Coping with the ‘orange monster‘ Sturgis, Middleville, East Dearborn, Lansing, Petoskey—these cities and many more have been planning for construction projects that are impacting their business districts this summer. As retailers and other businesses in these areas seek to minimize the negative impact of the disruption, they can look to past survivors, such as the cities of Milford, Wyoming, St. Louis and Lapeer, among others. Those cities’ business organizations—downtown development authorities (DDAs), principal shopping district organizations, merchant associations and chambers—collectively have a wealth of ideas, insights and “lessons learned” from their experiences in surviving the “orange monster.” In talking with many Michigan businesspeople with experience coping with construction, three themes emerge: early planning, good communication and cooperating on strategies to minimize the pain. Never too early Non-MDOT projects, such as streetscaping or other local or municipal work, is often well-publicized among affected businesses early in the process, although there are certainly glitches that leave people in the dark. According to Kevin Green, director of Lansing’s Principal Shopping District, it’s usually not lack of advance notice that’s the problem—it’s acting on it. “I’m sometimes amazed that more businesses don’t plan sooner,” said Green. “They often have the information one or two years in advance, yet many businesses don’t take advantage of this early lead.” He suspects that some businesses don’t know where to start, think they don’t have resources or simply underestimate the impact of construction. “Some retailers expect it not to be as bad as it really will be—they just look the other way,” said Green. “The truth is, it can put you out of business, depending on the scope of the project and the type of the business.” Well in advance of a project, Green advises building a customer database for direct mail or e-mail, then using it to inform customers you’re still open or reward them for putting up with construction. He also advises using a calendar to plot the dates of road or lane closures or sidewalk demolition as soon as you have the information. “When will the project be at its worst, and what is your business like at that time historically? Knowing ahead of time that you’ll lose some business—maybe a lot of it—at that worst time, you can come up with promotions for other times to make up some of that lost revenue.” By planning early, businesses can contact and make use of community resources. Green, who also teaches marketing at Lansing Community College, says professors are always looking for good student projects. “If you are too busy or short-staffed to compile a customer database or plan a promotion, contact a local college’s business or marketing professors about finding an intern. Invite business students to earn ‘hands-on’ experience,” he advises. Gerry Mears, director of Wyoming’s DDA, agrees. His group found an intern from Grand Valley State’s business school who turned out to be so valuable with its construction project that the DDA increased her hours and her hourly wage.
The early start was required to accomplish the tasks these groups set for themselves. The promotions group’s tasks were to create a project identity (a logo and slogan), humorous construction signs and a weekly newsletter that provided up-to-date information on all aspects of the construction. It also developed a “tool kit” for each merchant that included factsheets, construction timelines, contact information, loading and parking plans, a schedule of DDA promotions, a template for a cooperative ad and press release ideas, as well as pieces that merchants could give to customers. These included a detour map, directions to downtown and a “To our valued customer” information sheet. “The tool kit was great,” said Thomas Motley, owner of Arms Brothers, a clothier in Milford. “It laid out everything for you, told you who to contact with questions.” He also praised the construction planning that limited the impact to one quarter of the main intersection at a time. Information, please MDOT’s system for informing affected communities of upcoming projects is by all accounts efficient, providing plans one to two years in advance. In most cases the good communication continues throughout the project, though not everyone has equally positive stories about communication with MDOT and its contractors. Dan Merritt, owner of Green Brain Comics in East Dearborn, was frustrated by “tight-lipped” communication with MDOT and its contractors during an extensive construction project on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn that spanned the summers of 2003 and 2004. Windy Weber, owner of Stormy Records in East Dearborn, said she had no idea what was going on during the project. “Apparently the building owners in the area received letters about the planned construction, but some owners—including my landlord—failed to share that information with us tenant businesses,” she explained. Others report good communication with MDOT. Phil Hansen, director of the St. Louis DDA and executive director of the Michigan Downtown Association, points out that “you may have to take the initiative” in establishing good communication channels with the MDOT representative assigned to your project. One of the hallmarks of good communication is that it be two-way. That is, people involved will be more committed to the success of the project if they feel their input is being heard. In Imlay City