Businesses are starting to become more and more optimistic about an economic recovery coming sooner than later. Good news for communities that have been struggling over the past year but do you know how to read the signs of recovery in your community? Here are a few examples of successful businesses, pockets of consumer spending and rebounds to look for in your community.
Personal Services – Over the past year and a half businesses offering personal services (i.e. salons, spas, massage) have been experiencing a drop in demand. Recently, more and more of these businesses are expressing an increased demand and are seeing consumers no longer holding out on paying for these services. Can you easily walk into a salon in your community and get an appointment immediately or do you have to book in advance?
Increased Automobile Sales – Certainly financial incentives and low or zero payment plans are playing a role in consumers purchasing cars. But look around your community and see how many new vehicles are on the road, how many have temporary paper plates or demo plates?
Temporary Agencies – Local temp agencies are starting to report an increase in demand for their workers. As local businesses start to see an increase in demand for their product or services, one of the first places many will go to is the temp agencies to start to fill the vacancies. Talk to your local agencies to see what they are experiencing.
Business Expansion – Are any businesses expanding in your community? Many communities are seeing an expansion of their local businesses, particularly the ones who had planned it over a year ago are now starting to go ahead with their original expansion plans.
Consumer Spending – Are your local consumers confident enough to spend their discretionary income on products considered non-essential or luxury? The sale of 1 million iPhones 3Gs within three days of its launch in the US was clearly one sign of recovery.
Advertising – The way businesses spend their advertising and marketing dollars have changed over the past number of years and businesses have cut marketing budgets. Recently, businesses are starting to investment again in marketing and advertising. Online, low-cost advertising investments are booming. What's happening with your local businesses?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Economic Development and the Media
Today the word media has expanded to more than the traditional means of print, television and radio. It encompasses much more since the proliferation of the internet and the explosion of social media. Though the methods of media communication has expanded there are still some very basic rules of engagement.
It is worth asking how economic development professionals can best prepare themselves to communicate in the most effective manner possible. Even with these ever expanding avenues of media, it is still the good, old-fashioned methods that work best.
Prepare – This point cannot be overstated. It is at the core of successful media communication. Know what your message is and how you will convey it. This means more than just memorizing the message, it means internalizing it. Read related publications, know who else is involved, brush up on the media with whom you expect to connect. It is important to set aside time before connecting with the media to put your “game face” on. This applies whether it’s a traditional press conference, video or podcast.
Be in charge – When the time comes for the media interview you are the one who should be in the director’s chair. You must be truthful under all circumstances but be the one who leads the interview and take charge of your story. The media is there to hear from you and expects you to follow your agenda even if they may challenge it. The interview is not an interrogation nor are you on the witness stand so take charge and answer honestly.
Be concise –Pick a limited number of points to emphasis, i.e. three key messages. The media needs things quickly and precisely. By preparing well this should not be an issue. You are not writing a book, you are conveying a message that should be short and to the point. This is true for face-to-face interviews, blogging and tweeting (there’s a reason there’s only 140 characters).
Create a picture – Use powerful word images. Develop sound bites. Use well-crafted metaphors and similes. Be interesting. Most media will not have the same level of understanding or expertise that you have developed so try to relate what you are doing to the broader audience so they can relate.
Smile and engage –Just like most everything else the physical demeanor can tell a story in itself. It says whether you are passionate about your subject and whether you believe in your message. Be expressive, lean into the conversation and a smile can be detected even in a sound bite.
Develop the relationship – The use of media is not a one time event. Develop an ongoing relationship with media in your community and farther afield. Make sure the relationship is not one-sided. A supportive media can go a long way to ensuring economic development success.
It is worth asking how economic development professionals can best prepare themselves to communicate in the most effective manner possible. Even with these ever expanding avenues of media, it is still the good, old-fashioned methods that work best.
Prepare – This point cannot be overstated. It is at the core of successful media communication. Know what your message is and how you will convey it. This means more than just memorizing the message, it means internalizing it. Read related publications, know who else is involved, brush up on the media with whom you expect to connect. It is important to set aside time before connecting with the media to put your “game face” on. This applies whether it’s a traditional press conference, video or podcast.
Be in charge – When the time comes for the media interview you are the one who should be in the director’s chair. You must be truthful under all circumstances but be the one who leads the interview and take charge of your story. The media is there to hear from you and expects you to follow your agenda even if they may challenge it. The interview is not an interrogation nor are you on the witness stand so take charge and answer honestly.
