A New Opportunity
2021 is looking to be a very exciting year as we are excited to absorb the Crossroads Downtown Partnership into the Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce. There will be no requirement for any Downtown Morristown business to be a Chamber of Commerce member and each business will be offered much greater marketing and social media opportunities than before regardless if you are a member or not. Chamber Members will get additional marketing through Chamber of Commerce social media resources and other marketing channels but non Chamber members will get full marketing on Downtown Morristown TN social media, print, training and other media and marketing opportunities.
The former organization will no longer exist, but the positive work they have worked toward downtown will continue as the Chamber looks to hire a new staff person, revamp committees with a focus on the 4 pillars as highlighted by the national main street program and renews focus on business, business owners and downtown properties. We hope to create a better understanding that downtown isn’t simply two blocks of main street but stretches from Fred Miller Park to Rose Center to Sherwood Commons to the farmers market and everything in between. There is strength in size and stature and without these enhanced areas, we would represent one of the smallest downtowns in the State of Tennessee. Downtown has seen much success in new business attraction as of late, but our goal would be to not stop marketing until every space is filled with unique businesses. The first regularly scheduled event downtown is the Craft Fair the 3rd week of April. Based on COVID regulations, this and future events could change, but in the meantime, we need to make a strong early marketing push for the first quarter. Expect to be contacted soon as each business will be highlighted individually on new social media platforms and strategies for how to circulate the value greater than among our own community will be discussed.
An immediate impact in marketing will be felt as the Chamber will invest in enhanced social media presence for all businesses regardless of Chamber membership. If a downtown business isn’t as social media savvy, we will offer trainings and education opportunities to ensure each business in on equal footing. We will essentially pay to help get you set up and active on all social media platforms to make sure you aren’t missing out on potential customers. The Chamber will also invest on additional marketing to ensure we are attracting “outside the region” visitors to Morristown as 100% of funding for Downtown Morristown is provided by hotel and motel taxes and sponsorships. Heads in beds overnight allow these investments to be made downtown so we have to examine which events can create the opportunity to encourage overnight stays and support those opportunities with greater support. We fully understand all events won’t be able to accomplish this goal and want downtown to know we will market any event downtown with the same effort. We must promote a unified and consistent message and that message should be loud and clear, Downtown Morristown is open for business and creates a friendly environment to customers and visitors. This should be a unified voice in partnership with the Chamber and merchants as together, we all can reach a much greater audience. If you need assistance prior to a new director being hired, please call the Chamber of Commerce and we will fill the gap for the next month or so until someone is in place.