Economic Development Committee
FY21-22 Annual Report
City Council Meeting
June 13, 2022
2021-2022
Economic
Development
Committee
Members
FY20-21 Appointed
Members
§ Daisy Fong, Chair
§ Sean Thompson, Vice
Chair
§ Debi Hirshlag*,
Secretary
§ Archie Judan, Chamber
Rep
§ Matthew Dougherty
§ Robert Foster*
§ Nicholas Humann*
§ Beth Lemke
§ Greta Sieglock*
*New Members
Council Liaisons
§ Mary Bier, Mayor
§ Sue Beckmeyer
Staff Liaisons
§ Yulia Carter, CFSO
§ Alyssa Barranti, Analyst
Economic
Development
Committee
Work Plan
Strategic Goals
2021-2022
§ Promote and market Pacifica to out-of-town
visitors to drive tourism revenue.
§ Provide assistance and support to local
businesses and the City of Pacifica.
§ Promote local businesses to the residents of
Pacifica to encourage residents to spend
locally and stop retail leakage.
FY 21-22 EDC Key
Accomplishments
Launched Shop Pacifica eGift Community Card
Program to boost revenue for local businesses
Organized the hugely successful Small Business
Job Fair to assist and support business growth
Conducted interviews of 11 business owners to
understand and address businesses needs
Engaged and connected with organizations to
identify opportunities for potential partnerships
FY 21-22 EDC Key Highlights
Participated in The SF Peninsula members (formerly SMCCVB) to a tour of event/meeting spaces to promote Pacifica as a corporate/business event destination
Increased exposure to Pacifica and participating Pacifica restaurants by sponsoring and promoting Peninsula Restaurant Week
Continued to promote Pacifica as destination to outside visitors on Discover Pacifica Instagram
Officially Launched on 12/17/2021 w/ 12 Businesses
• Currently 24 participating businesses
• 132 gift cards sold totaling $5,350/avg GC amt $41
Ø 28 gift cards or $951 redeemed
Ø Represents a 21% card redemption rate or 18% of total GC totals
• 67 bonus cards issued, totaling $1,675
Ø 26 cards redeemed (39% redemption rate)
• Restaurants, Food and Retail were top redeeming
businesses
*Data as of 5/29/2022
Promotions & Marketing targeted
both residents and local businesses
• Focused on local media & channels:
§ Newsletters/Emails: Connect w/Pacifica, Chamber Wave, Pacifica Education Foundation
§ Local Print Publication: Pacifica Anchor
§ Local Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, etc § Business Outreach: Physically visiting businesses to get them involved and participate in the program
§ Word of Mouth
• Created a Shop Pacifica Instagram account to drive
awareness and boost engagement of the program
Shop Pacifica Instagram
Snapshot
• Nearly 200 followers (194)
• Average 5.4% engagement rate
(likes, comments) across 11 posts -
average across all industries is
0.98%
• Posting average of less than 1 post
/week - 11 posts, 16 weeks active.
• With more consistent posting we'll likely
result in higher engagement and more
followers
• Working with CDA to ramp this up
BOGO & Marketing were Effective in Increasing GC Sales
Valentine’s Day BOGO Promo
• 26 cards purchased for a total $1,450
Ø 11 Cards totaling $465 redeemed
(42%, 32% redemption rate, respectively)
• Averaged GC amount increased by 51% from
$37 to $56
• 29 bonus cards issued for a total $725
Ø 18 cards totaling $402 redeemed
(62%, 55% redemption rate, respectively)
Ø 11 cards worth $275 expired
• Realized 21% ROI
Ø $402 invested in BOGO vs. incremental
increase of $494 purchased in GC
Teacher’s Appreciation Promo
• Spend $50, Get $25 in Bonus GC (expires 7/1/22)
• Dates: 4/26 to 5/6
• 67 cards purchased for a total $2,345
Ø 6 Cards totaling $400 redeemed
• Averaged GC amount $35 due to multiple lower card
value
• 38 bonus cards issued for a total of $950
Ø 8 Cards totaling $195 redeemed
• Pacifica Education Foundation email drop resulted in a boost in GC sales
Graduation Promo
• Waive Fee Offer
• 5/16 to 6/10
• 8 cards purchased for a total $205
Challenges • Getting more businesses to
participate
• Low redemption rate
• Limited promotional levers offered
by vendor
• Marketing has been ad hoc and not
consistent
Next Steps
• Review and advise CDA on their marketing Plan
for Shop Pacifica GC program.
