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Determining
Content
Web
Page Essentials
Web
Page Basics
- Names
with Titles (and could include the staff person's responsibilities if there
are multiple staff members)
- Names
can be followed by direct phone lines or direct e-mails
- Mailing/Street
Address (Fed Ex doesn't deliver to PO Box #s)
- Phone
Number (or numbers)
- Fax
Number
- E-mail
If
you are trying to figure out the essential elements of what you should place
on your web page, think of it as your business card. The least you should
put on it is what you have listed on your business card.
That
means you should include your name, title, department, phone number, fax number,
and e-mail. Your business card likely has a logo and you should also include
it on your web page.
If
there are multiple staff people in your office you should include each person's
contact information. If work is delegated by responsibility you may want to
list what each staff person does so the person calling can most easily access
the correct person.
Here
is an example:
Office
of Economic Development
123
Where To Be Street
Chooseus City, State 12345
Tel:
(555) 555-5555
Fax: (555) 555-5551
e-mail: econdev@ci.chooseus.state.us
This
may seem obvious, but many economic development web pages do not include this
essential information.
Most
business cards are relatively similar. They are the same size and serve a
similar purpose. But all web pages are not created equal. This is why we recommend
that you move from simply listing the information on your business card to
add economic development web page basics and dynamic features.
If
the Web Page Essentials are like a business card, think of the Web Page Basics
as a brochure for marketing your community. It provides the basic information
that businesses use to analyze the benefits of your community. Unlike an expensive
brochure that is quickly out dated, your web page can be updated continuously
and look just as slick.
The
categories listed here are the basics of an economic development web page. Keep in mind
that these "basics" are becoming "essentials" and the dynamic features are becoming basic.
Demographics
- Population
and Projections
- Income
- Retail
Spending
- Labor
Force (Labor Availability and Labor Rates)
If
you are an economic development professional, demographics should be as basic
to you as your business card. This is fundamental information that people
need to analyze your community. Census Data which you should include in your
web page is available from the U.S. Census Bureau at http://factfinder.census.gov/.
You can easily find detailed information for your city, county or state by
using Fact Finder data.
This
section should also include data projections (5, 10 or 20 year). If you do
not have this data you can purchase it from some of the major commercial data
vendors such as Applied Geographic Solutions,
ESRI Bis (formerly CACI)
and Claritas.
Community
Profile
- Major
Employers
- Utilities
& Transportation
- Telecommunications
- Taxes
- Housing
- Quality
of Life
- General
- Climate
- Education
- schools, colleges, test scores
- Culture
and Art
- Healthcare
Elements
of a community profile are also important for someone to analyze your community.
This information is frequently more difficult for a business to find. By providing
it on your web site you can save people a lot of time.
This
section provides greater detail about your community and provides the information
that businesses want or need to know when considering expanding or relocating
into a community.
Unlike
the more objective demographic portions of the web page, this is an area where
you can market your community by pointing out the special amenities of your
community that make it a good place to live and work. Companies choose to
locate their companies in a city for a variety of reasons. Some of these are
cut-and-dry like the demographics. But often they are looking for more subjective
benefits like good weather, nice museums or proximity to good schools and
colleges.
Highlight
your strengths to show your benefits. Each community is different and this
is an opportunity to let your location shine.
Business
Assistance
Probably
one of the most commonly asked questions is "What can you do to help me?"
Explain the assistance, services, programs and incentives your office can
provide. This section could also include information about services that your
county, region or state provides.
It's
OK that your neighboring communities provide similar or the same assistance.
They might not be advertising all of their assistance - and remember - this
is marketing. You will look comparatively better if you look like you have
more assistance available. Multiple assistance programs also provide the company
with a broader selection of potential incentive programs that can serve its
needs.
For
an example, click here.
