WE KNOW WHAT LOCAL MANUFACTURERS WANT
The city needs a space where producers of local products could organize workshops or conferences, as well as sell their products. They could also use professional promotional support. As for the form of the Local Product Center in Hajnówka (LPCH), it could either be a budgetary unit of the city or a place run by an association. These are some of the conclusions drawn from the survey analysis.
The results of the surveys were devoted to the last meeting with entrepreneurs and producers from Hajnówka, which took place this week. This is an element of work on the establishment of the Local Product Center in Hajnówka. We want it to be a “tailor-made” product that meets the needs of all manufacturers, hence their inclusion in the process of creating the center.
The surveys were anonymous and online. Sixteen producers filled them. The questions concerned the difficulties and challenges faced by entrepreneurs, determining the type of support they would expect from the Local Product Center in Hajnówka or the form in which it should operate.
The answers provided by the producers show that the biggest challenges in running their business are:
- Customer acquisition and access to sales markets,
- Financing of business and development;
- bureaucracy Formalities and legal problems related to the GDPR
As far as the type of support is concerned, a large proportion of the survey participants indicated that the center should be a space for service activities, e.g. workshops or conferences. This is where interested parties should also be able to buy local products. The center should also create and develop a network of cooperation between producers, as well as inform about current events in the city and the region. A professionally conducted promotion of products would also be useful, both at the headquarters of the Local Product Center in Hajnówka (e.g. during shows or tasting) and on the Internet.
Entrepreneurs willingly shared their opinions and observations. Thank you very much for them. Here are some of them.
No space to present local products. A great solution will be to advertise Hajnówka entrepreneurs and craftsmen on the Internet and on the local market.
I believe that the key to the Local Product Center in Hajnówka success is attracting tourists from all over Poland, and even from Europe, therefore communication / promotion in e.g. social media, press, websites is a very important supporting element that should be included in the budget planned for the implementation of this project. In addition, I think it is extremely important to create an additional point of sale at Product Center for our local products.
We have to advertise ourselves as part or "gate" to Białowieża so that tourists would like to come to us. Who will come from Warsaw, Łódź, Kraków or Wrocław to Hajnówka itself? No one. They come to Białowieża, and we have to take advantage of this opportunity to attract them to Hajnówka as well, and if we conduct promotional campaigns well in, among others, on social media, tourists will plan a trip to Hajnówka as part of the trip to Białowieża even before leaving home. In the season, the LPCH will mainly serve tourists, while after the season, entrepreneurs for workshops, shows, meetings, events, conferences, training, etc. Perhaps I am wrong, but most local residents will probably not visit LPCH as part of their daily shopping. Most will continue to buy food in supermarkets such as Kaufland, Biedronka, Lidl, and PSS Społem. However, despite this, sales in LPCHm should be active in a continuous system, i.e. throughout the year.
One of the topics discussed during the meeting was also the form in which the Local Product Center in Hajnówka would operate. Most often, entrepreneurs indicated in the surveys that it should be either a city budget unit or an association. Although there was also a municipal company among the proposals.
The event was moderated by Michał Basiński, an expert from Synergia specializing in creating brands of tourist places. We would like to thank all entrepreneurs for coming and active participation. It is definitely not the last meeting.
The Local Product Center in Hajnówka is one of the activities under the project “Hajnówka Renewal – Green Transformation”.