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

~~~Invited by IEDC... "Results and Outcomes" findings from a North American study of business retention programs will be presented at IEDC's (International Economic Development Council) annual meeting in Oakland CA (Sept. 22-25). Findings clearly show how expectations have led to great short-term results without delivering long-term value to organizations. Hence, chronic under funding, weak identification, and low ROI shows up as latent frustration among professionals. Learn about R&E's "value drivers" and how they can be built into your business retention process. The "Results and Outcomes: research team led by Eric Canada and Nancy Blane includes: Marie-Christine Pence, Cinergy,  IN; Brett Vassey, Virginia Dept. of Business Assistance; and Joe Reagan, Greater Louisville Inc., KY.

~~~"I know... you think you understand what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you understand what you heard is not what I meant."  Mis-communications can invalidate even the most carefully planned marketing initiative. Beware of the "implied" message. Source: "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: Implied Messages in Economic Development." Keynote address by Eric Canada,  Iowa Utilities' SMART Conference. Quote: Em Griffin, PhD, Communications, Wheaton College.

~~~"The key... to good listening... become comfortable with silence." Source: Brian Tracy, Sales Trainer.

~~~While it may seem obvious... it doesn't look that way on the monitor if your e-mail newsletter doesn't give explicit instructions for unsubscribing. We have mentioned e-mail fatigue before. It's real. So, the last thing you want your marketing to do is irritate, unless you are actively engaged in annoying, ring-around-the-collar marketing, e.g. the Aflack (quack, quack) TV commercial. Hence, it is important to give contacts permission to opt out - unsubscribe instructions.

~~~Highlighter test... Take your sales/promotion brochures or letters and highlight every feature mentioned in one color. Then, highlight in another color every benefit the customer obtains. Features will undoubtedly out number benefits. A low benefit/feature ratio carries little weight. Push for parity. Concentrate on turning features into benefits. This will require a deeper knowledge/understanding of prospective clients. Source: Aubrey Wilson's Marketing Audit Check Lists

~~~"It is better... to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong than to be always right by having no ideas at all." Source: Edward DeBono, "New Think"

~~~"On average... 5 times as many people read the headline as the body copy of an ad." Are your headlines (ads, brochures, materials, letters) working for you or taking up expensive space? Quote: Susan Lee, http://www.marketinglink.com

~~~Give yourself... the title to do the job. "Economic Development Project Manager" just doesn't cut it if you are writing letters to sell your community. Adopt a "working title" that communicates your expertise as a site selection advisor. Organizational titles are great for relating to others in the organization or expressing your station in the community. But, on the street your title must build credibility. Note: Avoid the obvious titles, e.g. CEO, president. Be inventive. It's about YOUR positioning.

~~~You don't have to be brilliant... to change the marketplace. First, understand the market. Then, become a visionary around that understanding.

~~~PowerPoint tip... Assemble a custom PowerPoint show quickly from multiple presentation files. 1) Open a blank file. 2) Click the Insert menu. 3) Select the Slides From Files option. 4) Click Browse to select a file (prior presentation) with a slide or slides you'd like to include in the new presentation. 5) Scroll through the slides shown in the preview window. 6) Click on each slide you want copied to the new presentation. 7) Then, click Insert. All selected slides will be instantly copied into the new presentation. 8) Coordinate titles and appearance. Source: Don Blohowiak (Don@LeadWell.com), via SpeakerNet News, http://www.speakernetnews.com

This very cool feature allows quick "Knock-Offs." However, we know YOU will use this new "skill" carefully and avoid subjecting another unsuspecting audience to yet one more bad PowerPoint presentation.

~~~Positive association... The most important thing when marketing to consultants is to help them associate your name with the community or region you serve. If something comes up, they will know who to call. Materials and mementos are trashed. Think personal contact.  Kate McEnroe 9/26/01, Virginia Econ. Dev. Assn. speaker

