Cape Business Trends newsletter March 22, 2007
Marketing to an important demographic
More than 40 percent of your potential customer base are second-home owners, and in some towns, that number exceeds half of all households. Second-home owners spend more than year-round Cape residents, and what they buy often is different. Can you afford to ignore half your potential customer base? Please join Cape Business Editor Glenn Ritt this Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. at the TD Banknorth Wealth Management Building at 495 Station Avenue in South Yarmouth for a Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce seminar on targeting second-home owners.
To reserve a spot, contact chamber president Bob Dubois at (508) 778-1008 or yarmouth@capecod.net.
A delay in health insurance law
The Connector Authority voted to delay the full implementation of the new health care reform law for 18 months, giving residents until Jan. 1, 2009, to meet minimum coverage standards, which includes prescription drugs. Individuals will still be required to have health insurance by July 1 of this year, or face financial penalties.
The minimum coverage criteria that eventually must be met include a cap on out-of-pocket spending for in-network services at $5,000 for individual coverage and $10,000 for family coverage, plus a cap on annual deductibles at $2,000 for an individual and $4,000 for families. If there is a separate deductible for drug coverage, the deductible may not exceed $250 for individuals and $500 for family policies. Plans would be required to cover preventive and primary care, emergency services, hospitalization benefits, ambulatory patient services and mental health services.
Executive Director Jon Kingsdale said setting the effective date to January 1, 2009, would allow the requirement to be in sync with the tax year and allow employers time to make adjustments and offer an open enrollment period so employees can choose plans that meet the minimum standards.
Kingsdale warned that in order to enroll in employer-sponsored plans, employees would have to start as early as February 1, 2008, to make sure individuals are in compliance with the new standards by January 1, 2009.
Employment picture
Ten of the state’s 12 Metropolitan Areas recorded over-the-year job gains in January. The Pittsfield area posted the largest gain in jobs (+3.6 percent). Barnstable County, however, joined the Framingham area as the only two regions to record a flat jobs picture.
Meanwhile, every labor market experienced higher over-the-year and over-the-month increases in the unemployment rate. Barnstable’s unemployment rate in January was 7.5 percent, compared with 6.6 percent a year earlier – and 5.9 percent in December, 2006.
Job losses were most pronounced in retail trade, leisure and hospitality and educational services.
Restaurants adjust to changing times
The restaurant industry on Cape Cod is undergoing dramatic – and sometimes painful – transitions. Those highly dependent on summer business are discovering that tourist patterns are changing at a threatening pace. Shorter vacations and more home rentals mean fewer customers in the summer. The rising costs of energy, insurance and stock add to expenses – with little wiggle room to increase menu prices.
Fortunately, the growing preference by empty-nesters to vacation during the spring and fall shoulder seasons offers a new customer base. So too does the rising tide of second-home owners and retirees, many of whom use their Cape residences year-round.
These older tourists and second-home owners bring with them different tastes than the traditional younger family with children. An analysis by Cape Business discovered, for example, that there are nearly 4,000 second-home owners who identify themselves as gourmet cooks and fine diners. That’s a far cry from the fish and chips crowd.
So, how can a restaurant thrive in this brave new world? How can an establishment succeed in serving a tourist visiting the Cape for the first time, but also meet the demands of year-round residents and second-home owners?
Cape Business interviewed five restaurateurs whose success reflects not only on their own establishments, but also on changing economic and demographic landscape. Some keys to their success include:
• Be consistent, but change with the times
• Diversify by building a strong events and functions business
• Appeal to the growing second home and retirement community
• Get to know your repeat customers’ preferences
• Invest in renovations, especially to serve off-season patrons
• Retain your best staff
• Reach out to younger diners
The restaurants’ full profiles will appear in our upcoming Villages of Yarmouth publication, being inserted in the May/June edition of Cape Business and separately mailed to 5,000 households in town. If you want your business to reach these readers, please call Bob Viamari at (508) 385-3811 to learn more about the publication.
Cape Wellness Expo this weekend
The Cape & Islands Wellness Expo is this weekend – March 24 and 25 at Willy's World Wellness Center in Eastham. Admission is free. There will be 80 exhibitors. You can register to attend more than 30 educational workshops and seminars. Click here for the full list and to register online to reserve workshop space and receive almost 40 percent off the regular price. Receive a free t-shirt when you register online for three or more classes.
Beacon Hill change could benefit Cape
With state Senate President Robert Travaglini’s resignation, Sen. Therese Murray, who represents part of the Cape, takes over the powerful position.
Murray, a 56-year-old Plymouth Democrat, recently faced criticism for her role in allocating $11 million in state funds for a tourism marketing contractor who had previously shortchanged the state out of millions through the Massachusetts International Marketing Partnership.
She has waved off allegations of wrongdoing as "totally preposterous," and asked the state inspector general to investigate the program. On Tuesday, the inspector general's office said the review is ongoing, but has turned up "no evidence to suggest that any state officials (elected or appointed) were provided trips or airplane tickets by MIMP or any related parties."
Murray was elected to the Legislature in 1992, after working as a mitigation manager for the state highway department and in community relations. She founded South Shore Cablevision, according to theresemurray.com, a Web site outside the Legislature's system.
She has been in the thick of action as chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which is in the midst of budget action.
Five sentences retailers should avoid saying
Our Retail Details guru, Doug Fleener, tells retailers to stay away from these pronouncements:
1) “How may I help you?” – It’s old, tired, and way overused. If you visit 10 stores on a shopping trip, you’re bound to hear it at least five times, which also means you were probably ignored three or four times. Kill it.
2) “Feel free to look around.” – Also old, tired and way overused. It’s like you’re giving me permission to look around in your store.
3) “Let me know if you have any questions.” – OK, maybe not as tired as the first two, but definitely overused. If you use this one, think about changing it to “I’ll be happy to assist you at any time.”
4) “Let me know if you need any help.” – See No. 3.
5) “We’re out of stock but you can call us after our truck comes in.” – This virtually invites the customer to shop your competition because you clearly don’t care if that person makes a purchase from you or not. Always offer to call the customer.
Fleener comes to the Cape on Tuesday, April 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. for another Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce seminar. To learn, please contact chamber president Bob Dubois at (508) 778-1008 or yarmouth@capecod.net.
Comings and goings
Downtown Orleans has seen Soft as a Grape, Guertin Brothers Jewelers, Puritan Cape Cod clothing and now Orleans Army & Navy close their doors. Cuffy’s has arrived, and an increasing number of service companies are putting up shingles. All this since TJ Maxx moved into town. … With spring comes the widening of Route 132 in Hyannis. First step: work between Exit 6 interchange and Phinney's Lane later this month, with the entire project continuing for more than three years and covering two miles – including concrete median and signal upgrades.
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