the DDA hosted a weekly coffee hour for the downtown merchants, where they could meet to share thoughts and express concerns, according to Brad Barrett of the Imlay City DDA. Likewise, when a Lapeer streetscaping project tore up the main road and alleys, businesses were involved in the project, according to Doug Skyler of Taylor-based ROWE, Incorporated, the contractor who coordinated the project. “We went to the city and the merchants as part of our planning. ‘Don’t mess with the front of our buildings in the fall’ and ‘if possible, wrap it up before the mid-July sidewalk sales,’ they told us, and we managed to comply.” East Dearborn merchants had the opposite experience. “At the public meetings, MDOT showed us a timetable and explained what would happen,” said Merritt. “But they asked no one for input, took no questions and presented everything as set in stone. Even afterward, the contact number we were given was very little help.” Michael Boettcher, who became director of the East Dearborn DDA after the 2003-04 project, is determined to help businesses in East Dearborn this summer when MDOT comes back to fix some problems in the streetscaping project. Merritt describes Boettcher as “amazingly responsive” and expects this year’s project to go more smoothly with a proactive DDA coordinating it. A newsletter to area businesses can provide details about the construction from MDOT, as well as any group promotions or marketing projects. Getting this information out quickly and efficiently is important to Jay Baer of the Hillsdale DDA. He usually produces his newsletter the day of his city’s biweekly meetings with MDOT, then mails and e-mails it and posts it on the city’s website that afternoon. Businesses, in turn, need to communicate well with their contacts—not only customers but also vendors, delivery people, and other affected businesses. Another important aspect of good communication is signage. “Clear, well-placed signs—letting people know you’re still open and directing them to parking—are essential,” said Hansen. MDOT might provide electronic reader boards, as they did in St. Louis, but billboards are also very effective in conveying the area’s “we’re still open” message. Cooperation “Construction projects offer a good opportunity for businesses to come together and work to keep the whole area afloat, out of necessity,” said Boettcher. DDAs and business or merchant associations are the logical places for businesses to come together on projects. According to area businesses, both the Milford and the Wyoming DDAs did great jobs coordinating group promotions and cooperation. In the area of Wyoming along Rte. 131 where construction was a potential threat last summer, the DDA organized a newspaper pullout section and retailers paid for their ads in it. Also, a series of weekly drawings caught people’s attention. To enter, customers had to sign up in person at area stores. All the prizes were donated by local businesses; for final prize drawing, first prize was a Bahamas cruise including airfare. “This promotion was really extensive and took a lot of planning, but it was very successful,” said Mears. No merchant in the affected area of Wyoming reported any significant loss of business, and some actually did better as a result of the increased promotions and advertising, according to Mears. Milford, too, used a number of successful cooperative promotions to attract people to downtown during construction and to spread the shoppers from one business to others nearby. A “shop-and-dine” program gave shoppers a free dessert at downtown restaurants. “The promotions and cooperation organized by the DDA were terrific,” said Dan DeClark, of Legends of Time, a gift store with locations in Milford and Rochester. “We all wore construction hats and nametags shaped like construction yield signs, and we played it up and had fun. For us, business was good.” “The village’s Beautification Commission took turns being ‘shopper greeters,’ who presented visitors with fortune cookies containing messages that read ‘Thank you’ for shopping downtown,’” added Barnette. “A certain number of them contained coupons for $5 off for any store downtown, with the DDA reimbursing the merchants.” Barnette documented Milford’s experience thoroughly in a binder that contains a record of meeting minutes, promotional ideas, the “tool kit” and press clippings. She’s happy to share what she and her associates did in Milford—contact her at the Milford DDA (248.684.9719). Finally, have fun “Under no circumstances should a retailer ever complain to customers about construction inconvenience,” advises T.J. Reid, a Louisiana-based retail analyst and author. “The construction is probably being done in the name of civic beautification or community renovation, so put a smile on your face and be proud, because progress usually means profits.” This article was written by Amy Buttery, Michigan Retailer staff writer. |
The
dreaded orange cones, barrels and signs. The traffic backups. It’s
bad enough when they slow down your vacation driving, but when construction
is blocking or complicating customers’ access to your business,
you’ve got to do more than complain.
Milford’s
DDA began planning two years before roadwork began in that city’s
downtown in 2002, according to Ann Barnette, its executive director. DDA
members formed two committees—the Main Street Resource Council and
the Main Street Promotions Committee, each with 20-25 members with some
interest or stake in the downtown or with valuable creative experience.