Marketing Rural Communities to Attract and Retain Workers in a Changing Economy September 29, 2011 Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, University of Nebraska Extension Other Nebraska team members include: Randy Cantrell, Charlotte Narjes, Becky Vogt, Bruce Johnson and Connie Hancock

PROJECT OVERVIEW Purpose: Apply innovative marketing concepts and methods to attract new residents to rural communities and regions. Research & Extension Components: Household surveys of new residents Labor vacancy surveys Consumer focus groups Face to face – existing new residents Online – potential new residents Community application and use

PROJECT OVERVIEW Who are the partner communities? North Dakota Stanley Underwood South Dakota Edgemont–Hot Springs Groton Nebraska Sidney Wayne

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY OVERVIEW Employment Brought Many to Region Most new residents are employed. Majority have college degrees Nearly 50% in all communities earn more than $50,000

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY OVERVIEW Environmental Factors Key Motivation for those moving to Hot Springs/Edgemont When asked to rate community and life factors: In four of the communities - new residents indicated satisfaction with natural scenic or recreational activities.

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY OVERVIEW Family Considerations were Important Underwood – cost of living and quality time with family Groton – family related reasons Wayne – family ties & employment Stanley – family ties & employment Sidney – employment & family time Hot Springs/Edgemont – environmental reasons

LABOR VACANCY SURVEY OVERVIEW Labor Vacancy Survey  Conducted to determine area workforce requirements  Self-administered questionnaire mailed in August and September 2009  Used purchased mailing lists  Data weighted to reflect the population of employers in the region Weights derived from secondary data sources, specifically County Business Patterns from US Census.

LABOR VACANCY SURVEY OVERVIEW Sample Summary from One Community:  Almost all new hires come from local area  Most applicants match job requirements fairly well  Most firms anticipate difficulty in filling future openings with qualified applicants. Admin/sales/services openings - great difficulty

DATA SYNTHESIS OVERVIEW Synthesis Process:  Combined data from Household and Labor Vacancy Surveys  Identified key themes  Example: Firms have difficulty recruiting professional and managerial workers.  Identified potential strategies to address the issues  Examples: Devise better advertisement strategies. Mentoring/contact with professionals who have lived in community for some time.

FOCUS GROUP OVERVIEW Focus Groups  Two types:  Online focus groups  Face to face focus groups  Attempt to better understand how images portray community characteristics

FOCUS GROUP OVERVIEW  Separate surveys were developed for each community  Participants are potential new residents  Target = 180 participants (30 from each community) Online Focus Groups

FOCUS GROUP OVERVIEW Images are critical in marketing…

Please tell us about your impression of the community portrayed in the picture?

FOCUS GROUP OVERVIEW Another way to understand images… Describe this phrase in a picture: Quality Time With Family Affordable Cost of Living Less Congested Place to Live

FOCUS GROUP OVERVIEW

How do you pull this into a plan?

fit We can’t do a lot about… Competition Legal/Political Demographics Technology Culture Physical Environment Economy What assets can we build on? We can do something about… Community Vision/Mission Marketing Goals Strategies /Actions Culture that “Welcomes” Community Infrastructure Visual First Impression Market Planning Process New Resident Research  Who is coming now and what brought them here?  What types of skills /expertise does our community need? Identifying Target Markets  What groups match up with our community characteristics?  What is our competitive advantage based on our assets? Developing the Message/Reaching the Market  What are the benefits/value to the targeted groups? (these mesh with a community brand)  What is an overall marketing message? (incorporates brand logo. slogan and/or image)  What techniques do we use to reach these groups? Implementation & Evaluation What assets can we build on?

Population - 1,356 Within 20 miles of Aberdeen Strong family ties to community

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY Family Considerations were Important Underwood – cost of living and quality time with family Groton – family related reasons Wayne – family ties & employment Stanley – family ties & employment Sidney – employment & family time Hot Springs/Edgemont – environmental reasons

Of the 490 workers who live in Groton, 246 (50 %) are employed in Aberdeen Groton Aberdeen Aberdeen (approx. 25,000 population) has 53 people employed in Groton

Total number of establishments = 79 entities. Total number of employees in Groton = 471 Number of Establishments by Employment-size class Total Estabs 1 – 45 – 910 – 1920 –

Local research based discussion… For example, why do you think newly hired professionals tend to leave Groton after one year? Informed conversation Pulled in several research components Lifted issues that might have been buried

As a result of a community discussion – affordable housing was lifted up

Population - 6, miles from Denver, located on I-80 Home of a national retail headquarters: 1,300 workers in Sidney - more expected

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY Family Considerations were Important Underwood – cost of living and quality time with family Groton – family related reasons Wayne – family ties & employment Stanley – family ties & employment Sidney – employment & family time Hot Springs/Edgemont – environmental reasons

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY Moved to Obtain a Higher Paying Job

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY Usefulness of Recruitment Information from Employer in Making Decision to Move

HOUSEHOLD SURVEY How Helpful Welcome Information Was in Helping Adapt to New Community

LABOR VACANCY SURVEY Length of Employment … 231 (39%) of new hires stay 1-3 years. 181 (30%) stay 4-10 years. 106 (18%) stay for over 10 years. 54 (9%) leave within one year. Admin/sales/services hires stay 1-3 years Production/transport/trades stay 4-10 years Professional/manager hires stay less than 1 year or years Healthcare support hires stay 1-3 years or 4-10 years

It is about jobs….

… and the community

NEXT STEPS Work closely with community groups… What are the priorities? First steps? What can the community realistically do? Who needs to be involved? What resources are needed?

NEXT STEPS As a research team… Document process and share tools used: case study format Nebraska, Great Plains, nationally Develop “how-to” materials: Extension & non-Extension audience Contribute to national eXtension database

NEXT STEPS For more information: Go to Research then go to Community Marketing

Marketing Rural Communities to Attract and Retain Workers in a Changing Economy September 29, 2011 Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, University of Nebraska Extension Other Nebraska team members include: Randy Cantrell, Charlotte Narjes, Becky Vogt, Bruce Johnson and Connie Hancock