Assistance

Elmer said he will take a look at the applications submitted by the businesses for the fall semester. The application asks the business owners to describe the business, what makes it unique, who its primary and secondary customers are, what they have done to attract new customers and what their biggest marketing issue is.

In the past, the students were teamed up to work with the businesses through a mix of classroom and on-site work. In the spring, as the coronavirus pandemic spread, Elmer said the program was forced to pivot when West Chester University moved to online instruction and businesses were forced to close. Elmer reached out to the students in the class, to see who would volunteer to help businesses that were going through rough times because of

COVID. Of 65 students, 55 volunteered.

With West Chester University being completely online this semester, Elmer said some of the details of the process for this year are still being worked out.

He said the internet has quickly changed the way businesses should market.

“They need to reach all markets and try to get to what customers care about and what marketing works for them,” Elmer said. He added that a lot of business owners don’t fully understand what marketing is.

“It is about finding and keeping customers. They are the lifeblood of our business,” he added.

Elmer is a SCORE mentor who works with small businesses on their marketing challenges. He has spent more than 25 years in sales and marketing senior leadership positions in a variety of different industries with a focus on helping companies grow.

Elmer said that the university this fall has launched a digital marketing minor that any student in the school can get. It is an experiential class he said.

“We have 22 students working with businesses in the area of digital marketing,” he said. “The program lets students use what they have learned. Internships are not available. They are getting experience and helping other companies. It’s a win-win.”

The deadline to apply for the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce/Wet Chester University Marketing Partnership Program is Wednesday, Sept. 30.

For more information visit https://greaterwestchester.com/2020/09/14/ gwcc-wcu-marketingpartnership-program-connects-local-businesseswith-free-marketing-help/. To access the application for consideration for the program visit https://greaterwestchester.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/09/ Program-Application-FINAL.pdf.