~~~The "culture of marketing"... in economic development can be reflected in organizations seeking to foster such a corporate culture.  Ron Kitchens of Corpus Christi, TX comments that it is easy to slip into an "administrative culture" or the "white knight culture" or a "home run culture". "It appears to me from your agenda this boot camp goes a long way to quantifying the culture of marketing." Blane, Canada Inc.'s "Marketer's Boot Camp", June 10-12, Chicago. Check out "Boot Camp" on the first page of our web site: http://www.blanecanada.com

~~~Congrats, Teri... "Thought you would like to know about our recent award - by implementing your recommendations about information-based marketing, the PA Economic Development Association has selected us as innovators, resulting in the Economic Development Partner of the Year Award.  What a joy to receive kudos from one's peers!" How can Blane, Canada Ltd. help you achieve your marketing goals? ecanada@blanecanada.com  Awardee: Teri MacBride, PA

~~~Responding to workforce issues... "We conducted a very comprehensive Skill's Gap survey of 40+ businesses in metal fab, plastics and wood processing. The instrument covered current employment levels, projected growth, wages, benefits, skill requirements for new and incumbent workers. The instrument can be tailored to most industry sectors. Findings helped bring training resources from the state training systems to assist with dedicated training offerings to our manufacturing community.  I would be happy to share the details our efforts and the instrument with all those interested with workforce development projects. Mark Mochel, Yakima County, WA mmochel@ycda.com

~~~Excellent... Inside Florida's High Tech Corridor, March 2002, "Workforce Questions Answered Through Regional Study". "The most comprehensive study of companies along Florida's High Tech Corridor is now available online for job seekers, employers and workforce professionals. More than 47,000 of the region's employers were asked to participate, with one in three completing the survey. The free survey results are available online including facts such as the region's top paying occupations and fast growing industries along with detailed wage and industry information on a variety of industries." Visit http://www.usworks.com/floridahightech

~~~Developing a plan of action... That's the feedback received from a Synchronist user. Knowing that 88% of companies interviewed plan to add new products or services has brought about the formation of a Business Retention Team, comprised of the city manager, county clerk, chamber president and VP of Business Retention. Additionally, the city hired a business ombudsman, as a direct result of the feedback, to coordinate all permitting to cut red tape. ED manager scheduled 3 corporate headquarter trips this summer based on the Synchronist scores.  Biggest benefit: "Synchronist allows us to have quantifiable information to justify our business retention efforts." http://www.blanecanada.com/frameset_Synchronist.html

~~~ Keeping up with WA feedback... We said: "Yet, making the numbers often means neglecting other measures of overall health and performance. What are the strategic implications of focusing only on the numbers? " Dave McFadden in Yakima, WA wrote: "This sounds great, but most ED funders need ROI which is based on numbers.  If there are other factors (ex. community preparation variables, etc.), you might want to educate your readers as to what those are...without more specifics, many of us may not have the ammunition to educate our Boards.

Editors: Great point, David. Our shorthand style requires readers to reflect on their own experience which in cases may not be adequate. To your point, the reference - as you correctly devised - is to the softer, often understated criteria that is placed on the organization/ED professional. For example, we can be asked to put a special emphasis on: an underdeveloped area of the county, a certain wage rate, addressing a new target which requires significant product improvement effort (e.g. technology). Criteria of this type is placed on the professional as almost an afterthought. It stands in the criteria (goals) but often is not reflected in the evaluation procedure because it is hard to evaluate. Our point, if not recognized openly: the pressure to chase the numbers makes it nearly impossible to pursue a higher strategic agenda.

~~~Foot in the... door. How do you increase the number of appointments to conduct existing business/retention surveys? Many people ask. What is your strategy? nblane@blanecanada.com

~~~TWR... Torto Wheaton Research provides commercial real estate forecasting, analysis and consulting with a full range of research products as well as strategic consulting for five property types:  office, industrial, hotel, retail and multi-housing sectors covering 53 metropolitan areas nationwide. Another source for comparing competing markets? http://www.tortowheatonresearch.com

~~~We dropped an "s"... The correct address in the April 2002 newsletter should read: http://www.bizmanuals.com/link/businesstradeshows.html

~~~CALENDAR... We created a calendar this year, providing a schedule of various economic development conferences. It is not intended to be comprehensive, just simply to highlight the broad range of offerings. We have added new programs, dates, location and a contact number or e-mail. The list now includes the Basic Economic Development Courses (BEDC) and the Economic Development Institute (EDI) dates. http://www.blanecanada.com/Newsletters/NL_2002/NL_2002_Events.html