• Campaign to increase redemption rate of
current gift cards
• Provide a Shop Pacifica Promotional Calendar
(Done)
• Recruitment of more businesses to participate
• Explore gift card giveaway with hotels
Pacifica Job
Fair At a
Glance
• Surveyed over 1,213 businesses with revenue $500,000
or under (to focus on “small” businesses)
• Ultimately 14 businesses signed up (and we invited
COP)
Ø Small number but just right for a first attempt
• From first survey to event was about a month (phew!!) Ø 15 Employers
Ø 60+ positions : Wide variety of skill sets – barista to cabinet maker to Director of Dance
Ø 75+ attended
Ø Total cost $331 (excluding manpower)
• # of hires: TBD
• Good support from Renaissance Center and JobTrain
• Best “advertising” sources were Pacifica Tribune, The Patch, emails to parents, flyers, Farmers Market and
Connect with Pacifica
• Employers appreciated stop-by from a few City officials Learnings for Next Time
(and there should be a next time)
• Need a better registration and information website (not free Google forms – created administrative work and didn’t allow enough information sharing with candidates) • Be bi-lingual from the start (Spanish)
• Improve check-in process, but keep pre-registration process • More resources lined up to call candidates day of/day before event • Summer Jobs needs to be a separate Job Fair
Ø Almost everyone was looking for indefinite hires; needed more adults! • Much more time and direct contact needed for candidate sourcing, especially those with specialized skills (teachers, cosmetologists, etc.); cannot just email and assume outreach is happening
• More outreach needed outside of Pacifica
• Ensure date doesn’t coincide with big event (like a Warriors game J) Small Business
Survey
New Business
Interviews
Overviews
• Freshest recollection of the process to set up a
business
• Database difficult and not entirely accurate so
manual work to cull the list
Pulled businesses who got licenses
since 2020
• Choice of Pacifica, target customers, marketing
approach
• Ease of starting a business in Pacifica
• Support they’d like going forward
Survey not allowed so did interviews
instead, focused on three areas
New Business Interviews Themes: The
Good
•Many owners are Pacifica residents; feel loyalty to
the community they serve
Ø Work with Renaissance Center to encourage more
local entrepreneurs
•Community friendly and embracing of new
businesses
•SMC resources easy to work with; consultative
•Transferring license for existing business easy
•Open to being featured in Pacifica Social Media –
just reach out
New Business Interviews Themes: Next
Steps to Improve/Ideas
• Building permits slow and cumbersome; sign permits confusing and slow Ø Suggest serious relook at process requirements and dedicated commercial planner to FACILITATE new business openings
• KIMCO a “challenging” landlord; not helpful
•More City support/push for multi-employer, cross-Pacifica events Ø One end of town doesn’t know what’s going on at the other end • Coastal Commission approvals slow and expensive
• Feel like we lost the chance to make Palmetto a family-friendly destination with so many cannabis shops
• Shop Pacifica cumbersome; competes with own gift card program • Communicate real estate openings to existing businesses in case they want to expand/move • Little interest in a newsletter; prefer networking events (roundtables, mixers) • Publish a Pacifica-only Value-Pak
New Business Interviews: Spoken To
• GOOD LUCK LIVE BAIT AND
TACKLE
• ROCKAWAY BEACH GIFTS &
SWEETS
• THE PAC BARBERSHOP
• ELEVATE HEALING IV HYDRATION
• PALMETTO & SANTA ROSA
INVESTMENT, LLC
• HUMBLE SEA
• NANCYLAND KIDS AND BAB
• INTERWINE CAFE
• DAVID’S BAGEL
• IVY ROW
• EPICENTER CYCLING
Other
Highlights
Exploring Opportunities For
Engagement & Partnerships
Pacifica Age Friendly
Community Coalition
The SF Peninsula “Grand
Tour of Pacifica's Group
Conference Places”
• Councilmember O’Neill hosted members
of The SF Peninsula (formerly SMCCVB) to
a tour of event/meeting spaces
• Promote Pacifica to businesses as a
meeting, conference, team building,
training, event destination
• 9 venues were showcased
Venues Highlighted
Sanchez Adobe
Sanchez Art
Center
Sharp Park
Golf Course
San Pedro
County Park
Little Brown Terra Nova HS Theater
Church
Ingrid B. Lacy
Middle School
Pedro Point
Firehouse
Provided visibility and foot traffic to Pacifica and
Peninsula Restaurants
• 127 Total Participating Restaurants
• 7 Pacifica Restaurants participated
• 24 Sponsors
• Advertised on The Six Fifty, The Peninsula Foodist,
Palo Alto Online, Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac,
Redwood City Pulse, and Mountain View Voice,
San Mateo Daily Journal
• Rosalind Bakery gained additional exposure as part
of Instagram Giveaway
• Local promotion on Connect w/Pacifica, Next
Door, Chamber Newsletter
FY22-23 EDC
Priorities
(WIP)
Review feedback from survey results and select which
areas to focus on. This will inform which future initiatives EDC will prioritize on.
Review and if necessary, update workplan to ensure
alignment with City initiatives and Business survey
feedback results.
Partner with Chamber on hosting a Pacifica Blues &
Brews event that will attract visitors to Pacifica. (Still in early stages)
Continue to assist and advise CDA & City on
implementation of Workcation program, Shop Pacifica
Campaign.
Explore hosting business seminars, networking events,
roundtables, etc that will add value back to the businesses and help them grow
Update EDC & City Website
Continue to strengthen relationships with Key Partners i.e.
Renaissance Center, SF Peninsula,Chamber, Pacifica
Anchor, FogFest…
Thank You
Economic Development
Committee
Appendix
Shop Pacifica Data
Shop Pacifica Promo Data
12/8 to 2/4
GC Sale
Valentine Promo 2/5
to 2/20 16 days
1/20 to 2/4
GC Sale
Incr Inc In Avg
GC Amt
Bonus
Redeemed ROI
Avg GC Amt 37 56 13 488 402 21%
# of GC Sold 26 26 4
New Business Interviews: Questions
• When did you officially open (or when do you hope to open?) • Why did you choose Pacifica?
• What did you hear about Pacifica’s business climate prior to getting started? In reality, was it harder // about the same // or easier than you expected? What resources did you use to get started?
• Who do you see as your ideal customer? Has that come to fruition? Is there a demographic you still wish to capture?
• What have you done so far to market your business – ads, social media, online, other? • What support, if any, would be useful to you going forward? • We’re thinking of a Pacifica business-facing newsletter. Do you receive other business-related newsletters? What topics might be of interest to you on a, for example, monthly basis? • Would you be interested in multi-business events?
• Would you be interested in being featured in City social media? • Have you heard about the Shop Pacifica gift card?
• Is there anything else you would like me to know?