(FLORENCE COUNTY, SC)  Searching for a place to expand or relocate your business?  Interested in taking a virtual tour of a building for sale in the region? Or maybe you are just curious as to what the regional demographics look like for the Northeast Corner of South Carolina? All of this and more is now available online at www.scbusinesscorner.com. Touted as South Carolina’s Business Corner, NESA is paving the way for future business deals in the region.    

The NESA Board of Directors adopted the new logo and tagline, South Carolina’s Business Corner, during its July 2006 Board meeting and Jeff McKay and his staff have been shouting this message to the masses ever since. Along this same time frame, the NESA website was revitalized and upgraded to include vital information on the region. Since coming online in June 2006, the website has now had over 100,000 hits.  NESA Executive Committee Chair, Senator Yancey McGill, agrees that the website is key for regional marketing. “New information is continuously being added to our website creating a one-stop shop for economic development research and project work”, says McGill. Regional demographics as well as a noted regional labor force overview, Pathfinders Report, are included online. The most recent enhancement and latest marketing resource is the addition of video footage, showcasing some of the existing buildings in the region. This allows a client the flexibility of being in the comforts of their own office and still being able to “visit” the area through virtual tours.  

Jeff McKay states, “We feel that providing this benefit to our clients speaks volumes of our efforts to help them in their research and anticipate their needs before they even visit the region.  Online research is definitely vital to economic development. A client can be in Los Angeles, Germany, or China and have 24-hour access to validated information on our workforce and available buildings and sites in the region.  From my experience in the field, clients are looking for the right location (buildings and sites) and an adequate and skilled workforce.  We have both and through our online marketing efforts, we are showcasing these benefits to clients all over the world.” 

Each month NESA’s website attracts visitors from over 15 different countries.  The number of total hits per month and the length of an average visitor session have both continued to strengthen as the website itself has been enhanced in recent months. Senator Yancey McGill remarks, “In our global economy, marketing online is not just a good idea it is a “must do” and NESA is doing it right. It’s another way this regional alliance is working to strengthen the overall business climate for our nine counties.”

 NESA’s primary objective is to significantly enhance the quality of life for residents of the region by creating additional jobs and capital investment within the existing industry base as well as through recruitment of new companies and expansions of tourism related development.  NESA provides support, resources, and an extended marketing arm for the local economic development offices that make up the alliance. NESA represents Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro, & Williamsburg counties.  To learn more, visit www.scbusinesscorner.com.

North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) is a non-profit regional economic development organization that serves nine counties in the northeast corner of South Carolina.