Be concise –Pick a limited number of points to emphasis, i.e. three key messages. The media needs things quickly and precisely. By preparing well this should not be an issue. You are not writing a book, you are conveying a message that should be short and to the point. This is true for face-to-face interviews, blogging and tweeting (there’s a reason there’s only 140 characters).
Create a picture – Use powerful word images. Develop sound bites. Use well-crafted metaphors and similes. Be interesting. Most media will not have the same level of understanding or expertise that you have developed so try to relate what you are doing to the broader audience so they can relate.
Smile and engage –Just like most everything else the physical demeanor can tell a story in itself. It says whether you are passionate about your subject and whether you believe in your message. Be expressive, lean into the conversation and a smile can be detected even in a sound bite.
Develop the relationship – The use of media is not a one time event. Develop an ongoing relationship with media in your community and farther afield. Make sure the relationship is not one-sided. A supportive media can go a long way to ensuring economic development success.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Can Twitter Work for Economic Development?
I’m hearing from a lot of economic development organizations who want to get involved with social media. Some are interested in Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc., but almost everyone I hear from is interested in Twitter. Although most are not sure if Twitter will work for econoimc development or what it is they should be tweeting about.
One of the first things you should do is develop a separate social media strategy so that you understand what it is you want and the specific policies surrounding it. Once that’s done, here are some ideas on what to tweet about.
Share what’s going on – I’m not saying you need to share every little thing that goes on in your organization but share the important things. For instance, your community has recently won an award or your organization played a key role in a business expansion or relocation.
Communicate your Vision or Mission – What is your community striving for and how are you, as economic development, doing things to help realize that vision?
Talk about trends – Many organizations are using Twitter to not only talk about themselves but to discuss trends in their industry. This can be true for economic development organizations. Discuss best practices in the industry or talk about trends you are seeing locally, nationally or internationally.
Recognize key players in your community – There are many ways you can share the things that are happening in your community. What company is thriving, what company is doing something unique, what individual is working towards making your community a better place to live?
Be receptive – Twitter is still evolving and your organization needs to be flexible to adapt to a changing environment. What starts out as sharing information about your community may evolve into something completely different. Be aware of who is following you and the type of response you are getting to help forecast your Twitter future.
Ask questions – Twitter can be an excellent resource for finding out information. Don’t be afraid to ask a question. For instance, perhaps your community is struggling with how to help local businesses, put the question out to see who is doing something that your community may be able to adopt.
One of the first things you should do is develop a separate social media strategy so that you understand what it is you want and the specific policies surrounding it. Once that’s done, here are some ideas on what to tweet about.
Share what’s going on – I’m not saying you need to share every little thing that goes on in your organization but share the important things. For instance, your community has recently won an award or your organization played a key role in a business expansion or relocation.
Communicate your Vision or Mission – What is your community striving for and how are you, as economic development, doing things to help realize that vision?
Talk about trends – Many organizations are using Twitter to not only talk about themselves but to discuss trends in their industry. This can be true for economic development organizations. Discuss best practices in the industry or talk about trends you are seeing locally, nationally or internationally.
Recognize key players in your community – There are many ways you can share the things that are happening in your community. What company is thriving, what company is doing something unique, what individual is working towards making your community a better place to live?
Be receptive – Twitter is still evolving and your organization needs to be flexible to adapt to a changing environment. What starts out as sharing information about your community may evolve into something completely different. Be aware of who is following you and the type of response you are getting to help forecast your Twitter future.
Ask questions – Twitter can be an excellent resource for finding out information. Don’t be afraid to ask a question. For instance, perhaps your community is struggling with how to help local businesses, put the question out to see who is doing something that your community may be able to adopt.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Economic Development and Social Media
The buzz about social media and how it can help business is all around us and now our industry is talking about how it can work for economic development organizations. Whether it can help or not is still too early to say. But one thing I know for sure is social media will never work for you if you’re not plugged in.
The first thing I suggest is to get involved and one of the easiest social media tools out there is Twitter. Before signing up with Twitter take a little time to decide what it is you want from social media. Just like having a strategy plan in place for your organization, have a social media strategy in place before heading in blind.
Here’s five easy steps get you started:
Signup for a Twitter account – Its free and all you need to do is go to their homepage and click the green button that says “Get Started” to create your account.
