|
|
|
|
|
- Small businesses in Muskingum County do some really unique and interesting things. Check out this illustrated list at zmbrightspots.com.
- Learn about more Bright Spots in our community like these at www.zmbrightspots.com.
|
 Weekly Feature
|
BEST PRACTICES: Email Marketing
As a small business owner, email marketing is 100% essential. Often times you'll get sucked into purchasing a program that leaves you wondering how to write HTML code. Wouldn't it be great if there was an EASY and FREE email marketing platform? Well, thankfully, there is! Save Local Now (SLN), as a value added member benefit, includes email marketing in their digital platform.To learn about best practices in email marketing, visit 40 Tips for Dramatically Better Emails from Vero, and be sure to activate your SLN account now so you can begin using what you learn. Already activated your account? Then sign in here and create social posts and emails by clicking the green "Menu" button.
|
Business Resources & News
|
|
TWO LOCAL JOB FAIRS COMING UP
- OhioMeansJobs: Muskingum County, in partnership with the WHIZ Media Group and the Chamber of Commerce, would like to invite local companies to participate in a job fair to be held Tuesday, March 29, 2016. The time of the event will be from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm with the first hour dedicated to exclusively to our local Veterans. The deadline for employers to register is March 18th. To register please contact Justy Cordray at 740.454.6211 or email Justy.Cordray@jfs.ohio.gov.
- The annual Zane State Employer Job Fair on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, from 1 to 4 p.m., in The Campus Center. There is no cost to participate in the event. Employers may register by completing the Response Form at www.zanestate.edu/2016employerresponse by April 13, 2016. For more information Contact Jamie Clark at Zane State at 740.588.1222 or jclark@zanestate.edu
.
EXPORTING AND IMPORTING ASSISTANCE
Companies in 25 Central Ohio counties - including Muskingum - can become more competitive in the global marketplace by taking advantage of the economic benefits and time savings offered by Foreign-Trade Zone #138.
- A Foreign-Trade Zone ("FTZ" or "zone") is a site within the United States that is legally considered to be outside of Customs territory for the purpose of duties, merchandise processing fees and other considerations.
- Goods may be brought into the site duty-free and without formal Customs entry. These goods may then be manipulated or re-exported without paying duties and with substantially lower Customs fees.
To find out if your company could save time and money when you import and export products, contact Angie Atwood, FTZ Administrator, at 614-409-3622, or at aatwood@columbusairports.com, or visit www.FTZ138.com.
SIX SIGMA IMPROVES RESULTS
Six Sigma is a management methodology which allows companies to use data to eliminate defects in any process. For a process to have achieved Six Sigma, a process must not produce a defect - that is anything outside of customer specifications - more often than 3.4 times per million opportunities. Implementing Six Sigma within a business offers a number of benefits. However there are six key advantages that this methodology will offer any company. Read more by Amy Harris at Process Excellence Network.
WATCH FOR W-2 SCAMS
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is cautioning employers that Cyber thieves are now after W-2s in an apparent effort to file fake tax returns and claim refunds from the federal government. Posing as company executives, cybercriminals have gotten HR professionals to e-mail them sensitive payroll data-including W-2s-with Social Security numbers, salary information, dates of birth, addresses and other personally identifiable data, according to a news release from the Internal Revenue Service. Read more on this issue from SHRM at their website.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- National total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 242,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Employment gains occurred in health care and social assistance, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and private educational services. Job losses continued in mining.
- For current local economic data visit our Economic Dashboard for Muskingum County.
|
Chamber Updates & Services
|
CELEBRATE BUSINESS SUCCESS
The Chamber's annual Spring Break event is designed to celebrate community successes and recognize the achievements and contributions of area businesses. It will be held on Friday April 1 from 7 am to 9 am at the Muskingum Recreation Center. This event features the annual ACES Awards and Safety Council awards, and it's always a casual, fun time. We will be entertained this year by comedian Scott Long. For the past 13 years Scott has written the comedy sketches for the amazingly talented Frank Caliendo at the NFL on FOX and ESPN Countdown pregame shows. Get all the details and make your reservation now by viewing our online invitation.
THANKS FOR YOUR ECONOMIC IMPACT
The philosopher Plato said "What is honored in a society will be cultivated there." That's one big reason why the Chamber and the Port Authority are partnering right now to say "thanks" to area businesses. It's appropriate to appreciate the contributions of businesses in our community...we want them to do well here, and we want more of them.
- To carry this message a mailing is being sent to all area businesses this week to communicate that, and social media will be used to reinforce that sentiment.
- Local companies of all sizes and industries have a major impact on the community. They pay taxes, employ people, provide services and products, purchases from local suppliers, and support projects and causes.
- The result is solid public services, an improved standard of living, money circulating throughout the economy, thriving charitable organizations, the capacity to deal with societal problems, strong small enterprises, and overall prosperity.
Please watch your mail for our message of thanks and visit our Facebook page to view and comment on our post related to this issue. And thanks again!
CUSTOMIZE YOUR LISTING ON BUYERSGUIDE.BIZ
Your business listing in the online Officials Buyer's Guide for Zanesville & Muskingum County comes FREE with your chamber membership. It is important that you take advantage of the option all members have of customizing and expanding your listing into a whole page worth of information including logos and images. Here's why:
- Getting listed in online business directories is a fundamental part of digital marketing nowadays. It helps people more easily find your business on the web, where most buying decisions start.
- You have a lot of paid and free directory options. But there is only one Official Buyer's Guide for Zanesville and Muskingum County that helps buyers everywhere find your business and its products and services when they are searching online. And there are few or none that provide you with a whole page where you can include your logo, web link, images and more.
- Our guide's search engine optimization is so strong that each month 31,000 local businesses with listings in the Official Buyer's Guide appear in search results on major search engines like Google and Yahoo. At times, your listing in the Official Buyer's Guide will appear in search results BEFORE your own webpage. That is how effective our Official Buyer's Guide's SEO programming is.
- Plus, the Officials Buyer's Guide is published online by the Chamber, and chambers all over have been the trusted go-to for local business information for over a century. Chamber affiliation brings instant credibility to your listing and adds to the strong reputation your business already has.
|
|
|
|
|
