11-02-2016
S.W.O.T.ANALYSIS
Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative
Mission Statement:“Our mission is to enhance the quality of the life in Southeast Volusia by bringing high paying jobs to
our area with a focus on technology, industrial, manufacturing and other value added businesses.
We will do this through collaboration with our Southeast Volusia partners and with the companies
that choose us as their home.
We will also promote Southeast Volusia as a great place to do business, to live in and to visit, taking
ownership for delivering on this promise by being open to different ways to solve problems, enabling
even greater value creation.”
Vision Statement: “To design and execute a market plan that reflects a unified vision for Southeast Volusia for business
creation, expansion and diversification”
STRENGTHS
1.Location: Southeast Volusia is located between Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Kennedy
Space Center, well-positioned to serve the aviation and aerospace industry.
2.Transportation
a.Easy accessibility to I-95, I-4, Ports in Jax and Canaveral, Rail (FEC), Intracoastal waterway,
Atlantic Ocean, Airports (Sanford-Orlando, OIA, DBIA, New Smyrna Beach Airport)
b.Room for capacity
3.Quality of Life
a.Arts (Atlantic Center for the Arts, HUB, Artist’s Workshop, Little Theater)
b.Outdoor Recreation (parks, beaches, river, East Regional Rail Trail, biking trails, paddling trails,
fishing, hunting, Canaveral National Seashore, Eldora, Seminole Rest, Historic Museums)
c.Special Events consistently
d.Restaurants (locally owned, perfect for “foodies”)
e.Specialty Shopping & Retail
f.Affordable Living
g.Southeast Volusia has been one of the county-wide leaders in new residential construction in the
last several years –a preferred area for growth.Many new residents bring business experience
and connections that can be valuable for economic development.
h.Tourism is a key economic driver for the area. People who vacation here, often end up moving
their business here.
Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative S.W.O.T AnalysisUpdated Notes Edgewater EDAB 9-7-16
4.Available Land
a.Largest continuous Industrial zoned area in the County including Park Ave, ParkTowne
Industrial Center, Massey Ranch Airpark
b.Southeast Volusia Business Park
c.NSB Airport & Industrial Area
d.Land near I-95
e.Residential development opportunities available, some with existing entitlements.
5.Education
a.5 College / Universities in the County positioned to partner (Embry Riddle Aeronautical
University, Stetson University, University of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Bethune-
Cookman College)
b.Edgewater Public Elementary School –first elementary school in the state of FL to become
STEM Certifiedfocusing on the Four C’s of Next Generation Engineering Standards:
collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication while exploring Science and
Engineering Practices.
c.Burns Sci Tech Charter School –
i.Partnership with Southwest Airlines with Pilot Jeff Loche: Adopt-A-Pilot Program (6
weeks class taught once each week by a SW Airline pilot, 5th grade).
ii.Partnership with the Spruce Creek Fly-in “Experimental Aviation Association”-provide
an Aviation Career Day, Fly-over and free “Eagle Flights” to interested students and their
parents. Sponsor a flight simulator program for student at the school
iii.Partnership with the NASA Speakers Bureau Resource: Engineers,scientists and other
professionals who represent the agency are scheduled to speak to our students on a
regular basis.
d.Southeast Volusia’s sole high school, New Smyrna Beach High School,Pathways to Academies
–through Advanced Placement Program, students are able to earn college credit at over 3,000
colleges and universities.
i.Academy of Veterinary Science
ii.Medical Academy
iii.Academy of Engineering
iv.Culinary Academy
v.Academy of Entertainment & Sports Marketing
vi.Criminal Justice Academy
6.Health Care Availability
i.Florida Hospital New Smyrna
ii.Florida Memorial Hospital Health Park
iii.Florida Health Care Plans
iv.Halifax Health
7.Organization
i.The Southeast Volusia area is served by one chamber of commerce, the Southeast
Volusia Chamber of Commerce –since 1926.
ii.All three Southeast Volusia citieshave approved a resolution to market SE Volusia for
Economic Development.
Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative S.W.O.T Analysis Updated Notes Edgewater EDAB 9-7-16
WEAKNESSES
1.Housing
a.Lack of inventory of more attainable,moreworkforce and morehigh-end housingneeded.
2.Infrastructure
a.Need enhancements to the usability of corridors and connector roads
b.Some areas of Southeast Volusia lack consistent connectivity toWater & Sewer
c.High Speed Fiber Optic Communication / Internet Connectivity
d.Expensive and difficult for land owners to construct infrastructure
3.Workforce
a.Availability
b.Skilled Labor Needed
4.Lack of Public Transportation
a.Votran bus routes take too long, times are limited, routes back home are difficult
b.Commuter Rail unavailable in region
5.Traffic Arteries and Connectors Need Widening to enable large tractor trailer traffic to traverse
safely to Industrial Zoned areas
6.Lack of Technology
a.High Speed Fiber Optics not yet available
b.Area is not known as a technology region even though NASA & KSC to the south and
ERAU in Daytona Beach
OPPORTUNITIES
1.NASA / Kennedy Space Center new strategic plan to open the doors to allow private companies to
provide private space transportation services.
