4
April
Date 2014
Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau
From the President
Jeanine McKenna
President & CEO
Roll out the Red Carpet, Emporia! The sun is shining and we are beginning to see warmer temperatures
outside which gets everyone in a better mood and looking for what there is to see and do in the spring and
summer months.
Emporia is blessed with a lot of activities and events throughout the year. However, we are gearing up for
a busy and yet exciting and fun time of activities and events, such as graduations, weddings, the Glass Blown
Open, Dirty Kanza 200, and the National Teachers Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony just to name a few. Are
you ready?
What impression will you and your business make on all of our guests who are here visiting us? Good
customer service is the cheapest and the most effective type of marketing you can do. Unfortunately, people
today are conditioned to expect poor service, and the business who exceeds those expectations is the one who
will grow their business.
Here is an experiment you can use. Visualize yourself entering your business. Wait! Go back and visualize
yourself in front of your business. What do you see? Have you swept away the salt that you put out during our
snow storms? Have you picked up any trash that is lying around? Is your storefront inviting? Now enter your
store. Are you welcomed, and made to feel special? Is this a business where you would want to come back and
visit? Would you recommend your business to others? If you are honest with yourself, you will see the good and
the bad and will know what you want to work on to improve your “hospitality” or customer service.
Be knowledgeable about the community in order to answer questions. Know what events and activities are
happening in the community and ask your customers if they are here for that event or something else. Find out
where they are from. This will leave a lasting memory that could mean return business for you.
Remember, we are here to assist you. Do you have a city map to distribute when someone needs directions?
Do you have our visitor’s guide to help them with their decision making on where to visit next? If you are
needing this or any other information, just give us a call and we will do what we can to assist you. Visit our
website, www.emporiakschamber.org to check the calendar of events and to learn about who is visiting.
We just don’t say: “It’s a Great Day in Emporia!” to sound good; we mean it! Roll out the red carpet,
Emporia; be proud of what we have to see and do!