by Danielle Ray
Lex Thomas Communications has been contracted by the Town of Sterling to craft a marketing and communications plan in an effort to revitalize and encourage business growth and attract new businesses, specifically in the downtown area.
Toronto native Lex Thomas has been a resident of Sterling for 15 years,
and has a vested interest in her new hometown. She is an active member of
the community, having served on the Chocksett Middle School PTO and the
Sterling Community Theatre board. She is currently an elected member of the
Board of Library Trustees, and is editor of Sterling Meetinghouse News. Many
know her from her bi-weekly broadcasts with Sterling Lancaster Community
Television about things going on around town.
“I know firsthand what a great community this is,” Thomas says. “I also see tremendous potential that isn’t necessarily recognized or developed, which I believe could make this an even better place to live and do business.”
Town Administrator Ross Perry says the Economic Development Committee has been aspiring to come up with a plan that would showcase all that Sterling has to offer for potential businesses and economic expansion.
“We recognize that Sterling has a lot of attractive features, but they’ve been sort of held secret,” he says. “The idea is to make them more visible. I wanted to come up with something like ‘Why Sterling?’ Why would a business consider Sterling and what to put in that list, and Lex has some great ideas about coordinating a marketing plan.”
Funding for the project will come from the Economic Development Committee budget.
Thomas has marketing and public relations experience, both in the U.S. and in Canada, and says the partnership seemed like a natural fit. She put together a proposal and met with Perry, the Economic Development Committee, and selectmen several times throughout last fall and winter in order to develop a strategy and work plan.
“These things take time, and the things we’re trying to accomplish won’t happen overnight,” Thomas says. “This is a long-term plan intended to benefit the town for many years to come.”
Perry echoed those sentiments, saying there are many things they would like to accomplish together over the next six months but that a project of this scope will continue indefinitely once they reach a steady state.
“The need to market Sterling’s strengths goes on forever,” Perry says. “Short term is a coordinated way to extol the virtues of Sterling, and everyone can have the same message. Long term we are attracting and holding businesses, see vacant buildings and lots being built up and used, and more vitality because of more business choices in town.”
Perry says economic development for the town is part of the town’s master
plan, which, he says “should cover the vision of what you want the town to be
in a way that’s coordinated.”
Thomas says she’s looking forward to learning even more about Sterling, a
“beautiful, creative, and diverse town”, and its talented residents. “This project
is all about awareness and spreading the word about all that Sterling has to
offer – to businesses looking for a place to locate, as well as retain growing
businesses.”
Thomas has a long list of items she plans to develop that make Sterling an optimal place for businesses to be located, including a great school system, state of the art police and fire departments, a hardworking Department of Public Works, easy access to major highways, and competitive real estate prices for both residential and commercial properties.
She also plans to promote the Sterling Municipal Light Department as an
asset to the town which provides some of the lowest energy rates anywhere
in the country and continues to build an impressive green energy portfolio
comprised of wind and solar power and more.
“The project is called ‘Make the Sterling Choice,’ so my goal is to give prospective businesses the information they need to make an informed choice, and to hopefully make the Sterling choice,” Thomas says.
Thomas has a plan in place that starts off with “establishing an attractive and informative online and social media presence” on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. She will also be priming town officials to speak to chambers of commerce and business groups about everything Sterling has
to offer.
“We would like to see Sterling become a destination, a place where people come deliberately to enjoy our attractions,” she says. “That goes for businesses, residents and visitors. Obviously, that’s going to take time, and town committees and departments are already tackling some of the major infrastructure issues such as sidewalks, sewage, and parking. We want to see town residents involved in the planning and decision-making processes. It’s a great time to get involved.”
Want to get involved? Contact Lex Thomas at lex@lexthomas.com.