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"Economic Development Marketing Letter"
A Blane, Canada Ltd. Publication
Nationally Recognized Experts On Economic Development Marketing and Retention
http://www.blanecanada.com
http://www.synchronist.com
February 2005, Volume: 8, Issue: e/2, ISBN 1527-5175
~~~We took a giant step... in 1998 when we embarked on the creation of an existing business survey tool. The computer-based weighted survey evolved through input by users, making it more relevant to daily demands. The product was taken from a desktop version to e-Synchronist; from a single ED operation investment to increased numbers of users; from general business information to critical analysis; from a small project to an operation on a secured server back-up system. In the past year we analyzed the responses of nearly 6,000 completed surveys. In addition to everything expected from the system, the comparative results brought a number of surprises. For those economic development interests scattered throughout the U.S. and Canada, suddenly the Synchronist had added value. Because of the number of users, we can now compare patterns and trends in various geographic regions, giving economic development professionals new data for immediate usefulness. NOTE: The data reflects the economies of those 6,000 surveyed and does not represent an average.
~~~Sign up for Blane, Canada Ltd.'s forthcoming seminars... "The Physics of Marketing: An Uncommon Combination of Marketing and Sales for the Serious Economic Development Professional!" and "Advanced Business Retention: Beyond the Basics" will be offered in Chicago in April. Go to this link for more details. Physics of Marketing OR Advanced Business Retention
~~~Sign up for Blane, Canada Ltd.'s forthcoming seminars... "The Physics of Marketing: An Uncommon Combination of Marketing and Sales for the Serious Economic Development Professional!" and "Advanced Business Retention: Beyond the Basics" will be offered in Chicago in April. Go to this link for more details.
~~~We're proud to announce... the 'Economic Development Journal of Canada' has included our newest article, "Workforce Health: Emerging Challenges Face Workforce" in its recent issue. This article was derived from the survey responses mentioned above. www.ecdevjournal.com/pubs/2004/art05_04
~~~Economic Development Master's Degree... available at a desktop near you. The University of Southern Mississippi's Economic Development Master's Degree Program is a distance learning program providing economic development professionals an advanced professional credential. Eric Canada is on the faculty, having developed and is delivering the advanced marketing curriculum.
~~~Speaking of distance learning... we have been experimenting with distance learning to deliver Synchronist software training to users. Our new series of small group training webinars have great reviews from the 169+ participants since December. The sessions have been excellent. The four one-hour sessions include Desktop and Internet Basics, Reporting 1 and 2, plus Administrative Utilities. These webinars are available free to any Synchronist User or their staff. If you are a Synchronist User and would like to participate, shoot an e-mail to Andrew Laidlaw for details. alaidlaw@blanecanada.com
~~~Think quick... Hurricanes = Florida = Jacksonville? Yes is the easy answer but the WRONG answer. The center piece of a "special report" on the waning days of 2004's hurricane season shows a coastal map of the eastern and southern United States. The visual markers show the point of landfall of every category 3 + hurricane since 1904. The graphic makes absolutely clear that Jacksonville, FL sits at the center of the only expanse of SE coast untouched by a landfall hurricane in the last 100 years. Excellent research tackling an important perception combined with a strong visual equals impact! As we have written before, the best way to deal with a negative is head on. Two thumbs up for Jerry Mallott & Co., Jacksonville Cornerstone Regional Development Alliance.
~~~Orienteering... is defined as a cross-country race in which each participant uses a map and compass to navigate between checkpoints along an unfamiliar course. Designed exclusively for community economic development leaders, "Leadership Orienteering" brings together leadership's role, economic development trends, and best practices - the information leaders need to be better decision makers. Prepare your community leaders! Call for details on Blane, Canada Ltd.'s new "Leadership Orienteering(TM)." Call Eric at 630.462.9222
~~~Googlization of research"... "There's a growing mentality, particularly among the younger generation, that if it doesn't come up in an Internet search engine then it doesn't exist." Part of the training of new economic developers should incorporate an understanding of various data sources. Source: "Intelligent Enterprise", Feb. 2005.
~~~Amarillo Paradox... received lots of attention in our last newsletter. However, the actual paradox was developed by professor Jerry Harvey regarding Abilene, TX. It is a training program for improved communications, team-building, decision-making and problem-solving, available in," Abilene Paradox Book." Check it out: www.rctm.com/Products/teams/7800
~~~Great marketing and sales instincts... come from experience, successes as well as failures (setbacks). Improving your instincts is a matter of getting out and mixing it up with prospective clients and then evaluating the results, good or not so good. People with dirty hands have great instincts. Get your hands dirty.
~~~TWebTrends' SmartSource analytics technology... allows you to track how quickly people find what they need on your web site. The technology supports a change in site content in order to speed the search. Source: Intelligent, Feb. 2005
~~~"CEO Challenge 2004: Perspectives and Analysis"... is a Conference Board report which presents some meaty issues. The CEO Challenge 2004 covers interviews with 11 CEOs from multinational companies, representing diverse industries, about the headlines that dominated the year’s business press. Source: Report R-1353-04-RR, written by Esther V. Rudis, Nov. 2004. www.conference-board.com/publications
~~~Iosco County, MI... sets a standard for any Synchronist user. Last year and this year the Iosco County Extension will have completed 54 existing business interviews. That's on a base population of about 30,000! Bill Carpenter, the Extension Director, says it has been a good community effort. Go Iosco!
