The following is a press release issued by West Business Development Center:
West Business Development Center (West Center) is excited to announce the launch of its annual online Holiday Gift Guide at www.mendomarketplace.com. In an effort to assist local businesses that have a robust e-commerce presence, West Center has developed a dedicated website featuring uniquely Mendocino products, experiences, gifts, and arts and crafts. Each listing has a short description of the business offerings, product images, and a direct link to the business’s online store.
During the height of the pandemic, West Center recognized an opportunity to assist the small businesses in Mendocino County during the holiday season. West Center’s CEO, Mary Anne Petrillo, noted, “This online marketplace enables our local small business community to bring in some extra revenue during the holiday season and it showcases how these businesses have successfully implemented e-commerce on their websites and social media channels.” West Center has launched a robust digital marketing campaign promoting the site to the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Central Valley markets during the holiday season. “We want to reach people who love to visit Mendocino and encourage them to make a purchase and bring a Mendocino memory home!”
The marketing goal is to drive traffic and send potential buyers to Mendocino County businesses during the “shopping season” between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. According to Forbes, consumers this year are “not purely looking to buy a product – but to have an experience around the product . . . online sales are expected to reign supreme in 2022, with Adobe predicting 2.5% growth in online sales November 1-December 31.”
For the third year West Center has opened this seasonal online opportunity to all Mendocino County businesses with an online store that accepts cashless transations via credit or debit card, or other payment methods such as Zelle, Venmo, PayPal, Google Wallet, etc. Business owners who would like to be listed are encouraged to sign up at https://tinyurl.com/2022-holiday-marketplace or contact Alison de Grassi, Director of Marketing at alison@westcenter.org who will assist with getting the business listed. West Center is not able to accept listings advertising cannabis. If businesses don’t yet have an online store but would like to get one set up, they can contact West Center at 707-964-7571 for assistance.
