Bricks & Clicks
To Market, To Market To Buy a Phat Dig
Town Economic Development Corporation Launches Web Site
On-Line Real Estate Site and Building Database Featured
When people hear the term ‘e-commerce,’ they immediately think of opportunities to purchase goods and services via the Internet. But electronic ‘sales’ can involve much more than ‘e-tail.’ The inherent idea of selling something can extend itself to the wider concept of ‘e-marketing,’ which can involve anything from the offering of persuasive information to the advertising of a town.
Such is the case at the West Seneca Development Corporation (WSDC), a not-for-profit economic and community development organization in West Seneca, New York. The WSDC works through a variety of approaches to attract new investment, assist expanding businesses, and enhance the quality of life in the Town of West Seneca, which has a population of approximately 50,000. The group’s most recent marketing effort was the launch of an economic development Web site at
www.westsenecadevcorp.org.
The West Seneca Development Corporation promoted its new Web site with a direct mail promotion. A postcard featuring a picture of the site’s home page and a synopsis of the information available on it was sent to area residents and local entities like bankers, brokers, utilities, and the media.
The purpose of the Web site is to market the Town of West Seneca and the organization’s services. It is completely separate from the town’s municipal Web site, which is governmental and informational in nature. And it offers a feature unique to typical municipal marketing efforts – an online real estate site and building database.
The database, www.westsenecadevcorp.org/sitebldg.htm, features selected commercial and industrial real estate available for sale or lease in the Town of West Seneca. The real estate is advertised with photos, a map, a detailed list of the real estate attributes, and contact information for the real estate broker or owner. Approximately 15-20 properties are currently featured, including retail buildings, light industrial sites, and office space.
“The on-line real estate database is really on the cutting edge of where economic development agencies are headed. This database immediately meets the needs of businesses and brokers interested in new or larger facilities,” explains David W. Lawrence, WSDC executive director. “In effect, we are co-marketing with the real estate community in offering information on area retail opportunities and sites. We think it’s important.”
Additionally, the Web site offers detailed information about North America Center, the area’s largest business park, press releases from the WSDC, and opportunities to contact the WSDC for assistance. The site features images, information, and statistics on the Town of West Seneca and its presence within the Buffalo-Niagara region. It offers information on the area’s economy, workforce, education and training, location, transportation, infrastructure and services, housing and health, and lifestyles. Also provided are links to other Web sites offering information about economic development and the Town of West Seneca, a description of the services available from the WSDC, and, soon, demographics and statistics related to West Seneca.
“The Web site provides a good overview of what West Seneca and the region offers. We now have a vehicle to communicate the benefits of locating or expanding in West Seneca to a worldwide audience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” comments Paul T. Clark, supervisor, Town of West Seneca.
Lawrence explains, “The site is a mechanism to communicate services,” adding that the WSDC previously promoted the town through traditional marketing means, including a recent brochure. That brochure became the springboard from print media to the Internet and was the base of the Web site. “Because we had recently done the brochure, we were able to carry through items from the printed matter. It was very cost-effective.”
After the WSDC conceptualized what it wanted the site to feature and accomplish, it set out to hire a company to create it. Data Design Group, Inc. (DDG) of Buffalo was hired to handle programming and maintenance, partially because WSDC executives felt that a local company would be more responsive to local issues. The Web site is hosted by Online Media, Inc.
Daniel Haskin, DDG creative director, says that WSDC saved money because it came into the project well prepared. He feels the West Seneca site was cost effective because the brochure provided ready-made graphics and photos and a blueprint for the site. “They wanted us to translate it for the Web and make it easily navigable,” he describes.
Haskin says that towns or groups interested in establishing Web sites should be prepared to take an active role in gathering information and graphic elements for their sites. “Data Design can go out and shoot images or design a logo,” he says. “We have had to act as a mini ad agency.” But significant fees can be saved if a town or group takes a proactive role. He advises, “Be prepared to offer more than is needed. Text must be correct and proofread, you should have a copyright on the copy, and you should have pre-design work done, such as a logo and plenty of photos. Do research, know your demographics and who you want to target.”
According to Haskin, the cost to create a typical Web site should range between $1,000-$3,000, with prices running higher in large cities and on the West Coast. Maintenance will run between $50-$125 per month, with added pages possibly billed at an hourly rate. Hosting costs anywhere from $20-$100 per month, and secure servers, which Haskin notes are important for sales, will cost more.
Although WSDC chose Data Design because it was a local entity, the company doesn’t need to be local to function well as Web designer, maintainer, or host, says Haskin, adding, “We are getting a lot of work from out of state.”
The collaborative efforts of Data Design Group and the WSDC resulted in the launch of westsenecadevcorp.org in November 1999. In the first four weeks of its existence, Lawrence says the site got 4,280 “hits.” But while pleased with the immediate response, Lawrence says that figure incorporated all activity on the site, with “hits” including user jumps from page to page. Actual user sessions totalled 279.
In order to promote the site, WSDC did a direct mailing to the public and what Lawrence calls “multipliers,” entities like bankers, brokers, utilities, and the media, who would act as vehicles to ‘spread the word’ that the sight was up and running. WSDC also made a concerted effort to forge Web site links with interrelated agencies, like local utilities and nearby universities.
“You can’t just put a site up. It won’t attract people by itself,” Lawrence says. “You must support it by other means.” WSDC’s direct mail promotion was a postcard featuring a picture of the site’s home page and a synopsis of the information available on it. Lawrence also suggests further marketing activities: “Mention the site when talking on the phone, put it on your letterhead, mention it in letters. Think about banner advertising on other sites, but it must be targeted to your desired audience.” Because the WSDC site features a real estate data base, Lawrence says he is pursuing links to local real estate agency sites. “Ours is a marketing and communications tool. We want to reach end users, people who have a say in location decisions,” he says.
WSDC officials feel that their new site will not only help to market the Town of West Seneca, but the entire Buffalo-Niagara region. “We intend to coordinate real estate information with regional and even statewide databases under development,” says Lawrence. WSDC President Robert J. Rigby adds, “The WSDC Web site and other marketing approaches will be coordinated with future marketing efforts by the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, Empire State Development Corporation, and other agencies. I foresee links between these agencies, private developers, utilities, and other entities being established to market the region and town in a cohesive fashion.”
For more information, contact David W. Lawrence, executive director, West Seneca Development Corporation, 950A Union Road, Suite 12,West Seneca, NY 14224, 716-674-5993, Fax 716-674-1524; Daniel Haskin, creative director, Data Design Group, Ltd., 1275 Harlem Road, Buffalo, NY 14206; 716-891-8635; e-mail: ddg@olm1.com.