Starting
a Business
Whether
starting a business in your community is easy or difficult, providing a road
map through the process helps. This checklist can let a business understand
the steps that are necessary to open its doors for business. This can include
listing the departments that the person will need to visit (such as business
licenses for a license, the planning department for construction, or any specialized
approval required for a unique business). Contact information can be provided
for utilities and business assistance organizations. This section can include
an outline of what a new business should include.
Small
Business Information
The
types of assistance and business needs small businesses require are unique.
Often there are small business development organizations that help with writing
business plans, find financing and even provide small business workshops.
Let the small businessperson know what resources are available through your
office or other agencies. Links to other small business assistance organizations
can also be listed.
Employee
Training Programs
If
your community has employee training programs, you should list this information
as well as the contact organization providing this service. Qualified employees,
or employees that your community will train to be qualified, are a great asset
to a future employer. Let a prospective company know that these services are
available.
For
an example, click here.
New
Business Developments
Prospective
businesses, existing businesses and citizens like to know what new business
developments are occurring in your community. Prospective businesses want
to see the business environment they may join. Existing businesses want to
know that the place they have joined is continuing to be a successful place
for business. Citizens want to know what is happening in their community.
Don't forget that if your own citizens think your city is a good place for
business they will tell others - and there are a lot more citizens out there
to promote good news than there are economic development professionals in
your office.
Promoting
new business developments on your web site can be accomplished in many ways.
You could post a digital version of your newsletter if you have one. Another
option is to list press releases about economic development in your community
(you can write your own press releases). If there is no new business development
activity then promote existing businesses that are doing well, business expansions
or infrastructure improvements that will help the business climate of your
community.
Planned
Economic Development
Let
people know where you are and where your community is going. What is your
community's vision of its future? Some businesses like to be in a growing
community while others like the stability of the status quo. Are there major
new projects in the works or have you limited new construction? What types
of businesses are you planning to attract and where have your elected officials
directed your office to go? This is another area in your web page that really
allows you creativity in marketing your future community. No one knows what
the future will look like - but this is an opportunity to paint the picture
of what you community wants to be.
Maps
- Local
- Regional
- State/National
Do
not assume that everyone knows where you are. Providing a map helps orient
people to better understand how your community is laid out and where streets
and major locations are found.
Although
a local map is beneficial, a regional map is also valuable. It will place
your city within a larger regional context. This is important because a company
may be interested in locating in a region such as a state, county or MSA.
By positioning your community as an excellent place within this region you
increase your comparative value. This is especially the case if the cost of
doing business in your city is low, and access to the nearby amenities or
the region or adjacent big-city is easy.
If
your community is considerably less known than some of the larger cities,
it may help to include a large-scaled map showing your location as a point
within your state on a national map. For an example, click
here.
FAQ
Many
web pages have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page because it saves the
staff and the user time. Often, the same questions the user has are the same
questions everyone else has. In your case, these may be typical economic development
questions ("What incentives do you have?") or specific questions to your location
("What benefit is there to locating in your Empowerment Zone?"). By answering
these questions before they are asked, you will save yourself time and help
educate the site visitor.
Links
to appropriate organizations
Think
of these links as the people that you consider your partners in economic development.
They are the organizations to whom you would refer the web user. Examples
could include the Chamber of Commerce, economic development office, regional
economic development organization, or small business assistance agency. Do
not list every link you can think of because this only confuses the user from
finding the most important resources.
The
Information described in the Web Page Essentials and Basics sections of this
web site is basically static information. Even though you can update the information,
it is like putting the text you would include in a brochure on the World Wide
Web. (In the web industry this is called "brochureware".) The power of the
Internet and your Web Site comes from moving beyond the fundamentals and leveraging
the capabilities that are unique to the Internet and economic development.
Anderson Consulting calls this the process of "scaling the wall" from static
web sites to the real opportunity. To learn the newest techniques for implementing
economic development online, click here to learn about Advanced
Web Page Technology.
Copyright © 2007
Economic Development Online. All rights reserved. Material on this website is
protected by copyright and trademark laws.
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