Looking to 2020

Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce

Communication, excellence, data

What's on the "Radar" for 2020?

  • "Pursuing excellence in all we do" extends beyond our mission or vision statement - it's a deliberate choice, core value - and frankly - common sense: we want all of you associated with our organization to be proud of the work that we do. Accreditation with the United States Chamber of Commerce defines standards of excellence in chamber planning and performance and is one of the aspects for the Chamber to pursue toward the POSITIVE in our community.

  • Communication is KEY to good public relations and is essential in establishing internal harmony WITH ALL and ANY of our STAKEHOLDERS. True communication is synonymous with understanding, and listening is an important aspect. We continue the work from 2019 to ensure proper channels are developed and maintain open and transparent dialogue, enhance knowledge and provide a feedback loop for monitoring and evaluating the progress. Areas for you to especially keep an eye on in 2020:

      • Internal Communication - such as this private website (a.k.a intranet), conceived to improve our business' efficiency, document management and workflow;

      • Holistic Marketing Initiatives - such as our 2020 Lanesboro Bucket List Challenge, conceived as a data collection tool, engagement metric and a pinch of fun.

  • At the heart of the above lies the importance of sustaining and maintaining the vitality of our community. The fundamental factor in our marketing strategy is to have the right information and to use it to inform our decisions. This is where the power of strong community comes to play: Personally, I can't escape the notion of making a parallel to "e pluribus unum" motto -- and you hear me using the "it takes the village..." tagline - I believe, we have the power - again - as a united-in-common-goal business community, to take the lead: the initiatives surrounding our Bucket List Challenge Campaign are designed for that purpose - please do not shy from it and take an active role!

Marketing 2020

2020 is the Year of "Intel" - to Gather More Data (can't you tell I like Mr. Bond? 🤣 😂) - we want to move beyond generalities such as "...we want to know more about our visitors..." to specifics such as the following:

  • Where do our visitors come from? Where might new visitors come from?

  • What are the characteristics (age, education, occupation, income, number of previous visits, length of stay, party size, expenditure patterns, etc.) of our visitors?

  • What do visitors think about the quality of services in our community?

  • What attractions, services, and features do visitors want? Have these preferences changed?

  • How visitors use their time in Lanesboro (and area)? What are their behavior patterns?

  • How do visitors find out about our community? Are current advertising methods effective?

CoOp Advertising Ops and the Future of AI (read more)

Ponder this: the negotiated price of the 2019 CoOp Advertising Opportunities were just shy of $13K (non-negotiated pricing would be close to $20K) - IF your business had invested in all of our programs (among the others participants - thank you!), you would have spent an average of $645. A savings of over 12 thousand dollars. 'Nough said.

2020 brings back the advertorial (a portmanteau of "advertisement" and "editorial" - among them in Minnesota Monthly + City Pages) + updated Rochester Visitor. We will surgically pinpoint the Twin Cities, Rochester and La Crosse (among these actions is 20K of direct mailing cards to carefully selected demographics); focus on digital video, email blasts, and tri-state radio campaigns (MPR Rochester MN, Leighton Broadcasting Winona/Western WI; Wennes Broadcasting IA).

What's on Your Bucket List?


#GoForthAndProsper 🖖

Andrzej (ahn-jay) Zalasinski, Jr.

Executive Director | Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce
2020 Strategic Marketing Reach Map

"Tourism is dependent on the very resources it seeks to use: attractions and activities that are related to the natural environment and cultural heritage. With good planning and management, tourism can help conserve and enhance these resources. This, in turn, influences customer satisfaction, which helps a destination remain popular and marketable. A true partnership among the tourism industry, the local community, and the public sector will help ensure economic and sociocultural benefits are maximized for all. This builds local support and commitment to maintaining a viable tourism industry."

Source: (2017) Cynthia Messer, Community Tourism Development (4th ed.), University of Minnesota;