As a longtime part of our state’s fabric, I’ve seen how West Virginia has changed over the decades.
West Virginia is a small business haven. According to the Small Business Administration, 98.8% of businesses in West Virginia are small businesses and I’m happy to count myself among them.
At Jim Strawn & Company, we support the marketing needs of civic organizations, non-profits, municipalities, and other small businesses. Over the decades I’ve seen how marketing has changed. Twenty years ago, we’d be dependent on a variety of physical marketing tools, from banners to billboards, as well as radio and television ads, but times have changed rapidly with the proliferation of the internet and smartphones.
Now, digital advertising is the name of the game.
This changing landscape has forced marketers like me to adapt, but it’s also lowered the barriers for successful marketing campaigns. Over the years I’ve seen my clientele shift. Now I’m able to expand my offerings and work with more budget-conscious clients, like non-profits, municipalities and Christian and religious groups, to stretch their dollar further.
Using digital advertising tools such as e-mail newsletters, social media advertising, and search engine optimization (or SEO), we can build custom campaigns that support our clients, both big and small. In this rapid digital age, some businesses have decided to forgo physical offices, operating entirely as digital-first/digital-only businesses that provide specialized services such as legal work, consulting, marketing, IT, and more.
Unfortunately, these tools, which have helped countless clients, are at risk.
Washington has been caught up in a “techlash” whirlwind. Egged on by well-funded interest groups, lawmakers in D.C. have spent years debating various legislation that would impact not only my business but also many, if not all, of my clients.
As a civic-minded business owner, I feel it is my duty to raise the red flag and call attention to this matter. What started as a well-intentioned goal of protecting the privacy needs of Americans has spiraled into a broadly anti-technology campaign. Taking cues from European lawmakers, various coastal thinktanks and nonprofits are mobilized to apply faulty, bad standards to Americans.
It’s vital that our lawmakers look inward, listen to their constituents and craft a uniquely American solution to our privacy needs that does not destroy the tools we need.
Jim Strawn, President at Jim Strawn & Company in West Virginia