2.Strong Collaborationbetween the cities and the county
3.Largest Industrial Zoned Area or Center in Volusia County
4.Workforce
a.Skill sets created in marine industry are similar to automotive, aviation and composites
b.Diversity –growing Hispanic population to the west and north available for workforce
5.Water Front PropertiesAvailable
6.New Community Redevelopment Districts
7.The new Brannon Center is a civic center to serve SE Volusia County with a location for business
meetings and conferences.
8.SE Volusia has opportunitiesto grow its cultural arts assetsto add to the arts, music and theatre.
9.The acquisition of Bert Fish Medical Center byFlorida Hospital to create Florida Hospital New Smyrna
brings growth opportunities in health care.
THREATS
Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative S.W.O.T Analysis Updated Notes Edgewater EDAB 9-7-16
1.At the current time, neighboring areas are ahead of SE Volusia in the number of existing aerospace
companies.
2.Changes in the political climateand / or land use restrictions could deter economic development efforts.
a.Proposed Federal regulations (e.g. substantial minimumwage increases,comp time requirements)
could deter business expansion efforts
3.Limited Funding for Capital Improvement Projects
a.Water
b.Sewer
c.Roads
d.Storm-water
4.Environmental Factors
a.Mosquito Lagoon
Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative S.W.O.T Analysis Updated Notes Edgewater EDAB 9-7-16
Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative
Mission Statement:“Our mission is to enhance the quality of the life in Southeast Volusia by bringing high paying jobs to
our area with a focus on technology, industrial, manufacturing and other value added businesses.
We will do this through collaboration with our Southeast Volusia partners and with the companies
that choose us as their home.
We will also promote Southeast Volusia as a great place to do business, to live in and to visit, taking
ownership for delivering on this promise by being open to different ways to solve problems, enabling
even greater value creation.”
Vision Statement: “To design and execute a market plan that reflects a unified vision for Southeast Volusia for business
creation, expansion and diversification”
Next Steps: As of September 1, 2016
1.Challenges We Face
-These can come in two forms, challenges to the project itself (such as a lack of funds to put out a marketing
piece, do research, etc.)
-And challenges we face as an area (such as not having utilities in place or other issues) and any ideas we
have to solve them.
2.List of Target Industries and Companies
-While we have done this more or less informally we should probably document the types of industries we
are focusing on with this effort.We may also wish to make a list of any companies we think may be a fit.
3.Southeast Volusia Opportunities and/or Uniqueness’s
-For Example, the number/proximity of airfields we have, our proximity to the Cape, the deep water port at
Port Canaveral, the land area we have available, the freeway and road access/layout, rail access, business
friendly government, sponsors (such as the County, CEO Roundtable), etc.
4.List of local Manufacturer’s/Aerospace and other important businesses to be Interviewed by us
-The idea here is to find business owners/executive leadership who we can interview to better understand
why they located here, what they like about the area for their business, what local services they use and
their thoughts on them as well as what they think needs improvement to help their business.This might be
done in teams of two to be sure we gain a couple perspectives on what we learn.
-This part of the project is the key factor for us to figure out why we have these businesses here and what it
might mean to someone thinking of relocating here. These interviews are both formal and informal, the
formal portion should include common questions that are asked of all participants and the answers
Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative –Next Steps 9-1-16
thoroughly understood. We also need to understand how much of what they tell us is ok to share with
others and what might be confidential.
-If this process goes well and is meaningful, we may wish to use quotes from them in our marketing
handout or they may serve as references for SEV.The goal here is to learn what we can from our local
business community and their perceptions on SEV from a variety of perspectives. This may also requireus
to follow up with them on items they identify.
-A summary of these interviews should be included in our report with the individual interview notes held as
confidential.Does this cause any issues if government people are involved in this process?
On another front, do any of you have business owner/leadership interview notes similar to what has been
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described above to help us with this task?
For example we may wish to interview, Boston Whaler, Everglades Boats, GeoSam, Florida Hospital among
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others.How many should we have?What is a realistic sample size?
5.Creating our “value proposition”
Once we have our opportunities and uniqueness’s identified along with our interviews completed we
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should be ableto come up with a statement that describes SEV unique business proposition to prospective
companies looking to relocate.We would want to tell them succinctly why we are the place to be and how
this may benefit them.
-We will also have to prepare the details behind this value proposition which demonstrates why we are
confident in our statement.
6.Create and write a Strategic Plan with Communication Flow Chart and Timeline
7.Create the brand using key words / phrases, font, styles, the right message for SEV and obtain the funding
necessary to move forward.
8. Preparing a “Go To Market” marketing piece
We will have to figure out what type of marketing collateral we want to give someone.I would guess we
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would have a tri fold brochure or something that highlights our value statement and why back up by more
detailed information. I can get donated marketing help to put this together for us.
What ideas do you have for this?What have you seen others do?What is it that works?
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Money is an issue for this, but think this can be overcome once we have a finalized draft of the idea.
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From your perspective, please review this to see what we might be missing or needs a change of some type.I will send a
word document to help organize this stuff that you all can use and we can merge once we’ve completed this.
While this may not be part of our original scope of work for our group, we may want to start thinking about who, how
and when we market to companies to make sure we are contacting the same firm by our 3 Cities. We may also wish to
discuss what happens once we get someone interested.What is our process, what do we tell them, should we have an
coordinated government and business approach to them?
Southeast Volusia Marketing Initiative –Next Steps 9-1-16