March 28, 2024

Main Street hosts economic restructuring speaker

Local business owners and residents were invited to a presentation by Jim Thompson, of Main Street Iowa, Wednesday evening at Uncle Nancy’s.

Thompson spoke in several areas such as how to help grow businesses and how to take advantage of marketing opportunities, such as Facebook.

“When you roll into other Main Street towns I hope that you notice they have improved their property and worked on their business mix because that is what we are going to be assisting you with in the future,” Thompson said.

He named several external factors that effect local businesses. Economic conditions, demographic changes, consumer behavior and technology innovations all change the landscape of how businesses need to run and market for their clients.

“Facebook is becoming a major tool, but many businesses are using it for their business like their personal sites and that will not work,” Thompson said. He continued that Facebook can be a data port to the business website, which is where any transaction has to take place. With a large number of people checking Facebook more than once a day, if used appropriately, having a page can leave people feeling in the know and updated on what is currently happening in the store.

Another major factor he named was customer service. If people are in the store, with their money, you need to take care of them and give them a positive experience.

“Old school customer service means taking care of customers where they are, not where you want them to be,” Thompson said.

Time is also very important to people and they don’t want it wasted. Making a store accessible and ready to serve will help people feel their time is well spent. If they don’t feel that way, it is too easy to just pop on a website and have the item delivered to their house.

Shifting gears, Thompson spoke about “experience cramming” which is when people go on a trip and try to pack as much of the area into their visit as they can. Communities need to market the variety of activities they can offer throughout the day to keep a visitor busy. His example for Newton was visitors to the Iowa Speedway. Many people come and experience the speedway but what else can attract them into Newton to fill their whole day and how can they find that out.

Some other topics he touched on were older generations vs. younger generations, shop local programs, aesthetics of businesses and surrounding areas, staying ahead of trends and niche marketing programs.

Contact Staff Writer Jamee A. Pierson at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com.