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Lights, camera, action — area always needs to be ready

Five weeks ago The Weather Channel visited Alpena. Our office, along with Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary helped coordinate the logistics of the visit. Some knew in advance that they would be in town, some did not. Two weeks ago, popular Michigan based outdoor gear and apparel company Moosejaw Mountaineering, was in the area for a major photoshoot. One week ago, professional actor Ryan Kelley of the MTV show Teen Wolf was downtown eating ice cream. The Instagram photo he posted online of his ice cream cone acquired more than 45,000 “likes.”

These high-profile visits are helpful in advancing our mission to share our community with visitors to cultivate the highly valuable tourism economy. Often, our office, the Alpena Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, is aware of these visits in advance and frequently helps coordinate logistics. Sometimes we work with local businesses in advance directly, sometimes we coordinate same-day visits, and sometimes we provide recommendations and the person or organization makes their own decisions. Sometimes we are not allowed to share the information ahead of time so a business owner may not hear from us until the day of the visit. And often, the business owner never knows we were involved at all.

What does this mean? We’re experiencing positive exposure of our community like we’ve never seen before. What else does this mean? We need to be ready for our close up at all times.

You’re always on stage. Smile. The spotlight never turns off. Be friendly. The audience never takes an intermission. Go above and beyond. These are the customer service rules I learned while working as a waitress many years ago; and it couldn’t be more appropriate in the hyper-communicated world we live in today. If someone has a great experience they may tell a dozen people. If someone has a poor experience they will tell everyone they know, loudly. And now, thanks to social media, people you have no personal connection with whatsoever can see what you are doing and where you are doing it. Unbeknownst to many of us, Alpena is accessible in all her glory every day through internet interaction. Some may consider this horrific; but it is reality and it can be a very good thing.

These are just a few examples from the past several weeks that illustrate the point that every day we have an incredible opportunity. We have the chance to give someone a good impression of our community, a good impression that can help create more opportunities. More prospects for improving and enhancing the local economy.

It takes all of us working independently in the same direction to create and produce a positive outcome from these opportunities. Each and every day employees at every local service-based business make a decision to treat the first customer just as good as the last customer. And for those days when there may be no customers, it’s important to remain positive. It is a day to work on creating business marketing opportunities so the business will stand out and get noticed when high-profile opportunities come to town.

You never know who will walk through your door when you open up shop in the morning. As Alpena wakes from her slumber we will continue to see more people checking in to experience the Sanctuary of the Great Lakes. Marketing opportunities like features on The Weather Channel, photography used by companies that align with our lifestyle, and testimonials from visitors who have great Alpena experiences are priceless. It has taken many people working together in the same direction to make these opportunities a reality. It will continue to take all of us working together to sustain them and keep them focused in the right direction.

We rest firmly on the belief that most of our local establishments are always “show-ready” and shine brightly on-demand. The same can be said of most local residents who are warm and friendly. All of these facets meld together to create an overall genuine and authentically charming experience whether you live here or are merely here for a visit.

As the summer draws to a close now is a good time to evaluate the past few months and plan for the future. Does the outside of your establishment look welcoming? Is it clean? Does signage communicate what people can find inside? Is every customer greeted with enthusiasm? Do you have a marketing plan to help you maximize peak season and boost off-season prospects? Did you have a profitable summer season? What made it successful? If it was not a profitable season, what needs to be improved upon for next year?

You never know when The Weather Channel will show up and want to film in front of your doorstep. Let’s be ready for our close up!

Mary Beth Stutzman’s Inspiring A-Town runs bi-weekly on Tuesdays. Follow Mary Beth on Twitter @mbstutz.

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