06-B PEDC Budget 2007-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Lamar County - Paris Economic Development Plan The program should focus upon business entities, which are contributory in nature and will benefit from the geographic-economic assets of Paris and Lamar County. The specific activities of a Recruitment Program are very similar to those of a private company, which sells a product or service. There are three basic steps, which need to be taken by both: 1) Determine what you have to sell. 2) Identify who wants to buy it. 3) Establish a plan to contact and sell to the potential buyers. Most areas believe what they have to "sell" is a community. This is not the case. What an area has to sell is a geographic location, which has certain assets and characteristics, and which are conducive to profitability for a private company. A discussion regarding Paris' assets follows. After making an inventory of its assets and characteristics, a community should then determine what type of contributory businesses or industrial sectors can make the best use of them. A plan is then created to contact and sell the community to these companies. A Recruitment Program can be very expensive and time consuming. Visible results may not be seen for years after its initiation. The actual list of marketing activities for a Recruitment Program is very similar to that of a private company's marketing - sales program. The following is a list of some of the marketing activities which most community recruitment programs include: . Advertising in trade journals and industry magazines . Direct mail . Cold calling . Visitation program . Public Relations - Image Program . Attend trade shows of target industries · Attend association conferences of site selection professionals . Web Site . Develop a relationship with site selection consultants . Develop a relationship with commercial real estate brokers Paris should not anticipate hitting a home run with its recruitment program. A home run would be one large employer, hiring thousands of workers at high wages. A vast, vast majority of economic development projects involve businesses which will employ between 25 and 75 people. Annually, the Southern Economic Development Council publishes a list of "projects" completed by its members located in 17 southern states. In 2004, this list included about 480 projects. Only seven ofthem employed more than 500 people and only 20% employed more than 100 people. Paris Economic Development Corporation Page II