This week is the Inbound marketing conference. In the marketing world, inbound marketing is attracting customers to your business instead of interrupting them with ads or other outbound marketing techniques.
At 9 Clouds, we are preachers of the inbound marketing gospel and have seen amazing results when it is thoughtfully implemented.
What I rarely see, however, is inbound civic development. Instead of enticing businesses to move with tax incentives or running ads interrupting people and asking them to visit, communities should engage in the three step process of attracting, engaging and delighting.
Attract
The first step in inbound marketing is attracting. Online this is often done with content. A business might publish an educational report or an article that answers a question potential customers have. These potential customers are searching online for an answer to their question, and they find the business. After reading the answer, they trust the company and decide to purchase/donate/use their product or service.
Offline the same techniques are used. Realtors have open houses, restaurants have happy hours and free samples and businesses allow customers to try on shoes or clothes while answering questions about the products. All of these marketing tactics encourage potential customers to check out a business. In the process, trust is built between the customer and business and a purchase is made.
How can cities attract their “customers,” such as potential visitors, residents and businesses?
In my hometown, we’re creating events like Creativity Week. This week-long festival celebrates the creators and creativity in the community with 20+ events, most of which are free. (You can watch our video and help us launch our event here.)
Cities often attract attention and customers with events like Creativity Week, as well as other types of “content” such as: natural environments, landmarks and culture like theatre, art, coffee shops, sporting events and restaurants.
Instead of chasing customers, cities should focus their energy on building content that attracts customers. In particular, this content should showcase who the city really is. This might mean showcasing student art if it is a college town, hosting events at the local lake if it is an outdoor destination or promoting music downtown if the Main Street is filled with interesting shops.
In the marketing world, you wouldn’t have an open house to a home you weren’t selling or you wouldn’t write a blog post about how to use Facebook if you are an accountant. Cities should follow the same lesson and promote what they really are.
The lesson: be yourself and celebrate it.
Engage
Many communities have events that attract customers. It might be the summer festival or the unique historic locations within the town. The challenge after attracting customers is engaging them.
The Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, a Chamber president or the Economic Development President may have the job or engaging civic customers. However, the real person in charge of engaging visitors must be the community members themselves.
The people hired to engage visitors will only do so between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., when they know visitors are coming or when guests come into their office. Who talks to the family visiting for the weekend at the park? Who introduces themselves to the new student at the coffee shop?
If there is something lacking in our community, be it ethnic food, a thriving arts scene or easy-to-use public transportation, we need to step forward and help create it. If we’re not the person to create it, we can do the next best thing: engage others to join or stay in the community and empower them to create the change.
I had the chance to meet three college students this week who are all finishing up their schooling. They are all interested in starting businesses in interesting fields such as music therapy and midwifery. What I told them is what I hope everyone in the community says: stay here or come back when you’re ready. Our community needs you. Don’t continuously search for the ideal home, make it right here.
Delight
Once you are engaging a customer, you aim to delight. In the business world, this means providing them with your best products and services. It also means surprising them with your care.
At my local coffee shop, this manifests itself as a toy box. Families who come in know about the “secret” toy box and can bring it out to help entertain their kids. In other businesses, the toy box might be sharing useful information with customers (like we try to do) and regularly saying thank you.
In cities, delighting a customer might mean showing them around town, inviting them for dinner or supporting their event or business. Another way to delight is to ask them to get involved. Invite them to help plan your event, encourage them to start their own projects and listen to their ideas.
When individuals feel appreciated and needed, they’ll be more likely to get involved and help improve your community.
Inbound Civic Development
The lessons from inbound marketing have yet to reach many communities. Our friends in Fargo have it figured out though. They have done an excellent job of creating events that attract visitors, and they take it a step further by using these events to garner national media attention (what we call earned media in the marketing world).
This media helps others to say “I’ve heard of Fargo,” and helps to change preconceived notions someone might have of the city.
In the process, Fargo has created a deluge of civic evangelists. Folks like the Misfits have been to Fargo for a conference and loved it. Now they tell their friends about why they should visit Fargo.
Inbound civic development grows a community and lasts much longer than a billboard. When cities celebrate what makes them unique, they attract people who value their uniqueness and want to build upon it.
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