Select a good username using keywords or a brandable phrase – Your username is what people will use to communicate with you, so it's important to pick something related to your field to better brand you as an expert. You can use your real name, organization or you can use keywords to help you rank better in searches. It's a 15 character limit. Remember, you can change your username at any time after signing up.
Create your profile - Start to update your profile by adding a picture of yourself or organization’s logo and include some information about yourself /organization to your page. You can add the picture by going to the Settings section on Twitter.
Follow people with the same interests as you (including us http://twitter.com/ecdevcomdev. The more people you follow, the more will follow you back but be careful not to follow people just because you want followers. Understand what it is you want from the people you follow or who follow you. For example, EDCD Consulting wants to provide relevant economic development and business information to our followers.
Send out your first tweet - You can start just by saying hello. You won't have many followers yet. The key is getting started.
The first thing I suggest is to get involved and one of the easiest social media tools out there is Twitter. Before signing up with Twitter take a little time to decide what it is you want from social media. Just like having a strategy plan in place for your organization, have a social media strategy in place before heading in blind.
Here’s five easy steps get you started:
Signup for a Twitter account – Its free and all you need to do is go to their homepage and click the green button that says “Get Started” to create your account.
Select a good username using keywords or a brandable phrase – Your username is what people will use to communicate with you, so it's important to pick something related to your field to better brand you as an expert. You can use your real name, organization or you can use keywords to help you rank better in searches. It's a 15 character limit. Remember, you can change your username at any time after signing up.
Create your profile - Start to update your profile by adding a picture of yourself or organization’s logo and include some information about yourself /organization to your page. You can add the picture by going to the Settings section on Twitter.
Follow people with the same interests as you (including us http://twitter.com/ecdevcomdev. The more people you follow, the more will follow you back but be careful not to follow people just because you want followers. Understand what it is you want from the people you follow or who follow you. For example, EDCD Consulting wants to provide relevant economic development and business information to our followers.
Send out your first tweet - You can start just by saying hello. You won't have many followers yet. The key is getting started.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Learning for Others - Part III
Here’s the final article on what other communities are doing for economic development. As you read through them think of how they be applied to your community.
City of Cotati
Cotati is focused on attracting and retaining new businesses and they do that in a number of ways. They have a new website that lists available commercial properties. They also have a site that gives businesses an opportunity to advertise free of charge.
They formed a task force, in partnership with the city council, to ensure it is easy for firms to locate in their community by educating them about zoning, permits, fees and licences. The task force launched an Economic Development Survey for citizens and businesses to identify specific business types that residents want to attract to Cotati.
City of Sebastopol
The city’s Community Development Agency emphasizes business retention and assistance for existing firms, while also finding ways to expedite city processes for new and existing businesses. A Business Outreach Committee was created with the goal of tripling funding to the city’s Facade Improvement Program, developing a new city Web portal, implementing a downtown directional signage program and providing matching funds for consolidated advertising campaigns.
This fall, Sebastopol is hosting an Economic Summit and will be providing grants and loans to non-profit organizations for technology improvements. This program could evolve into a similar loan program for local business.
City of Cotati
Cotati is focused on attracting and retaining new businesses and they do that in a number of ways. They have a new website that lists available commercial properties. They also have a site that gives businesses an opportunity to advertise free of charge.
They formed a task force, in partnership with the city council, to ensure it is easy for firms to locate in their community by educating them about zoning, permits, fees and licences. The task force launched an Economic Development Survey for citizens and businesses to identify specific business types that residents want to attract to Cotati.
City of Sebastopol
The city’s Community Development Agency emphasizes business retention and assistance for existing firms, while also finding ways to expedite city processes for new and existing businesses. A Business Outreach Committee was created with the goal of tripling funding to the city’s Facade Improvement Program, developing a new city Web portal, implementing a downtown directional signage program and providing matching funds for consolidated advertising campaigns.
This fall, Sebastopol is hosting an Economic Summit and will be providing grants and loans to non-profit organizations for technology improvements. This program could evolve into a similar loan program for local business.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Learning from Others - Part II
I love hearing from other economic development organizations about what they are doing. It’s an easy way to learn what’s working in other communities and how it might be applied elsewhere. It’s also a great way to get ideas flowing to improve economic development strategies. Here’s a few more examples of what others are doing.
