Chambers Build Web Presence
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Amherst Common is both a place and the shorthand for a Web site shaped by Joseph Arak and the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. Arak, president of the Amherst chamber's board, and his black Lab Nikki visited the common last week.
KEVIN GUTTING photo |
Monday, March 6, 2000
By JUDSON BROWN, Staff Writer
Area chambers of commerce see in the Internet a unique opportunity to advance their essential mission - to add value to their members' businesses through promotion, communication, collaboration and technical assistance.
The Northampton, Easthampton and Amherst chambers all have established a presence on the Internet, although their Web pages differ markedly in size, sophistication and look.
Each chamber has taken its own approach to the Internet challenge.
Officials at all three chambers agree that the benefits of using the Internet are becoming more apparent as time goes on.
The Internet offers them "a great image making opportunity" which is especially relevant to Northampton's billing itself far and wide as a tourist destination, says Suzanne Beck, director of the Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce.
While developing interesting, content-rich and interactive Web pages is an expensive undertaking, and beyond the budgets of many chambers, simple and well-focused versions of Web pages can immediately be cost-effective for chambers, according to Victoria White, president of eclecTechs™, which has provided technical services to the Northampton and Easthampton chambers.
A Web site loaded with a membership database that has been programmed for searches can enable a chamber to drastically reduce expenditures on the volumes of printed materials they customarily distribute, according to both White and John Coull, director of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce.
Joseph Arak, president of the board of the Amherst chamber, sees a golden opportunity through the Web to give visibility to many of the town's unique, low-profile, niche businesses; to nurture "a culture of collaboration" between all businesses in town; and soon to offer new marketing and selling opportunities through joint e-commerce endeavors.
Marlene Krawczyk, executive secretary of the Easthampton chamber, says the Web offers another important advertising outlet for local businesses. The Easthampton chamber is encouraging members to establish their own Web pages and to this end offers as a benefit to members a discount at eclecTechs™ on the cost of an initial launch.
Through the Internet, and specifically through e-mail, the Easthampton chamber also has begun to communicate more frequently and widely with chambers throughout the country, discovering in the process "a lot of common interests," said Krawczyk.
The Easthampton, Northampton and Amherst chambers each has taken a distinct approach to going on line.
Northampton's site
The Northampton chamber for several years had a "brochure" type site set up at an address provided free to all chambers in the country when the Internet first went commercial, White said.
In December, the chamber launched a new Web site under a new domain name, northamptonuncommon.com. This site includes colorful graphics and the complete database of the chamber's membership, programmed to be searchable in various ways, and with clickable links to members who have their own Web pages.
About 30 percent of the chamber's 800 or so members have their own Web pages, Beck said. The site partly has been financed by a state grant of $7,800 and the chamber has applied for a $10,000 grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism to help pay for additions to the site, Beck said.
The planned additions include a "relocation" section with information and links to assist homeowners and businesses seeking to relocate in the area; a "media" section which will distribute press and publicity kits on line; a calendar; an improved membership services section; and various "enhancements" to the existing visitor section.
Easthampton's site
The Easthampton chamber's Web site, which operates on the original free domain name, chamber.easthampton.ma.us, has been in existence for several years.
It's the most rudimentary of the three. It has no database. Chamber members with Web sites are listed and can be accessed through the site. There also is a page of information describing chamber services, and an on-line form by which to apply for membership.
The chamber has a banner located on the "Marketplace" section of the city of Easthampton's Web site, at easthamptonweb.com, which is itself a lively amalgam of information and links. The Marketplace includes a directory of local businesses with active links to various on-line businesses broken down by types of businesses.
Amherst's site
amherstcommon.com, which serves as the Web site for the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, is a production of Arak, its current board president, and his company, Professional Marketing Associates, a firm transplanted from Cambridge about three years ago.
The firm specializes in national "teleprospecting" for large insurance companies.
amherstcommon.com is a large and sprawling site, with many database search options, many interactive features including a walking tour of Amherst, a daily and weekly calendar produced by a company called instantpioneervalley.com that can be clicked to enter for details on almost all events, and many links.
The side panel on the home page contains four categories of links with the titles Town Common, Business Center, Community Guide and What to Do.
In the "Business Center," one can go to "Amherst Upstairs" which has links by category to dozens of businesses which are described as the "hidden Amherst (that) includes hundreds of consultants, professionals and technical expertise working from home offices and cozy second floor studios. Discover the diversity of talent and resources at Amherst Upstairs."
The Amherst chamber has invested about $7,000 in the site since its inception, and recently received a $14,625 grant from the state travel office toward a planned $36,000 upgrade of the site.
The remaining $22,000 is expected to come from "in kind" contributions of the chamber and from fees that local businesses would pay for special services to be added to the site, according to Coull, the chamber director.
Coull said that amherstcommon.com represents a hybrid public-private venture, and acknowledged that the private investment has been greater than the public.
Arak said his company has poured hundreds of hours of its own time and money into the site. A transplant from Cambridge who is enthusiastic about the town, Arak called the effort "a labor of love." The site, although without banner advertising or other revenue-producing aspects, nevertheless represents a commercial venture for Arak and PMA. Some day soon Arak hopes it produces a "cash flow" not only for his firm but also for the chamber and participating chamber members.
Plans for upgrading include a program that will allow for 3-D viewing of the inside of stores, more advertising and sponsorships and an e-commerce function open for use to businesses in town too small to establish their own e-commerce capabilities.
The tentative title for this feature is "Bazaar on the Common."
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