Bessemer Chamber of Commerce developing new visitors map ...

BESSEMER, Alabama -- In a time of GPS and tablet computers and smart phones, people seemingly hold a world of information in their hands and take it with them wherever they go.

So you might not think a traditional paper visitors map would have much value for a tourist, conventioneer or business person who comes to your town and ventures out of the motel in search of a good BBQ joint or a place to drop off some dry cleaning.

But that is not necessarily the case, say officials at the Bessemer Area Chamber of Commerce

"Even with all the electronics, it's still the map that you get from the hotels and motels, and it's got everybody listed on the back," according to William Parsons, Chamber board chairman. "This is so much better if you have the map in your hand. You can locate things you didn't know were here. People from out of town don't know the local businesses."

And Barbara Highbargin of Village Profile, a firm based in Elgin, Ill., that develops maps and other products for chambers of commerce across the United States, says that maps are "a big help for some of the mom and pop businesses."

"GPS is really great, and it's really helped businesses that are big chain businesses," Highbargin said during a presentation at the Bessemer Chamber offices on Thursday. "So if you go somewhere and you want to go to Wendy's... that's going to get you there. But if you go to a new town and you don't know where their star restaurants are, this tells you that."

That is why the Bessemer Chamber is working with Village Profile to do a new visitors map for Bessemer -- the first new map developed for the city in over a decade -- as well as a web site that will feature the advertisers who are on the map.

The new site will complement, not replace, the present chamber site.

The hope is that these new products will help the chamber more effectively promote Bessemer, including its businesses and all of its attractions -- such as the Bessemer Civic Center, the Hall of History and Frank House Municipal Golf Course.

Village Profile, according to Highbargin, is a family-owned media and publishing business that has been in operation for 25 years.

Village Profile offers such products as maps, print publications, web sites, e-books, smartphone apps and mobile business directories.

The firm is a member of 600 chambers of commerce and does business with about 1,400, according to Highbargin.

"We're a big supporter of chambers of commerce," she said. "They are our primary customers."

Ronnie Acker, President of the chamber, said that it is important for the chamber to have a new map since it has been about a decade since a map was developed and about 5 years since there were any copies of it left to give out.

The Chamber will receive assistance from the City of Bessemer -- namely Eddy Parsons in the city's IT and economic and community development departments -- in making the map as accurate as possible, according to Acker and Parsons.

The new map will include projections of new streets or changes to streets that are forecast over the next 2 or 3 years. "That way the map will stay up to date," Acker said.

"It will be a good map," Parsons said.

And the map will not be just a traditional paper map but a map for the 21st century.

Advertisers on the map will also receive an ad on the new web site, and they'll have the option of including a QR code in their ad, so someone with the map and a smart phone in their hand can scan the code and go straight to the advertiser's own web site.

Highbargin used her tablet computer to show a?similar site that her firm did in Decatur, Ala. The site has chapters -- things like history, shopping, and recreation and entertainment.

The Bessemer site will be similar, according to Highbargin. "This provides good overall information for visitors and, because of the way we link this, if somebody types in "Bessemer history" or "shopping and dining Bessemer' (in an Internet search), this site is going to come up," she said.

Advertisers can buy chapter ads or smaller banner ads on the site, and the ads will link to the advertisers' web sites. Businesses who buy ads will also be included in an interactive map on the site, according to Highbargin.

Highbargin will sell the ads herself, going on sales calls in person. "That's why I like Village Profile," Acker said. "They have her here selling face to face. And that's what my members like.'

The chamber will share in the proceeds of the ad sales for the map and web site, according to Highbargin, who said the chamber's share will probably be in the range of 10-15 percent. The ads will also pay for the cost of developing and printing the map.

"The money is not that important," Parsons said. "It's about promoting Bessemer."

"This is the best deal for our members and the city," according to Acker, who said that the chamber considered doing the map in house but realized that it would strain their volunteers -- who are already producing a magazine -- and that the product would ultimately not be as good.

Highbargin said that businesses have until July 15 to buy an ad.

In the next phase, by August 15, she said that Acker must supply her with any of the basic editorial information about the city -- including locations and contact information of local attractions, hospitals, and other services -- that will be included on the web site.

The map should be available by November 1, with the number of copies dependent on how many ads Village Profile has been able to sell. "I am hoping for about 5,000 copies," Acker said.

The map will be distributed by such entities as hotels, real estate agents, the city of Bessemer and the chamber.

The web site will be operational by about January 1, according to Highbargin.?

For more information, call the Chamber at (205) 425-3253. The chamber's web site is www.bessemerchamber.com.

Source: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/06/bessemer_chamber_of_commerce_i.html

PSEG hocus pocus hocus pocus mta schedule PECO Hurricane Sandy update ellen degeneres