How to earn our loyalty in order to help us move LM to your town.

The other day I met a HUGE crowd at the Web Innovators Conference, and many approached us about our facility location. This solicitation below came as a communication directly to me after we had returned home. It was so impassioned that I just had to share it. (Note: the Names and places have been suppressed to provide anonymity....but this guy LOVES A-Town, and I am compelled to take a close look.)


Hey Jay,

John Doe, co-founder of ABC, elevator dude. I harangued you on
the phone about A-Town today. Now, allow me to harangue you in
textual form.

If you are planning on a Southern Location, A-Town is it. A
couple of simple reasons:

1. First, you need a place that resourced, smart, early adopters want
to go. As someone who grew up in a mill town (B-Town), let me tell you
that people don't want to go to mill towns. They are great to write
depressing folk songs about, really excellent places to get quantities
of drugs for later resale, but not the kind of place that anyone would
consider as a destination otherwise. When are you ever finding
yourself going out to C-Town or D-Town just on a whim (and by whim I
don't mean "suffering from withdrawal")? You want this thing at a
desirable destination so people are encountering your brand, but can
explore it at a distance initially. It's going to take something like
10 brand encounters before someone gets into the purchase funnel for
this thing.

That's what makes A-Town an infinitely better choice. As I said
in our call, you can totally see a couple planning a visit as a part
of a day trip. "We're going on a whale watch, then we're going to see
that crazy car place my husband heard about then maybe to one of the
beaches and then to W's for some clams..." Name a cuisine that
B-Town is famous for... I believe the answer to that is "steak bomb."
Dude, nobody drives for a steak bomb.

2. A-Town has an existing industrial base. V Corporation-
making fab machines, is here. A-Town Engineering, making
specific-purpose industrial machines. Tronics. There are bunches
of things like this. We also have the industries that support the
boating industry- which btw was fab before fab was cool. We are
totally dialed in on the custom concept- every boat is
different and, dare I say, you won't find a better collection of
diesel weenies anywhere. You wanna talk diesel, I'll introduce you to
my friend G Crotchetelle who has powered the entire fleet and just
dropped a pair of Cat generators into a Coast Guard 125' Patrol
Cutter. The whole town is wired on diesel.

3. We're a crazy bunch of misfits. We have a distinct,
internationally known personality based on a conveyance- the
diesel-powered Boat. What is B-Town's personality? It's
based on sitting at a loom in a stationary mill. Not congruent with
your brand, I must say.

We are known to be insane, but industrious. Risk taking and fun, but
also serious about the work. It's the same as you guys. You'd fit
right in here. It's all about telling a story. The B-Town/C-Town
story is "from Massachusetts' industrial past comes it's possible
industrial future..." which is fine, but somewhat yawn inducing. The
A-Town story is, "A new bunch of risk-takers are taking up
residence in America's oldest port." You go from PBS to
Discovery channel that way. Way more dynamic and exciting. You get
interviews from hard-bitten yet comically friendly longshoremen saying,
"These bahstids ah crazy, but we're all crazy up heah...." What is
your narrative out on 495? Who do you talk to? A 95 year old former
mill worker? People from the past.

The visuals of the cars next to the ocean and the boats is much better
than out there anyway. Way better than visuals of the cars next to
pawn shops and liquor stores.

4. We have one of New England's scenic drives here- Route 34 out
from A-Town and around H Point through Rockytop. Rocky
coast, dappled light, quaint small village centers and tucked-away
coves. The people you are attracting are drivers, people who live to
drive. Um...B-Town and C-Town does have... the drive to
Dumsford.... which is.... cool. I guess. I think I bought a gas
grill out there once.

4. Access to the mayor. The current mayor is a personal friend and
I'd be happy to set up a meeting with all of us- her term lasts
another three years. This is the kind of thing that he's always
trying to bring to the city- since the boating industry is waning we
are looking toward the future. This is the best example of what I've
been talking about with city leaders, that the future is not in "old
industries" but in new ones. Mayor Clark is very smart, from the
business world, was a consultant for a long time, and knows his shit.
His wife is a business journalist.

5. So milk it. Come out, we'll show you around, give you the tour,
talk about the city and what it has to offer, eat some lobster, drink
a few beers. What have you got to lose?

Oh, and wear the flight suit. We're all about the cosplay. Little
known fact- once out at sea most boaters are full-on furries.

Allright- stop reading and back to making cars: