Bright Spots - Did you know that Construction is underway on Muskingum University's new University Center building? The state-of-the art 38,000 square foot facility will be home to the Library and the Teacher Preparation Program. Learn about this and other bright spots in our community by visiting our This is Zanesville & Muskingum County, Ohio webpage, and check back frequently to see new content.

Sales Tips - Jeffrey Gitomer is a highly regarded sales expert with several best selling books to his name.  He regularly offers some great sales tipsthrough his newsletter and website.

Marketing Mix - The Nielsen Company studies consumer behavior and business strategy, and they provide free reports, including this one called Market Mix Modeling:  What Marketers Need to Know. Market mix modeling, or the use of statistical analysis to estimate the past impact and predict the future impact of various marketing tactics on sales, can deeply inform marketing plans.  It can help answer questions about your marketing such as:

• How much media is enough?
• Which medium is most effective?
• What is the best media environment to use?
• Is it better to use flighting or continuity?
• When are ads worn out?

  

Teeing Off - A new Spring Golf Outing will be held by the Chamber on Thursday, May 29 (next week!) with a shotgun start at 12 noon at Eaglesticks. This event will be an 18 hole four person scramble.  Dollar General, Eclipse Resources, and CareWorks are the major sponsors of the outing. Team entry fees are $250 and hole sponsorships are $50.  To register email jmasterson@zmchamber.com. 

Member Survey - The Chamber's "Six Minute Survey" is currently underway, and we encourage members to go to www.zmchamber.com to complete the brief questionnaire.  Your ideas and opinions help us stay in tune with the needs of members and identify how we can improve.  The survey link is listed under Current News & Events on the home page.

Grant Funding - OhioMeansJobs-Muskingum County has funding available to help offset the pay of new hires during on-the-job training.  Up to 50% of the cost can be reimbursed to your business through this federal grant.  For more information about the On-The-Job-Training (OJT) program contact Justy Cordray at OhioMeansJobs at CORDRJ01@odjfs.state.oh.us or 454-6211.

Tax Incentives - One of the most widely used tax incentive programs for economic development is the Ohio Enterprise Zone (EZ) program, commonly referred to as a tax abatement.  The Enterprise Zone program allows companies to locate a facility in certain municipalities or townships and receive a partial property tax exemption on new investments in new or significantly improved buildings. Most of Muskingum County is designated as an EZ.  For more information visit the Ohio Development Services Agency website and the Zanesville-Muskingum County Port Authority website.

Deadline  for Big Ideas - The deadline is today to submit business ideas for the MCBI Regional Big Idea Contest.  All Entries MUST be received by May 19, 2014.  The grand prize is $1,700 in cash and services.  It is free to enter. Entry Forms can be found at www.mcbi.info.  To enter email your entry form to Bigideacontest@mcbi.info.

Submit Your Events - If you have an event coming up you should enter it in our online events and meetings calendar at zmchamber.com as a way to promote it.  It's free to members and it's simple to use.  There is a "submit new event" link on the right side of the calendar page.  Click it and fill in your details.  You can also find the calendar link at any time on the homepage of zmchamber.com.  Events entered in our online calendar also automatically posted to the Chamber's Facebook page.

 THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS