ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

 

 

FROM:

Stephen Chait, Economic Development Director

 

 

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Darren Ciastko, Economic Development Officer

 

 

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

December 6, 2004

 

 

 

 

SUBJECT:

New Online Business Directory

 

 

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report entitled “New Online Business Directory” be received,

 

And that Ms. Sofie Andreou of the Breken Group be thanked for her presentation to the December 6, 2004 Economic Development Committee.

 

 

PURPOSE:

To preview and demonstrate the new Online Business Directory as an economic development tool, and to update Council on the status of the Directory notification to Markham businesses.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

In the spring of 2003 York Region staff initiated the new Municipal Employment Database Working Group comprised of economic development professionals from each of the Region’s nine municipalities. The role of the working group was to: redesign the annual business and employment survey; increase the scope of the survey; and to design and implement an electronic application which would enable each municipality and its business community to interact more effectively.

 

In the summer of 2003 and the summer of 2004 university students surveyed all of the businesses in York Region to collect raw data which is now being used to populate the new online business directory. The Breken Group was retained by the Region to develop the required electronic application. The Breken Group specializes in the design and maintenance of various online economic development and public business directory tools. Breken’s products and services are currently being used by a growing number of economic development organizations in Ontario, across Canada, and most recently in the United States. 

 

Markham economic development staff in partnership with York Region began to strategically implement and develop the new online electronic application with the Breken Group in the summer of 2003.  In November 2004 the new online business directory YourLocalMarketplaceTM was launched on the Town’s Internet website. On November 23, 2004 the Markham Economic Development Office sent 1200 emails and 5700 letters from the Mayor announcing the launch of the new online business directory and requesting Markham business to sign on. A copy of the email/letter sent out to Markham’s business community is attached.

 

 

DISCUSSION:

YourLocalMarketplaceTM supports the Town’s economic development goals and enables two distinct user groups (i.e., economic development staff, and local businesses) to access business directory functions and tools from any computer with an Internet connection.  

 

Using YourLocalMarketplaceTM  economic development staff will now have access to a series of tools that will better serve the Town’s business community. This is accomplished through an enhanced communication platform with local businesses, an ability to monitor local economic development trends, administer custom surveys, conduct targeted primary research, plus provide the capacity to enhance existing business retention and expansion efforts. 

 

In the past, municipal economic development databases were very costly and difficult to keep up to date, thus reducing the value and effectiveness of the business directory product.  With recently updated information collected through the York Region business and employment survey and the ability for each business to update their own information, YourLocalMarketplaceTM ensures that the data remain consistently up to date and accurate. In addition, YourLocalMarketplaceTM empowers the economic development staff to offer the business community a wider range of services and support. 

 

YourLocalMarketplaceTM creates a virtual marketplace for Markham’s business community to conduct and market their products and services online.  This is achieved by offering each business a free listing in the online directory and password protected access to update or change their directory information at their convenience (the Town is protected by a disclaimer on the website in the event of any errors). Each business will have the opportunity to enhance their visibility by upgrading their listing.  The attached advertisement card details how a business can enhance their visibility.  Enhanced listings are purchased directly from the Breken Group.  As a result, the cost of the economic development toolset, used by Markham staff, remains very low.

 

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

None. The Economic Development Department pays an annual subscription fee of $2,000.00 for YourLocalMarketplaceTM . This cost was expensed from within the 2004 Economic Development operating budget (Business Development account 610-9985808).

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

none

 

 

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

YourLocalMarketplaceTM   provides improved Internet access to a business database and to a range of business-to-business and business-to-government networking services.

 

 

ENGAGE 21ST CONSIDERATIONS:

The activities of the online business directory YourLocalMarketplaceTM are in alignment with the Town’s corporate goal of Economic Development – to establish, promote and support Markham as the best location for diverse high-tech and related business.

 

 

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

During the course of designing and developing this project, economic development staff involved and received advice from Corporate Communications and the Mayor’s Office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Chait, Director of Economic Development

 

Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services

 

 

ATTACHMENTS:

1.        Letter/Email from Mayor Don Cousens – Markham Launches new Online Business Directory.

2.        “Getting Started is Easy” – details on how to login to the online business directory.