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"Economic Development Marketing Letter"
A Blane, Canada Ltd. Publication
Nationally Recognized Experts On Economic Development Marketing and Retention
July 2001, Volume 4, Issue e/7, ISBN 1527-5175
~~~The
Number One Principle... There are three principle reasons why CRM (customer
relationship management) efforts are just as important to a business - perhaps
even more important - in a down economy than they are in a booming economy.
Number one on the list: “Managing customer relationships represents a ‘cheap
growth’ option for any firm. It
can improve business results in a more direct way, with more efficiency and less
waste, even to the point of reducing it’s short-term marketing and operating
costs.” Is your existing business program up to snuff? Source: “CRM in a
Down Economy.” A Peppers and Rogers Group White Paper, January 26, 2001 4
Fatal Errors... Fatal Errors of Web Writing. 1.) Don’t shovel print online. 2.) Don’t write like a bureaucrat. 3.) Don’t leave visitors wondering where they are. 4.) Don’t bury the lead. http://wwwrd.0mm.com/INC477009 Source: inc.com Connection Newsletter, 6/28/01 ~~~Who’s doing your R&D?... If you were a Synchronist user, a few of the new features you would have benefited from in the last six months include: feature to hide company names on any preformatted report, company ratings (value, growth potential, risk, satisfaction) now by peer group, custom business directory report, parent company report, assistance tracking report, contact information export feature, a new 35-page interviewer’s guide for training staff and volunteers, plus dozens more. Total cost to users: $0. Thanks to Rachel Greenwood of Peoria, IL, Wes Larson of Putnam County, FL, Deb Calvert of Des Moines, IA, Ed Sitar in Chicago, IL, and Daryl Snyder in Louisville, KY for their suggestions. Combined with Blane, Canada Ltd.’s on-going research, R&D is an invaluable benefit to Synchronist users. Getting stronger every day. Is yours? http://www.blanecanada.com/frameset_synchronist.html ~~~TAX
ABATEMENT... comments regarding our question of how to get local elected
officials to understand that incentives are sometimes necessary to win the
prospect. Monty Evans from the
Oklahoma City Chamber states, “Nothing beats a thoughtful economic impact
analysis of a project to get local elected officials’ attention. Primary and
secondary jobs & wages generated and the increased demand this creates can
be significant. This information can be compared to the cost of the incentives
for a cost-benefit analysis to justify offering incentives, (IF the benefits
outweigh the costs).” Gina Sheets at the Clinton County Chamber (IN) shares that the best way is to show them the bottom line. In Indiana with businesses paying real estate/property tax and inventory/personal property tax, it is very important to use tax incentives to close the deal. In Indiana the value of the ground is never abated. Most ground starts out as farm ground and goes to industrial valued ground, representing an automatic gain in tax dollars that cannot be abated. The local taxing entities automatically receive more in property taxes by having a business locate in their district. Gina says to show local officials that everyone wins when industry locates in your community. Sue Walker, Director of Marketing with the Temple (TX) Economic Development Corp. comments that incentives are not the only consideration in industry recruitment, but in many instances they are a necessary part of what will be a community’s differentiating attribute? Look at the competition. Where are projects going and what role do incentives play in those successes? At Temple (TX) Economic Development, they evaluate payroll, overall capital investment, impact and number of jobs created (high value jobs). They have determined that “investment” made as a community by foregoing a few years of new taxes for the future gain is worth it. A policy has been created whereby both the city and the economic development organization can offer incentives on a case-by-case basis. Sue feels that if a community refuses to offer some type of incentive package, one that makes economic sense, then they will most likely be the loser. It’s a competitive world out there...understand what is at stake, what you stand to gain (or lose) and then craft a policy that addresses the concerns of your elected officials. Most just don’t understand tax abatements. Officials often think by offering abatements, you are “giving up” tax dollars - when just the opposite is true. Incentives play a role in today’s competitive market, and by learning what incentive policies other cities and ED organizations are successfully implementing, officials can understand how to use them to the community’s best advantage. FYI - Sue was formerly director of national business development in Austin, TX. Joe Newman of Bastrop EDC in Bastrop, TX wrote an article entitled, “Tax Phase-Ins Oftentimes Necessary for Economic Development” for local consumption. The semantics he uses of “phase-ins” is very important in educating the general public. Consider groups that historically have benefited from this concept: homestead exemptions (abatement), ag land tax exemptions (abatement), and tax freeze on people over 65 of age. Joe states that along with corporate investments, and related abatements, other benefits accrue such as parks and recreation facilities, lighted intersections, etc. One goal of an ED professional is to spread the tax burden by adding new companies. Without this, private property taxes would be extremely high. And then there is Dave Cox with the Davis County Growth Council, IN who has an ongoing educational approach. His directors take elected officials around the area to each of the companies having received a tax abatement. He uses this as a reminder of the numerous benefits flowing from a mutually rewarding decision. He also asks local bank presidents to attend each tax abatement hearing. They are not asked to say any thing. Their group presence is enough of a statement. Once the abatements under consideration are approved, they quietly leave the meeting. ~~~Special events... When planning one, be sure to build in the responsibility of follow-up. Call to re-confirm the invitation and obtain an RSVP. Will your program change based on attendance numbers, titles of attendees, and their interests vs. your goals? We find the most effective special events are often managed by a PR firm which also generates the appropriate PR after the event. ~~~PDF... Ted Werth of Oregon’s commerce department wrote that they use a web-based search engine for Oregon’s highlighted industrial sites. All materials are printed in PDF format. It works very well for quickly sending printed materials via e-mail, especially true for international requests. They have also moved to a process of using Microsoft Publisher for almost all printed materials. ~~~NC’s loss... 27,500 jobs in 2000 partially reflects an increasing pattern to substitute US lower paying jobs with jobs overseas. Matsushita closed a plant in March 2001, putting another 530 employees out of work. Air-conditioning compressors will be made in China and Malaysia. Employees of textiles, furniture and apparel cannot move to high tech jobs. Our Synchronist software is being purchased by some workforce development boards to track just this type of info and work in partnerships to re-train on a more aggressive level. ~~~Fund raising... If you opt to hire a professional, rather than managing it through volunteers, ask for copies of budgets used elsewhere to understand the total costs. Ask what the add-on is to cover professional fees AND expenses. ~~~Synchronist Business Information System ®... We’ve heard of two people who referred to our business retention/existing business software to differentiate themselves from other candidates being interviewed for a job!! And now we find users displaying it on their web sites, proudly touting the service. Take a look at: http://www.midamericanenergy.com/html/econdev10.shtml Council Bluffs, IA went a step further with the following PR: http://www.councilbluffsiowa.com/media_center_PR.asp?id=32 ~~~Research... Melissa Morgan with the Greater Paducah EDC recommends http://www.tradeshowresearch.com as a good source for background info. ~~~Custom research costs... Nancy Taylor in SC recommends Dow Jones, Dialog, and LexisNexis. Good information is a commodity that doesn’t come free. She’s a member of Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP). Their have a site under www.aiip. ~~~”All you have... in life is your reputation: you may be rich, but if you lose your good name, then you’ll never be happy.” “Losing My Virginity,” Richard Branson, Times Business, 1998.
Blane, Canada Ltd.
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