Background

The Municipality of Pazardjik has worked in cooperation with the Municipality of West Bend, Wisconsin, USA, on the project of building Business Area Pazardjik within the framework of the Program for Technical Twinning between Bulgarian and US Municipalities implemented by FLGR and ICMA. The applying of marketing approaches has been appreciated as a key to the successful implementation of the project, so the municipality proceeded to the execution of a complete marketing plan.

Practice

The stages of the marketing process are as follows: collecting information and building an initial database; defining the target groups; collecting the necessary information about them; identifying their needs by getting in direct contact; outlining the methods for satisfying these needs; conducting a promotional campaign. Providing for a cyclic approach in this logical framework gives the possibility to react in accordance with consumers needs and criteria for building the area. It also ensures control over the technology of preparing and implementing the concept of business area by feedback from the parties concerned and the Program partners.

Before proceeding to the execution of the first stage of the preparation of a marketing plan, a specialized team should be chosen. In this case, it was decided to use the capacity of the team responsible for the economic development of Pazardjik Municipality, selected for the work under the Business Area Project. The team comprises specialists from the Municipality of Pazardjik, the Regional Economic Development Agency, and representatives of West Bend Municipality (the word team is used below for brevity).

Collecting Initial Information
The initial database was developed with the help of specialists from West Bend Municipality, who provided rich information about already established similar business areas in their city and provided their know-how for the way of their construction.

Defining the Target Groups, Collecting Information About Them and Identifying Their Needs
Small and medium size businesses (SME) in the town were defined as a target group. A meeting was conducted with the SME representatives, with the whole team taking part in it, including representatives of West Bend Municipality. The purpose of the meeting was to get information about the size of the area needed in order to divide the zone effectively; about the way participants would like the area to be build whether all investments should be at the expense of the entrepreneur, or the infrastructure should be build first and then the area would be sold, etc. The information gathered was used in the preparation of the draft project of the business area.

Conducting a Promotional Campaign

Preparing and Printing A Marketing Brochure
Together with its partners from West Bend, the Municipality of Pazardjik prepared the structure of the brochure, its vision and the concrete messages that should be included. It was very important to find the most effective ways to reach the target groups. In the process of the brochure preparation, the input of an artist and an architect was used for working on the brochure s vision. The brochure was successfully distributed and highly appreciated by specialists and private entrepreneurs at local and national level, and this gave the necessary feedback about the start of the next stage, drawing the team nearer to the final opening of the area. This marketing tool turned to be very successful for publicising of the business area project.

Active Dialogue with Business Circles
The active dialogue with business is an inseparable part of the work at all stages of preparing and realizing the marketing plan. During the process of defining the target groups specialized meetings were held between representatives of small and medium businesses and the municipality. Later, when the concept for building the area was complete, meetings were held with banking and business representatives with the purpose of presenting the concept of the area and discussing the opportunities for external financing.

A subsequent meeting with representatives of business in Pazardjik is being organized. During this meeting businessmen will receive information about the terms of buying a lot in the new business area. The criteria will be given to them for evaluation of the applying companies, as well as the general form of application.

Media Coverage
A series of media events were organized and articles were published in local newspapers.

Internet Promotion
Information about the business area was published in the Municipality of Pazardjik web site.

Results

The introduction of marketing principles in the building of Business Area - Pazardjik has brought to concrete results with direct effect: maximum acceleration of the work on the area, as well as larger scale effect on the overall work of the team at the Municipality of Pazardjik. The approach adopted is already being multiplied within other strategic activities like Preparation of a New Solid Waste Management Strategy , and the innovative Issuing of Municipal Contractual Loan . The innovation does not require expensive novelties, and stems from the intellectual endeavors of the staff and effective team work (at the local level and with Program partners), which has resulted in saving municipal funds and time for the creation of facilities for solving an acute social problem such as the support of small and medium size enterprizes.