Getting the Word Out, are We Selling Ourselves Short?

Okay, I swear I was working on this before NCR decided to leave town...

I'm not an expert in marketing or website development. Nor am I an expert in economic development but I subscribe to two excellent publications on the latest innovations in business, Fast Company and Inc. Both are targeted to entrepreneur-types, tech-heads, people on the move and innovators. What I noticed in these magazines (I started paying attention more during our local Get Midwest bonanza) were really nice full page ads promoting Georgia, Michigan, Florida, and Louisiana. What I started to wonder is where the Ohio and Get Midwest ads are.

Doing what advertisers hope a reader would do, I went to the websites identified in the ads. Here are some:

www.michiganadvantage.com Theme: Michigan - The Upper Hand (pretty clever, I think!). It's focus is on engineering, alternative energy technology (including water), tech savvy workforce and lifestyle advantages.

www.opportunitylouisiana.com Theme from the ad (not so obvious online): From the standpoint of an entrepreneur Louisiana is doing all the right things.

www.livewellandprosper.org Theme: Savannah - Live well and prosper; In the magazine: Our beauty will captivate you but our infrastructure will blow you away.

After hearing about NCR's move I decided to check out Georgia's site. Not bad.

Obviously we're not the only state that isn't advertising in the magazines I mentioned but what I wonder is where ARE we advertising!!! Does anyone know??

Since I haven't seen us in print, I decided to look online. Here's some of our local business development info:

Ohio.gov isn't bad for small business and start-ups
Ohio's "development" site where apparently we're The State of Perfect Balance. And I must be having browser problems because most of the tabs/links don't open for me.
OhioMeansBusiness, yet another state site.

Dayton Development Coalition targeting Aerospace R&D, Information Technology, Advanced Materials & Manufacturing, Human Sciences & Healthcare, and most recently the region's water supply. The Coalition has been very aggressive with BRAC stuff and advocacy in Washington. Maybe it's advertising in Texas and around other military bases that are closing or downsizing. As for the site, I can't tell if the it's promoting the region as much as it's promoting the work/efforts of the coalition. Perhaps it's a little of both.

Business First - Montgomery County's efforts to reach out to local businesses as a retention/expansion tool. Sit down with us and we'll see what we can do for you. There's also additional information on the County's economic development page. The County's website is awful. Check out the URLs. How would anyone fine anything on it?

CountyCorp is the County's lead agency in funding business loans and housing products. They offer some good financial packages but you'd never know it by the look of a site that could be better developed by a 4th grader.

Citywide Development - the City's version of CountyCorp. Pretty informative site and is actually consistent with the information on the Coalition's site.

Dayton Business Resource Center is the area's combined effort, led by the city, to have a one-stop location where business owners can get answers to questions, find resources, and process forms and permit applications. The combined effort is due to a consultant's recognition that the area has alot of development efforts going on that were territorial and a detriment to the region as a whole unless they were willing to work together. I haven't heard any personal experiences of people who have received services from the DBRC. Anyone have an update?

Dayton Originals is the brand campaign celebrating Dayton's innovative history (and not dwelling on it) while looking at present and future innovators. Not sure who the actual audience is or if it's just a cheerleading campaign for current residents to toot their horn.

There are many other agencies and municipal departments that I haven't listed here. Many of them work in their own vacuum or toward their own ends - again a detriment to the region.

There are good people in the organizations I've listed and they're doing good work. What I keep hearing though is that it isn't enough.

So what do we need? What do we need to be doing differently? What's wrong (besides people not working together)? What should the message be? What is the best vehicle for communicating it?

Comments

[Bill]

Excellent analysis Matt, and good question - where are the "Do Business in Ohio" ads? Of course, I've always wondered who those ads are targeted at, but then again company CEO's read magazines and watch t.v. just like the rest of us, right?

I think we may need to work on our product (business climate) before we try to market it.

[Bruce Kettelle]

Bill this stuff can't wait. How would you decide when our climate is good enough to advertise. I say it is excellent right now; affordable land and buildings ready to go, abundant labor force, and a wide variety of positive quality of life goodies to tout.

How about this for a theme
"It's getting better all the time, Can't get no worse", well maybe we should leave the last part of that off.

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

That was an excellent post with some great information. We published some information on this topic too. You can see it here.

http://bizconnectionsnow.com/blog/advertising/targeted-advertising-for-local-businesses/

[Matt]

Bruce,
I'm bent over laughing at your quote! I love it!
Matt

[Discover Lapeer County]

Yes, this is really a good resource of info. I'm starting a small business in Lapeer County and I found this really beneficial.