MIEDCO to Help Melissa Businesses Advertise

<p>By Rodney Hays
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<p>Staff Writer
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<p>The Melissa Industrial Economic Development Corporation wants Melissa businesses to bring in more customers. And to help, they are putting their money where their mouth is. 
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<p>Melissa businesses are now able to take advantage of a dollar-for-dollar match for money spent to advertise businesses in print and other media.
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<p>"While things are a little tough economically, we want to try and help the existing businesses in Melissa to bring in more customers," said Jim Luscombe, chairman of the MIEDC board. "It will help the businesses and help Melissa a little bit."
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<p>The maximum match from the board is $250 and businesses can use the program twice a year. Board members approved a budget of $5,000 for the program, but Luscombe said if it turns out to be a "really good thing, we can always approve more money for it." 
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<p>The marketing material must include a method to contact the MIEDC either by phone, e-mail or through the Web site. Material should also include a couple of bullet-points from the "Melissa is Good for Business" flyer developed by the MIEDC. 
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<p>Those points remind current businesses and residents as well as potential businesses the highlights of Melissa. They bullet points talk about the TEA rating of the school district, the master-planned communities, the new town center currently under construction, the industrial park, the great location and the proximity to universities, air ports, lakes, entertainment and other things. "We are pretty flexible," Luscombe said. "They can even include a few of their own bullet points." 
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<p>Luscombe said in addition to help Melissa businesses, "it's a little bit of advertising for the city of Melissa as a whole." 
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<p>He said the board especially wanted to help developers who have empty office and retail space. "Any of these businesses that have some empty space ... we want to try and help them get that space filled, for new business to move in and to start generating new sales tax dollars for the city. 
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<p>The advertising campaign must be approved by the MIEDC before the co-op dollars can be awarded. 
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<p>"We really would like to use some of the sales tax dollars that have funneled through to help some of these businesses bring customers back in," Luscombe said .
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<p>For more information on the program, contact the Melissa Industrial Economic Development Corporation at edc@cityofmelissa.com.  </p>