Not everyone reads the volumes of online data for a state or town/city.
Not everyone knows a local person or has experiences in your local community. So how do they decide to land there to say locate a factory or start a business or buy real estate? Sometimes it all boils down to the courtesy of a store clerk or gas pump attendant while they were on route thru your town to somewhere else. Or it could be a series of short videos of the local community they watched that you put together to showcase your town.
And they say it boils down to the small things, the little gestures or extra effort that make a sledgehammer impression. Getting the customer's attention when time is precious may be the five minute stop at a convenience store. Kiosks with local community videos playing they can watch while in line, motel access channels with the same local videos and color boards of details that the person "absorbs" and remembers. They listen to the audio track while they are waiting for goods or services. This is an outlet to tap into on your local level. They say MBNA located in the Rockland/Camden/Belfast area of Maine based on the reception one of their executives got while gassing up on his way thru. The young boy waiting on this executive was the kind of people MBNA, the credit card company wanted for a call center, to locate one of their company industrious beehives. Do you roll out the same red carpet on an individual basis in your hometown? How? Or why not?
In Maine where I live, lots of folks enter the gateway to the Atlantic Canada provinces on their way to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. They stop for gas and something to eat. You have their attention for a short time, they have never been to Houlton Maine. The small airport we have where folks fuel up and get cleared with immigration/customs also can also provide a chance for a person to sip a coffee and watch a kiosk of the local events. Make an impression. Are you there?
Do you hit this audience in new and innovative ways to get the information out or just rely on an old brochure with 1960's vintage cars and outdate information in them as good enough, what we always used to get the word out?
Get the video/audio/blogs out on what is so great about your local community and stop keeping it a secret. If you don't feel that way about your hometown and area, move. You should be passionate, excited about where you live and if you are not, or no longer are, it's time to saddle up and move to somewhere to capture this joy and happiness. Check out these local videos below and decide if the folks in them are warm, down to earth, glad to live here.
NICE post, LOVE the vids and message.
I know I have selected locations based on the 'little things' like a friendly person, courteous drivers or a really blue sky. Why wouldn't others as well?
PS. I had an auto loan with MBNA and found THEM to be one of the most customer friendly and helpful banks. It makes sense to me that they would think in 'good vibe' terms.
Candice, Found the same with MBNA..they wrote a check for $20,000 to seed the first soap box derby in the state which was the spark that led to our local race being the largest in the country for five years running Very good community partners.
Very good post with good videos ....thanks for getting it out to AR today.
I think people look at the whole picture when it comes to a town/city they'll settle in.Highway accessibility, especially if they have to commute. Schools and how they are rated, stores to shop, where they are and if handy to the house. Neighborhood is important and so on.Resale value is important also if they are in the area for a couple of years only.
Hi Andrews -- I lived in Portland for a year and I had a blast! Portland has the 2nd greatest # of restaurants per capita behind San Francisco, and it's such an inviting and walkable downtown. And, when I was there (I'm dating myself <not literally thank goodness>)...lobster was $2.99 a LB in season.
This was good. When I moved from Cape Cod MA to St. Augustine FL I was pining away for my beloved Cape Cod. Realizing that this poor pitiful me attitude wasn't going to cut it, I had to find something to fall in love with about St. Augustine. I realized on the Cape there are only about 30 truly beautiful weather days. In St. Augustine there are truly only about 30 really bad weather days! Wow - okay I get it, St. Augustine living is really about being out and about enjoying that great weather. That simple turnaround has made a huge difference in my happiness and a huge difference in my business!
Interesting. People just pass through Waterbury all the time on their way to Hartford or beyond, or to Danbury or beyond. Excellent suggestions! Thanks for the encouragement!
Andrew, it does boil down to the little things. I helped to make a woman's decision to move this way. It gave me a sense of pride...just a little anyway. Thanks,
Andrew - Are you promoting Houlton as a tourist stop while driving up or down US 1 or Hwy 2 (depending on which side of the border I am on)? Is it usually quick to cross the local border crossing? The one near St. Andrews seems to have long lines (at least compared to Edmunston when I was at both border crossings).
These are great ways to highlight the community, Andrew. So smart. You can get so much more information in a short video. More people are more apt to watch it than weed through pages and pages of brochures.
Our office is right next to the small town of Winthrop Washington's grocery store and gas station. There are many on their way to five states to decide where to retire or locate that deluxe luxury mountain home retreat. I am so happy to hear of someone out there with just the same situation as ours.
So much focus in real estate is on the urban typical real estate market, but the resort areas are a whole different ball game.
The concept of taking an extra step to quickly let folks on the move know why they might want to consider a purchase here is great. Otherwise they could be missing out on a perfect fit for them and the key to their happiness. I will work on this myself. Thanks for the inspiration.
I agree Andrew - You never know if your interaction with someone is going to make up their mind about an area. Your videos make Houlton look like a nice community.
You folks are right..video let them sit back and relax..and let the area information flow into the eyeballs/ears channels. You cut the meat up for them. Chris..did not know that tidbit about Portland Maine have the 2nd most restaurants per capita. I'll send you a lobster for that extra credit test questions you supplied. Thanks!
Moose permits issued yesterday in Maine..limited number and we have them. You don't want to meet one on the interstate or at night because they make very big hood ornaments and blend in with the night, hard to see. Russ..hit the prom video above and you see Bullwinkle in the opening clip..in a hurry to get to the dance but munching on some lunch.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Posted by 
;)
;)
