EEDC: Give me your thoughts on your position as Director of Downtown Development with EEDC?
Jeff Lankford (JL): EEDC has a broad scope of development activities in Easton, and, to be fair, even broader on the many things that they do in Talbot County. A strong solid core for downtown businesses is vital to any town if it is to thrive. So, for my role, we’ll be looking at ways to help improve consumer and business relations, how we can enhance the way that downtown is presented to folks, how we can make it easier for them to find things and get around.
We’re looking at marketing strategies, looking at new events, and taking a fresh look at what we can do to support the businesses that are already here. Then we also encourage involvement with some new people that could bring in some new ideas to downtown. We’re not talking about being entrepreneurial-focused; instead, we want to see what other towns are doing that maybe we’re not doing here in Easton. We want to see if we can capture that energy and put it into use here.
EEDC: What’s coming up that we need to know about?
JL: In the past two weeks, we’ve established some great new programs. One being a Downtown Easton eGift Card that will be digital and available this week. We will also be unveiling the Shop Sundays Holiday Raffle campaign that rewards shoppers for coming out on Sundays.
EEDC: Tell me about this digital gift card.
JL: We found many communities and development groups, such as Chambers of Commerce, that use this program called Yiftee Gift Cards. And as long as you’re a merchant that accepts MasterCard, you can be in the program. This is how it works: Let’s say I live in California, and I want to buy my son, who lives in Easton, a gift, but I have no idea what places he likes or where he prefers to shop. I go right online to this gift card portal, buy a $50 gift card, and send it to him electronically. He can then use it to get some food at one of the local restaurants, buy himself some new clothes, or go to any participating merchants anywhere that accept this card. This is a fantastic opportunity to encourage people to come downtown and explore what’s available.
EEDC: What kind of response are you getting from the merchants about this program?
JL: I walked around last week to see if our downtown businesses were receptive to this idea and the Shop Sundays Holiday Raffle. Ten out of 10 businesses said that they would do it. This week, we’ll get the raffle information out to the merchants and get them signed up for the Downtown Easton Cards.
I expect a couple of dozen businesses to start, but we’ll probably keep growing this as we get more and more merchants interested in the program.
EEDC: How long do you anticipate this program lasting?
JL: I imagine that the Downtown Easton Card program will last as long as people keep using it. And what’s great about it is that we can include as many merchants as we have in Easton. Our focus right now is downtown, but there’s no reason that we can’t expand it beyond that. What I really like about the program is not just the fact that we can bring people to Easton and get them shopping and spending their money locally, but this gives businesses an opportunity to market themselves by creating promo offers or buy-one-get-one deals, etc.
I see it also expanding to other businesses in Easton that maybe aren’t retail or restaurant focused. These companies can buy gift cards in bulk and give them away as employee bonuses or in customer retention promotions. Or we can have sponsors sign on to help waive any kind of fees or offer money so that if you buy, for instance, a $50 gift card, you earn an additional $20 gift card. There’s a lot of different ways that businesses can play with us in this arena.
EEDC: To sign up go here.
EEDC: What about this Shop Sundays Raffle?
JL: Not all of our downtown businesses are open on Sunday, except at this time of the year, during the holidays, when merchants want to make sure they have provided as many shopping opportunities as possible. Especially during COVID, expanding their hours is no easy task. They’re already trying to balance payroll, trying to make sure that they’re not overextending themselves because walk-in retail is a little bit down, foot traffic-wise, and sales are kind of flat. We want to let customers know that we have merchants who would love for them to come in and shop safely and shop locally. And when they do, they will be rewarded. It will also show the retailers some appreciation for the fact that they’re putting in the effort to be open on Sundays and also help them attract new customers. It’s been tough this year, and anything we can do to help them out is worth doing.
So, the idea is for every $10 you spend on any Sunday in December through Christmas, at one of the participating merchants, you will earn a raffle ticket. On the Wednesdays after the Sunday shopping spree, we will select raffle tickets at random and announce the winning ticket numbers here. Winners will get one of the downtown gift cards, and we’re giving away a thousand dollars in total prizes.
EEDC: What can we expect with your involvement with EEDC and the development of downtown Easton.
JL: I’m very excited to figure out what the needs of our downtown are and what we can do short term that supports them through the wintertime and through the tough months. Thinking longer term, we’re going to be pulling together workgroups. As we announced at the meeting a couple of weeks ago, these will involve community members and business members.
EEDC: What are these workgroups?
JL: We have the Design and Community Connections Work Group, that’s specifically going to be looking at ways to enhance downtown aesthetics. So, we’re thinking of light pole banners, recommendations to the town on signage and parking, and things like that. But we’re also looking at the trend of wanting to be outdoors that will probably continue after COVID. So, we want to provide that for folks, and we’re looking at ways to expand outdoor seating by having picnic tables, bistro chairs, and Adirondack chairs placed around downtown.
We want to bring in some very industry-focused events. We think we can have some weeks that celebrate specific industries, like retail, restaurant, health and beauty, etc. I think there’s an arena for everybody to play. We can certainly use that as a promotional and awareness tool that lets people know that these services are here in Easton and that Easton is an excellent hub for commerce and retail.
Next, we have the Resource Development Work Group. These will be folks who are really passionate about bringing together volunteers and developing the resources and funding for some of the projects we want to bring to the table.
Lastly, the Interior Courtyard Project Work Group is a town initiative that will involve the interior of the block of downtown Easton between Washington, Goldsborough, Harrison, and Dover. We’d like to see this area adapted to accommodate a more pedestrian-friendly environment, perhaps even provide additional seating and additional opportunities for businesses to capture new revenues through new strategies.
These workgroups need support and participation; just let us know if you’re interested.
EEDC: Finally, let’s talk about the future. As you walk around discussing these programs and initiatives, what do you hear from businesses about 2021?
JL: Obviously, there’s a lot of concern about COVID. When the first shutdown happened, it was very tough, but many of them pulled together with some creative shopping ideas and different ways of doing business. The summer and fall were pretty okay. I mean, it wasn’t great, but they were able to make it through. The word is that if there are more major shutdowns or unexpected turmoil that 2020 may unleash, it’s going to be very difficult. So, everyone wants to get through the winter safely.
Everybody that I spoke to on the street says that, especially around Talbot County, most folks are wearing their masks. They’re doing social distancing and being very responsible, and they appreciate that. They asked that everyone please continue to do that because they can’t really afford to have any more shutdowns. Hopefully, by spring, we’ll have a vaccine, and things will open back up normally, and we’ll start seeing festivals and events as in years past. We can just go right into 2021 as if 2020 was just a blip on the radar.
