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"Economic Development Marketing Letter"
A Blane, Canada Ltd. Publication
Nationally Recognized Experts On Economic Development Marketing and Retention
~~~"The Physics of Marketing"... For the more experienced economic developer, our next course will be offered Dec. 1-4 near O'Hare Airport. Intended to be provocative. Created to challenge your thinking. Stretch your mind. Sign up. http://www.blanecanada.com/BCL_Course.html ~~~Average... the best of the worst and the worst of the best. Interpret carefully. ~~~We offer... much more than you see in this newsletter. Go to our web site to check it all out. We provide numerous FREE items of interest to the economic development professional. 1. Past issues of this e-newsletter covering the past 4.5 years, as well as a key word search for you to peruse issues and quickly investigate specific topics. There's also a Calendar of Events for the profession. 2. Articles (free) and books are also noted. Scroll down the left column of that page to obtain pivotal articles for the serious professional. 3. Our business retention software, Synchronist, is described in great detail, including some samples of the reports generated. 4. We would be foolish not to include examples of our consulting services, lists of clients, and related materials. http://www.blanecanada.com ~~~"Never forget... that others, very smart and motivated competitors, are studying you and doing their utmost to surpass you in the marketing arena." Guerilla Marketing, 7/25/01, http://www.gmarketing.com ~~~OK... You're feeling discouraged because previously available funds are frozen. Don't feel sorry for yourself. Act! Do as much communication as possible on the Internet. Don't worry about promotional gimmicks. Focus on recent research that supports your goal to attract or retain businesses. Incorporate testimonials. Inform your audience and keep a presence in the market. ~~~Muscle fatigue... Returning to the biking analogy we've used before, the common biker will use their thigh muscle to do the vast majority of their work. Gaining experience, a biker will work to engage the calf, quadriceps, arms, etc. The net result is less fatigue and better results - endurance, power, acceleration, and speed. Thinking marketing, the same holds true. When one marketing tactic does all the work, effectiveness suffers. Marketing mix (use of a variety of marketing tactics) is as important to the marketer as the biker. ~~~Quality of life... is seldom the driver in the site selection process, according to Jack Brophy, site selection consultant who spoke at Blane, Canada Ltd.'s last marketing seminar. He also stated that he will many times conduct site selection via helicopter, never touching ground. What do these statements mean to your current promotion strategy? ~~~At the same seminar... Dan Miller, business editor of the Chicago Sun Times, said "Develop a knowledge base." Basic web sites should be reviewed regarding local and prospective companies or their competition: http://www.finance.yahoo.com for company, industry, stock price, dividends, and personnel; http://www.hoovers.com for competitors, company personnel, and top executives; http://www.thestreet.com for savvy, sophisticated trends, product developments, and political impact. ~~~Mass layoffs and plant closings... are very important to site selectors. Data on this workforce is seldom available during the site selection process. Drew Conrad, an excellent source on occupational data, says occupations, skills used in the work place, unused skills (level of unemployment), wage/benefit levels, where they live, desired future occupations, etc. are important but seldom gathered together. The community experiencing the closing or down sizing only has a brief period to effectively use this info before the unemployed move elsewhere. Work with other allies in the region to gather the data and use it to your benefit ASAP. Source: Drew Conrad, University of Northern Iowa ~~~"Thinking... is a momentary dismissal of irrelevancies." Source: R. Buckminster Fuller
~~~"Business retention... was almost dead here till you (Blane, Canada Ltd.) threw a rock* in the pond. You are exactly right. We had tweaked the process to death and were getting no where. It is time to focus on results. Great Solution. Great Work." Source: OH ~~~A McKinsey report states... "more than 50 percent of visitors to a site never get past the home page". Based on this reality, how does your home page stack up? Quote: "Marketing Lessons from E-Failures", www.inc.com CONNECTION NEWSLETTER, 1/8/02 ~~~Technology-led economic development... continues to be all the rage. Every community wants tech companies. Rural communities see tech-led as the crack in the door giving them a chance to finally compete for jobs that usually go to metropolitan areas. Is tech-led development a real strategy or an ephemeral trend like the Internet tech bubble? Share your thoughts. nblane@blanecanada.com ~~~Looking... for grants to supplement your budget? (Do we hear everyone saying "yes!!!") Nancy Stark of the NCSC recommends that not-for-profits looking for tech funding check out the following sites: www.techfoundation.org ; www.technologygrantnews.com ; www.techsoup.org ; www.compumentor.org ~~~"If you don't see much meaning in what you do, you won't bring much value to what you do." Source: unknown ~~~You are a product... of the opportunities that come your way and the challenges you seek out. Are you improving the product "you"? ~~~Wall Street Source is the largest Web-based news and information company serving the financial services industry. It offers 200 databases through its proprietary news feed. Source: Larry Chase's Web Digest For Marketers, Oct. 2001, larrychase@newsletter.wdfm.com ~~~The Marketing & Sales survey... mentioned over recent months is being tabulated and completed. One person's feedback was particularly gratifying: “Just doing the survey made me aware of additional weaknesses in our marketing plan.” Watch for the highlights in a future newsletter issue. P.S. If you completed the survey, you will get the detailed analysis to help you with your planning/budgeting.
~~~Mindset... Each year the staff at Beloit College (WI) prepares a list to give the faculty a sense of the mindset of this year's incoming freshmen from across the country. The people starting college this fall were born in 1984. One of the List's creator's states: “It is an alert for those of us who may be suffering from hardening of the references.”
- The U.S. presidents have all be Southerners. - They were born into a world with AIDS and without apartheid. - The evil empire is not earth-bound, the drug “ecstacy” has always been available, and with the breakup of AT&T, nobody has been able to comprehend a phone bill. - The evil empire is not earth-bound, the drug “ecstacy” has always been available. - Cars have always had eye-level rear stop lights, CD players, and air bags. - “Big Brother” is merely a television show. - Telephone bills have always been totally incomprehensible. - Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, and Tom Brokaw have always anchored the evening news. - The US and the Soviets have always been partners in space. - Ozzy's lifestyle has nothing to do with the Nelson family. - Perrier has always come in flavors. - Women have always been members of the Jaycees. - Scientists have always recognized the impact of acid rain. - Technology analysts questioned the need for briefcase-sized computers. - Film critics declared that George Lucas was looking for new directions because “Star Wars” interest was waning. - Analysts stated there was no market for Direct Broadcast Satellite system. - Thoughtful individuals were suggesting that there was no market for briefcase-sized computers and that George Lucas needed to get a life since interest in Star Wars was clearly on the wane. ~~~While you are out... making executive calls (business retention), who is working to make sure the tools and methods you use are absolutely the best? Unless you're a Synchronist user, probably no one. One giant benefit of joining the growing Synchronist software user is on-going research and development. A new feature now enjoyed by users is “assistance tracking”. Track who, what, when, where, etc. and prepare detailed reports at the click of a button. Our point? Do what you do best, executive calls. We will take care of the R&D to keep you ahead of the competition. http://www.blanecanada.com/frameset_synchronist.html
Blane, Canada Ltd.
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