~~~Go, Georgia Tech... Among the diverse courses Georgia Tech offers, "Multicultural Facets of Economic Development" is scheduled March 8-9, 2005. Why? According to Georgia Tech: ..Asian and Hispanic populations will nearly double in all states between 1995 and 2025 ..All racial and ethnic minority groups will increase faster than non-Hispanic Whites ..Asian and Hispanic are the fastest growing groups ..Immigrants come to the US seeking better paying jobs and business opportunities ..Immigrants come from cultures that are steeped in a high work ethic and place a high importance in their children’s education Follow up: www.pe.gatech.edu
~~~Faced with a marketing decision?... Look where you have the greatest opportunity to influence.
~~~Devilishly clever technique... Want someone to pay attention to your e-mail message? Recall it. That's right. Sure, it's impossible to recall an e-mail. Once it's gone, it's gone. But, by following an e-mail with a second e-mail in short succession, titled "Recall - April Message," triggers human curiosity. So what do we do? Look up April Message to see if we can find the error. It's kind of like yelling fire. It will work once. So Joe, did you really mean to recall that e-mail or were you just vying for my undivided attention? Well done. Joe Russo, Niagara Mohawk, NY
~~~"1to1 magazine, Maximizing Value Through Customer Relationships"... states that "more than 60% of senior-level executives devote more resources to customer retention, rather than acquisition," the opposite of the survey results one year earlier. "Over 70% of the Fortune 1000 are distinguishing customers by value and allocating marketing budgets based on that unique value." What can economic developers learn from this? Source: October 2004, "Less Talk, More Action" by John Gaffney and Christopher Helm
~~~Useful site... The U.S. Dept. of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis offers helpful data (state, national, international and by industry.) www.bea.doc.gov
~~~Florida contact... "Your's is the most informative, useful and concise resource tool for an ED practitioner that I read." (Blane, Canada Ltd.'s Marketing Newsletter) Make sure your co-workers and peers receive it. Copy and forward the newsletter, or send us names and e-mails before the next issue goes out! Quote: FL
~~~CALED does it again... The California Association for Local Economic Development offers unique programs to its membership. The recent brochure announcing their March conference includes a series on industry clusters: the business of security, renewable energy, stem cell research, medical equipment, and wineries. Several clever workshop titles are "Federal Resources - What's New; What's Left", "Small Budgets, Small Staff - Big Expectations", and "Growing Manufacturing". And to top off an interesting program, they've added sea kayaking lessons during leisure time. www.caled.org
~~~We're over whelmed with the amount of mail sent to us... Don't misunderstand. We learn from every piece that comes in. If we receive 25 to 50 pieces monthly, how much attention does each individual communication get? Same for competing in the site selection market. "Target" companies of similar sectors must be pummeled! Consider what the competition is doing when you create and send any marketing piece. For your information, here's a breakdown of what has accumulated the past month: 10 Magazines 16 Newsletters, monthly & quarterly 3 Industry-specific brochures 3 Postcards of various sizes 2 Gifts: $2 and theatre tickets
In response to this overwhelming number of marketing materials filling up our mail box, we have decided to review and give you our assessment.
• Avoid using multimedia. Anything that requires too much time and effort to review will be scrapped automatically. They may seem to be fancy and sophisticated, but ultimately they will cost too much time and money. There's also the newer concern about infected CDs. • Avoid novelty gifts. They have a short shelf life and draw too much attention away from the intended message. The item might be remembered but not the sender.
• Avoid the overly clichéd attention/interest grabbers. For instance, golf and quality of life. You can golf almost anywhere. • Avoid being too brief or too long. • Focus on what matters. Labor pool, transportation, proximity, employment base, infrastructure, distribution, raw materials, warehousing, industrial/tech parks, and business climate. • Use photos. Aerial shots of industrial parks and available buildings/land.
What we recommend….KNOW your audience! Who is the intended audience? What will grab the attention of said audience? If you know your audience you can more efficiently and effectively market your service or community, both monetarily and informationally.
~~~Surreal experience... It happens with ever greater frequency, yet it is very difficult to get used to. It happened twice while in St. Louis at the IEDC conference. Two individuals in different settings quoted our ED Marketing Letter to support their points. We also get e-mail notes from readers about how they leveraged info from the newsletter to win a board decision and still others who wish they had taken advice shared in ED Marketing Letter. However you use it, THANK YOU for being a loyal reader and recommending Blane, Canada Ltd.'s ED Marketing Letter to others.
Blane, Canada Ltd. 1506 Cadet, Suite 100 Wheaton, IL 60187-7380 ph 630.462.9222 fax 630.462.9210
info@blanecanada.com
