Tough Times Ahead for Some of our Businesses
Last week the Australian Financial Review reported that Coles is now serving between 1.5 and 2 million more customers per week than in 2007. Bunnings (same ownership) total sales in the March quarter rose 8.1% continuing a recent trend. This reflects the incessant inroads that the big guys are making through pricing and convenience. It seems that customers are not only doing their weekly "big shop" but are also returning in-between times to top up for meat, fruit and vegetables and deli products. In such a price and convenience driven future, it is difficult to see how the local butcher, the baker, the greengrocer and convenience stores can survive unless they are able to offer a genuine point of difference. Under such circumstances, I believe that it is more important than ever to promote 'localness' and the many benefits that this brings The attachment has been developed for your use in this regard and can be formatted to include your own business details. If you would like an electronic Word document, please contact Wendy Beverley, email wendy.beverley@pmhc.nsw.gov.au
The Drivers of our Local Economy
In order to review the Economic Development Section's Business Plan we have again looked at all 109 industry sectors in Port Macquarie-Hastings to refine our understanding of where best to concentrate our efforts. Criteria used comprised exports (sales to customers outside the area- the wealth creators), employment, value added (the value added by each industry in the local area) and backward linkages (the amount spent by industry sectors on locally sourced goods and/or services. This analysis was based in the 2006 ABS Journey to Work employment census data, the most recent National Input/Output Tables (2006) and the June 2009 ABS Gross State Product figures.
The major drivers of the Port Macquarie-Hastings economy have been identified as:
• Retail
• "Other' Property services (real estate, commercial property developers, etc)
• Health Services
• Education
• Electricity Supply
• Accommodation, cafes and restaurants
• Residential building
With the exception of the important tourism related businesses, it is notable that these are all service based industries. It is hoped that our industry development activities in timber/ forestry, airport precinct businesses, higher education and transport / logistics, developed around some key infrastructure facilities, will assist to diversify the economy away from its dependence on population growth.
Out & About
This week and last, I had the privilege of visiting 7 businesses nominated in the professional services category of the prestigious Customer Care awards. Two judges for each of the 9 categories have been drawn from the Taskforce to individually assess the nominations including a written submission and a site-visit. Personally I learnt a great deal during this process and without exception each entrant had a very strong focus on service excellence in their organisation.
The Customer Care award winners will be announced at a gala dinner at Port Macquarie Panthers auditorium on the evening of Friday, 1st July 2011. For further information please email Rachel Ross: rachel.ross@pmhc.nsw.gov.au
Getting More Traffic to Your Website
Website traffic is valuable but targeted website traffic is worth its weight in gold. This post lists some good strategies for getting more visits from your targeted audience. I particularly liked Point 2 - probably the hardest but most beneficial and the essence of what the Economic Development Section stands for.
