-9196 in Gastonia, NC." Source: S. Knox

~~~Resources ... American City Business Journal's web site presents a good cross section of 39 key 2nd and 3rd tier city newspapers. http://www.amcity.com/dailyedition.html   Reference: E. Crow, IL

~~~Any given day … "The first throw goes up in a nice arc. Suddenly, your brain realizes that the hand that is going to make the catch...is already occupied! Panic!! A neutral alarm flashed down to your occupied hand: Collision emergency! Get rid of that other bag. Throw it anywhere, but CLEAR THAT LANDING SPACE!" Substitute committee or project for bag, and it is easy see why our days are so chaotic, and the end result is not always pretty. Hence, the value of a plan. Remember, a simple plan is better than no plan at all. Quote: "Juggling For The Complete Klutz," 3rd Edition, Klutz Press, 1989.

~~~In the specs … Last month, two communities who contract with economic development partners for business retention services specified the use of the Synchronist Business Information System^®. Are you getting what you are paying for in business retention? Contact us at 630.462.9222 or ecanada@ix.netcom.com

~~~Subtle but significant shift … Blane, Canada Ltd.'s work continues to evolve, making a transition from straight research consulting to also being management consultants to development professionals and their organizations. An increasing amount of our work is from inside the organization.

~~~The question is ... "When you are 80 and look back on your life, what will you regret not doing? Why not do it NOW?" Regret-minimalization, as described by Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com, is about deciding what is really important to you and making sure it is covered, i.e. no regrets.