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Posts Tagged ‘community marketing plan’
Who are we building our rural communities for?
November 12th, 2009
We talk a lot on ReImagine Rural about creating rural communities that are attractive for young people. We do so because most rural communities in the Midwest are getting older and older each year. If we want our rural communities to have a bright future, we obviously need more young people to call our rural places home.
But a recent newsletter from Northern Great Plains, Inc., reminded me that we can’t forget about the people who already live in our rural communities. It’s a bit long, but the following quote captures this idea:
Any rural development strategy must recognize the importance of defining what kind of region young people today will want to live in the future and work towards it. However, these same efforts must maintain a balance between the interests and needs of young families and workers and the desire of the region’s older population to remain in the region and live in a safe and comfortable environment. The challenge economic developers and city planners face is one of creating rural places that will be welcoming for young people and also making it the passion of older people to create a region for both young and old to live in.”
This is good advice, especially when one considers this USDA Study suggesting Baby Boomers are looking to move to rural communities.
But at the same time, it raises the question: Do our rural communities have enough resources to invest in being attractive to both Boomers and Millennials?
Tags: baby boomers, community marketing plan, millennials
Posted in Community Development, In the News, Rural | Comments (0)
It’s about People
October 16th, 2008
The headline to a recent short article in Watertown Public Opinion caught my eye: “Potential new businesses worry about finding workers.”
The article quotes Governor Rounds saying, “The biggest challenge I have right now is convincing businesses coming into our state that we do have the work force to meet their needs.” He’s right in more ways than he probably realizes, and the problem is even greater in our rural communities.
Jim Beddow of the Rural Learning Center made an interesting observation while doing some work in Deuel County. Deuel has several industries that are contemplating expansion. For the most part, they came to the community in the 1980s and benefited from an expanding labor pool created by Farm Crisis. The labor pool stayed strong during the late 1980s and 1990s as many wives looked for employment opportunities offering health insurance.
However, in the last decade, the farm-based labor pipeline has dried up and the replacements are not there in sufficient numbers to service new economy business development opportunities in bio-fuels, wind, solar, and value-added agriculture. In short, we’ve lost too many people.
While not all of our communities have the job opportunities described above, more communities than you might realize do. It’s definitely the case in Howard, SD. So how do we meet this challenge?
The answer seems simple to me: Communities have to develop a “people attraction” strategy. By that I mean they have to figure out how to make their community a place where people want to live.
Here are a few ideas your community might consider if you’re interested in a “people attraction strategy”:
- Stop telling kids that they HAVE to move to the big city to be successful. Staying in your hometown is not right for everyone, but let’s let them make that decision without brainwashing them with negative comments.
- See your community from a new perspective. Analyze how visitors and other “outsiders” view your community. It may explain a lot about why they are not living there.
- Investigate how new members “fit into” your community. Do they feel welcomed? Do they develop the connections that cause them to want to stay?
- Develop a marketing plan for you community and make “people attraction” a part of it.
The above list probably appears pretty daunting to most people. But if you are up for a challenge, it can be done. Start by inviting everyone in your community to be a part of the effort. Then develop a plan to accomplish your goals, and get started taking baby steps. Your efforts will not be perfect from the start; but if you keep at it, I think you will be pleased by the results.
Editorial Note: Although this article focuses on the need to develop a people attraction strategy for job creation, it should be noted that the author believes that this strategy is just as important for communities where jobs are not readily visible. The point here is that talented, creative people can create new opportunities wherever they live.
Tags: community marketing plan, Deuel County SD, labor pool, people attraction strategy, recruiting new businesses, Rural Learning Center
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (1)