If you’re in downtown revitalization you know that we collect a lot of data. We’ve got lists that would make Santa Claus jealous. Lists of properties, businesses, contacts, sponsors, attendees, and on and on. We’re preservationist by nature, we don’t get rid of things – especially good data!
So we’ve got data. When we begin to share the right data with the right people, our success not only becomes evident but starts to be magnified. Determining which people to share what data with can be a challenge, so we want to help.
Rather than looking at this from the data side, let’s look at this from the people side. We’ll start with our Board of Directors. In most organizations, boards can have access to any information they want – after all they’re the ones responsible for the long-term vision and success of the districts. More often than not though, the boards don’t want all the information, so what information do they need/want? I always gave the board the top level, summary information. So total number of businesses, employee changes, ROI information, etc. For example, if we had an event, we would tell them it was a success, let them know how many people attended, any big highlights, and how much we netted from the event. If they wanted more information we had it available but most of the time, they want to leave the smaller details to the committees and make sure that the organization is in the right direction.
Speaking of committees, they are the ones minding the details. Committees want and need all the specifics such as who has sponsored at what level, who is responsible for each task, when things will be done, etc. The committee is where the work happens, so they need as much specificity as possible.
Now, those may seem pretty evident, I’ll give you that. Sharing the data with those outside your organization is where we sometimes fall short. So let’s look at some general groups and how we can communicate our data to them effectively.
City Councils (also includes county boards, state legislatures, etc) are an important stakeholder for any downtown, whether they provide the organization funding or not. They are the policy makers who will help determine the future of our organization, so we want to make sure they are regularly informed as to our progress. Sharing regular updates with these elected officials is never a waste of time. It’s putting your agenda front and center, letting them know how far you’ve come, and being able to admit the work that is still in front of you. When utilizing Maestro, the “statistics only” reporting is a great way to keep these key individuals in the loop.
Another key group of people is the media. Most of us likely send press releases to the media on a regular basis. You’re sending notices on events, opportunities, etc. But how many of us take the time every few months to send a press release about the general state of the district? Letting the media know that you’ve experienced growth in employees, businesses, or investment is a great story – and one that most media outlets would love to tell. It is incumbent upon us to give them the information so that they can assist us. Now, there is always a flip side to the coin, and in this case it is being there for the media even with the not-so-flattering stories. We can’t hide the warts, and we cannot shy away from the areas that we may not want to have told. The media’s job isn’t to just look for sunshine and roses, and we have to be respectful of that. Give them the time, provide the quote on the project that just stalled for the 7th time in a row. You’ll find that when you treat the media as a partner rather than an adversary, you’ll get a lot more than you give.
The last group of constituents I want to talk about are maybe the most important, and that is the customers – the general public. We want them to come to the downtown, spend their time and money in our stores. We probably are pretty good about telling them about how to do that, especially on our popular events. However, we rarely take the time to tell them about the growth of our own organization. We usually talk about what we do for the community and how we benefit them, but every once in awhile it is important to tell them about us. Let them know you’re making progress THANKS to them. Let them know that their continued support of the organization and the members has a positive impact on their community and that is is trackable through your reporting. These small emails will create big impacts for your organization.
The bottom line is that in downtown we aren’t short on data, and the more we can tell people about it the better! Look for opportunities to share your numbers. Remember that your stories are your successes, so don’t be shy about sharing them.
