On Wednesday, June 5, small businesses in Aroostook County are invited to have a free meal and learn from Nancy Marshall, marketing and communications expert, how to use the Internet to grow their business.
Three simultaneous events will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the following locations: the Region 2 Career and Technical Education Center, 5 Bird Street, Houlton; Nadeau Hall Teleconference Room at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, Fort Kent; and the Northern Maine Development Commission, 11 West Presque Isle Road, Caribou.
Marshall will discuss how to use the Internet to strengthen business owners relationships with existing and potential customers — optimizing opportunities for people to know, like and trust businesses and their owners.
She will also discuss new marketing strategies that use the Internet, such as using social media to gather valuable feedback and information from current and prospective customers on new products and services. Marshall will also discuss using the Internet to dramatically increase a customer base by connecting with people worldwide who are interested in buying what a business is selling. Marshall is the principal of Nancy Marshall Communications, a full service marketing and public relations agency based in Augusta.
The event, sponsored by the Northern Maine Development Commission, the Region 2 Career and Technical Education Center, UMFK, the Aroostook Adult and Community Education Alliance, Maine Small Business Development Center and by the ConnectME Authority and the Maine Department of Education. It is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is one of several being held across Maine.
Current broadband use by Maine businesses is low: according to a recent survey, 59 percent of Maine’s 141,000 small businesses do not have a website, and 39 percent see no need for using the Internet. At the same time, 97 percent of American consumers look online for goods and services. Nationally, small business enterprises with high web use grew at an average annual rate of 13 percent over the past three years while those with low web use rates grew at only 6.2 percent.
Those wishing to attend are encouraged to RSVP by Wednesday, May 29 to their local Adult Education Program.
