June 24, 2005: “Spotlight
on Our Economy” Monthly Column for The
Palladium-Times
By L. Michael Treadwell, CEcD, Executive Director of Operation
Oswego County
Operation Oswego County Website Promotes
Area to Prospective Business Owners
Since its redesign
in 2003, Operation Oswego County’s website, www.oswegocounty.org,
has won numerous awards including the Northeastern Economic Developers
Association’s “award of excellence” in 2004, the
New York State Economic Development Council’s (NYSEDC) “best
in class” award in 2004, and NYSEDC’s “certificate
of excellence” in 2005.
We are proud
that our website has exceeded the standards of our economic development
colleagues and we feel that this recognition underscores the effectiveness
of our website to help bring attention to the resources and assets
of our county that offer value to potential business customers.
Our website is
not only a resource for information such as available commercial
property and demographic information about Oswego County, it is
also one of our strongest and most effective marketing tools. More
and more site selection consultants, business decision makers, and
individuals rely on the internet to decide where they will invest.
We designed our website to succinctly convey critical and up-to-date
information about Oswego County to this captive audience.
According to
Area Development, an economic development trade publication targeted
to site selection decision makers and corporate real estate executives,
80 percent of the initial screening of sites by prospects is now
done on the Internet. In fact, website information regarding the
availability of the Nestle plant helped to trigger the initial inquiry
about the plant by the group that became New York Chocolate &
Confections Company.
In addition to
a contemporary, easy-to-navigate format, our site offers visitors
a comprehensive listing of OOC services, publications, current news
and contact information as well as community links, a printable
map and a directory of Oswego County’s economic development
resources and assets.
OOC’s website
usage currently averages about 4,800 visits per month.
As the usage
of the internet as an initial site selection tool intensifies, our
website has become critical to draw in corporate real estate decision
makers in order to recruit new businesses and add new and better
job opportunities in Oswego County.
In other economic
development news:
- The County of Oswego Industrial
Development Agency (IDA) will provide civic facility revenue bonds
to assist the renovation and 10,000-square-foot expansion of the
historic Oswego Public Library; and
- Pack’s Short-N-Sweet,
a new drive-through business in the town of Granby, will sell
of soft ice cream, coffee and other specialty drinks and bakery
items. The owners are graduates of the Micro-Enterprise Training
Program. The project will receive funding assistance from the
IDA.
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