imakomm study reveals the importance of location communities for the business location
"Whether it's open Sundays, special promotions or city festivals – the strong commitment of location communities in the regions is crucial for lively city centers and attractive business locations. Without the know-how, time and contacts, many projects, offers and networks would simply not be possible," explains Jens Warnken, President of the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and spokesperson for the state working group of Brandenburg's IHKs.
Current figures from the imakomm study "Location communities of the future", which was presented at the nationwide exchange of experiences on 20.
"With great professionalism and voluntary member power, city marketing initiatives, trade and business associations strengthen the business location and the network in the regions. We are particularly pleased with the school grade 1 for the cooperation with the chambers of industry and commerce. We have great respect for all Brandenburg stakeholders and thank them for their excellent cooperation," continued Warnken. "In Brandenburg alone, we work with over 100 location communities."
Volunteer board members in location communities invest an average of 20 hours each per month and perform annual work worth over 15,000 euros. Warnken emphasizes, however, that voluntary commitment is already clearly reaching its resource limits: "Local authorities have a duty to establish full-time structures in the sense of professionalized location revitalization in order to support voluntary work on site. In view of the high average age of volunteers and the decline in membership, this can only be done hand in hand by businesses and local authorities."
Around two thirds of the budget of advertising associations is spent on organizing events such as the Christmas market. It is difficult for location communities to do this alone. The implementation of urban events should be supported by the municipality both financially and organizationally.
In addition, the average composition shows that "only" a good one in four participants in a location community is active in retail. In this respect, the annual program should also be geared towards the actual membership structure. More partners from trade, gastronomy, services and associations should be involved in order to broaden the activity of the member base.
More info
You can access the full results of the study "Compass for Germany: Location Communities of the Future" HERE. For the first time, metrics are provided that can be used for orientation and argumentation both for location communities and as an incentive for municipal and political work in order to create better framework conditions for successful location revitalization.
The imakomm study was supported by 55 IHKs, including the three Brandenburg IHKs, the Bundesvereinigung City- und Stadtmarketing Deutschland and the City-Management-Verband Ost e.V. For the first time, it systematically focuses on the structures and players of successful location communities.