One Warkworth – Border bother

Just when we thought we were settling into a new normal under Alert Level 1, many of us have been stopped in our tracks with the restrictions under Alert Level 3. Feedback received indicates that “border control” in the north was a nightmare in both directions. For many local businesses, with ongoing work in the Level 2 region, they just could not get through. Other essential businesses with staff living north of the border felt the impact, with workers not being able to get south to their workplace.

In the likelihood that we may be in and out of different Alert Levels for some time, we need a better system for identifying legitimate travel between borders. Our economy needs as much support as it can get and One Warkworth will be advocating strongly to our local MPs to get these border crossing processes improved so our businesses can keep operating.

If you are a local business that has been inconvenienced by the restrictions on travel between Auckland and Northland, please contact me so we can add your story to our case.

Our latest member newsletter touched on the large number of buy local campaign, websites, Facebook pages that exist – all trying to get business from businesses wanting to market their goods and services. While it is fantastic to have so many options, for many it could be overwhelming – how do you know where the best place is to advertise, register or promote your business to get the best results?

The key is to know your target market. The 80:20 rule suggests that 80 per cent of your results are likely to come from 20 per cent of your efforts. In marketing, this could mean just 20 per cent of your marketing is responsible for 80 per cent of your success, or 20 per cent of your customer base generates 80 per cent of your sales. This is why it’s so important to keep track of your marketing efforts and identify what is working best. By spending the majority of your resources on these activities you will be assured of results.

It is also good to remember how well served we are in Mahurangi by local media across print, radio and digital. Do not underestimate the power of local media when it comes to getting your business noticed by our community. This is especially important in these trying times.

Finally, we had such an amazing response to the Mahurangi Employment Expo from both exhibitors (26 confirmed) and the public, that we are working with Mahurangi College and the Auckland Business Chamber on a new date – watch this space.

For now though, please continue to support local wherever you can – our businesses are depending on us.

Murray Chapman, One Warkworth, Manager
www.onewarkworth.co.nz