Sonoma County
Sonoma County Economic Development Board has defined their role as providing tools to help businesses perform better and stay ahead of emerging trends. The organization has stimulated economic vitality for the technology, tourism and agricultural sectors in recent years. Evidence of this is seen in the science curriculum at their state university where 70 percent of graduates are able to find jobs. They have created the Sonoma Tourism Bureau and have developed integrated marketing program for county agriculture.
The Board understands that education attainment is a priority noting that a well-educated work force will attract business. They have initiated a website to show small business how to survive tough economic times. As well, they are conducting a permitting function study with the goal of accelerating operations along with another project monitoring how climate change legislation will impact firms in their area.
City of Cloverdale
This community conducted a branding study that revealed 70 percent of residents leave each day for jobs elsewhere. The Cloverdale Economic Partnership updated their general plan to include ways to attract more jobs to the community. The city also wishes to expand Cloverdale’s sphere of influence by annexing Asti and an unincorporated area near the southwest side of town.
Cloverdale received an MTA grant to study ways to transport people from downtown to the future SMART station on the other side of Highway 101. They will be exploring ways to commercially use land formerly occupied by the Citrus Fair.
Sonoma County
Sonoma County Economic Development Board has defined their role as providing tools to help businesses perform better and stay ahead of emerging trends. The organization has stimulated economic vitality for the technology, tourism and agricultural sectors in recent years. Evidence of this is seen in the science curriculum at their state university where 70 percent of graduates are able to find jobs. They have created the Sonoma Tourism Bureau and have developed integrated marketing program for county agriculture.
The Board understands that education attainment is a priority noting that a well-educated work force will attract business. They have initiated a website to show small business how to survive tough economic times. As well, they are conducting a permitting function study with the goal of accelerating operations along with another project monitoring how climate change legislation will impact firms in their area.
City of Cloverdale
This community conducted a branding study that revealed 70 percent of residents leave each day for jobs elsewhere. The Cloverdale Economic Partnership updated their general plan to include ways to attract more jobs to the community. The city also wishes to expand Cloverdale’s sphere of influence by annexing Asti and an unincorporated area near the southwest side of town.
Cloverdale received an MTA grant to study ways to transport people from downtown to the future SMART station on the other side of Highway 101. They will be exploring ways to commercially use land formerly occupied by the Citrus Fair.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Learning from Others - Part I
Some communities do economic development really well while others struggle to understand what they can accomplish. No matter how well economic development is done in your community we can always learn new ideas and strategies. Here are a few examples of what some economic development organizations are doing in their communities.
City of Santa Rosa
In 2007, the City of Santa Rosa refined their economic sustainability strategy by focusing on new employment opportunities and ways to increase the spending by visitors to their downtown retail stores. The revised plan targets firms that they have identified as desirable for their community. They are building a brand image to support Santa Rosa’s shop local campaign and have developed events such as Small Business Week, Getting Diners to the Door, the Retail Academy, the Amgen Tour, Scooter Rosa, along with specific holiday events and First Friday’s for the arts.
Using the service LoopNet, the city is taking inventory of vacant retail space so the planning department can assess site decision data. A business visitation process has been initiative that interviews 30 to 40 firms annually to learn about challenges facing local firms and how the city can facilitate change.
Various federal/state loan programs are being utilized to upgrade properties and aid in remediation. Parking signage is being improved to enhance the use of public spaces, and five city redevelopment projects have been identified.
The Environment, Equity and Economics are the three E’s of their local strategy.
City of Santa Rosa
In 2007, the City of Santa Rosa refined their economic sustainability strategy by focusing on new employment opportunities and ways to increase the spending by visitors to their downtown retail stores. The revised plan targets firms that they have identified as desirable for their community. They are building a brand image to support Santa Rosa’s shop local campaign and have developed events such as Small Business Week, Getting Diners to the Door, the Retail Academy, the Amgen Tour, Scooter Rosa, along with specific holiday events and First Friday’s for the arts.
Using the service LoopNet, the city is taking inventory of vacant retail space so the planning department can assess site decision data. A business visitation process has been initiative that interviews 30 to 40 firms annually to learn about challenges facing local firms and how the city can facilitate change.
Various federal/state loan programs are being utilized to upgrade properties and aid in remediation. Parking signage is being improved to enhance the use of public spaces, and five city redevelopment projects have been identified.
The Environment, Equity and Economics are the three E’s of their local strategy.
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