Raleighwood Media Group + Raleighwood Event Group
Traditional & Digital Marketing + Commercial Event Planning Based in Downtown Raleigh
Raleighwood founder Lisa Jeffries Nobling was recently interviewed by Raleigh Magazine regarding the ‘dying’ art of the RSVP. Has the RSVP become obsolete? The article delves into the question of whether the RSVP, a long-standing tradition in event planning, has become obsolete in today’s fast-paced digital age.
Typically it’s the big names in luxury featured in Luxury Daily’s articles, but in a piece by Pam Danizeger, the online trade news site shares positive vibes for small retail and service providers in light of the decline of the traditional mall shopper:
“Today, the sameness and ubiquity of the big-box store experience is beginning to show fatigue. Walk through any of the nation’s 1,000 or so enclosed malls and you might notice they all look much the same.
Filled with the same stores offering the same merchandise at the same sale price, it is too much of the same thing. Consumers are beginning to look for something new and different and finding it on Main Street, not in the malls.
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Specifically, demographic shifts, with both aging Baby Boomers and young millennials looking for a more personal shopping experience, as well as heightened expectations from affluent consumers, will favor the special services and products that only local small businesses can provide.”
Read the full article, Nation’s highest-potential shoppers are turning away from the mall, at LuxuryDaily.com for more insight into this retailing trend.
Is your small retail or service-based business poised to offer an exceptional experience to consumers as they leave the mall and return to your neighborhood business? Call (919-229-9725) or email me (Lisa@RaleighwoodMedia.com) to take advantage of this offer for independent businesses: a free, one-hour audit of your brand’s online presence and the accompanying in-store experience! Simply mention this blog post to take advantage.
According to Business North Carolina magazine:
“almost 80% of The Umstead‘s spa guests live within an hour’s drive, making the Cary hotel a popular spot for ‘staycations.'”
By the way, the magazine also shares that 13% of the property’s total revenue is generated by its spa treatments.
Who else is ready for a massage after reading these local luxury marketing statistics? I know I am!
[Image credit: The Umstead Hotel and Spa on Pinterest]
An article recently published by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) shed light on the importance of small businesses communicating the positive impact they have on local economies. Referenced as the “local economic multiplier effect“, the effect is a result of a greater percentage of revenue circulating through a local economy when money is spent at local businesses.
Research from Civil Economics states that the impact can come from three factors: direct, indirect, and induced impact.
Direct impact occurs when money is spent by local businesses to operate the business.
Indirect impact occurs when money spent by a local business at other local businesses re-circulate.
Induced impact occurs when consumers such as employees, business owners, and others spend their money in the local economy.
Such studies have taken place in Austin, Chicago, and Grand Rapids. On average, 48% of each purchase at a local business recirculated locally while less than 14% of a purchase at a chain business recirculated. It is important to note that percentage values do vary by the size of the local economy. The information garnered in these studies is that purchases through local business do contribute more funds towards creating jobs and wealth in a local economy as opposed to chain-operated businesses.
The Local Multiplier Effect at Retailers – click to enlarge
The Local Multiplier Effect at Restaurants – click to enlarge
As the “Shop Local” movement continues to gain momentum across the country and in Raleigh, it is important that local businesses should take advantage of these findings. They can calculate Raleigh’s “local economic multiplier” for various supplies to determine the amount that is returned to the economy. It is also a good idea for businesses to promote these findings in an accurate yet memorable manner so that consumers are driven to spending money locally. Using advertisements and messages that are heavily ridden with percentages and statistics and are not linked to reliable sources are less likely to remain in consumers’ minds for long.
I loved reading this article in TBJ today about how EUE/Screen Gems’s lengthiest NC veteran, Bill Vassar, believes the film industry is here to stay, regardless of the expiration of tax incentives at the close of 2014.
According to 18-year Screen Gems veteran Vassar, the operation is thriving, adding additional stages and facilities, including on-set Wi-Fi access that Marvel called “the best Internet set up they’d ever worked with” while filming “Iron Man,” Vassar says.
It’s just my opinion, but I would think that quality Wi-Fi would be a standard on movie sets in California, so I was impressed to read that Marvel noted the Wilmington studio offered the “the best [they’d ever] worked with”.
North Carolina is undoubtedly a tech-leader, and with the promise of high-bandwidth fiber internet connections becoming a norm in the next 5-10 years, I believe that efficient access to internet is just one of the many amenities our businesses can offer.
Thinking about the last time I was left without internet when traveling, especially in the form of wi-fi, it’s certainly a high-demand, and greatly appreciated, value-add for me. It certainly doesn’t replace millions of dollars in tax benefits, but the quality of work-place experience is a great experience driver.
I don’t usually like to re-publish things that other marketers have shared… I guess because I only agree with them half of the time. What can I say… I guess I march to the beat of my own drum.
I did however, like this very short and sweet post on survey building (short and to the point – that’s my kind of business read!) shared via Strategic Guru on twitter:
