NEW Hilltown Business Directory
New Business Promotion Plan Released!
Revamped Business Directory and Regional Tourism Campaign
Chesterfield, MA – The Hilltown Community Development Corporation has announced that they have begun the process of revamping their business directory program for the digital age and are creating the region’s first cohesive tourism campaign. The directory, which was first produced as a print booklet in the 1980s, will now shift its emphasis to the online directory which has been streamlined to make it easier for Hilltown residents and visitors to find local businesses and attractions. In conjunction, a series of brochures will be created to promote tourism (2022 Fall Day-trips and and 2023 Summer Day-trips) as well as guides to Health & Wellness, Hilltown Living (home, building, auto), and Business Services. Twenty-five thousand tourism related brochures will be distributed in the Berkshires, The Pioneer Valley and throughout the Hilltowns in public places such as restaurants, town halls, general stores and libraries. Five thousand each of the local business related brochures will be distributed within the Hilltowns throughout 2023.
“The pandemic hit us all profoundly in ways that we could not expect. It forced some businesses to close, others to push more into online initiatives and increased workloads with the added headache of supply shortages,” says Dave Christopolis, Hilltown CDC Director. “We are now thinking about the future of business in the Hilltowns and how we can best support our unique village centers and foster a thriving business economy. The Hilltown Directory and the accompanying informational brochures are an important part of supporting Hilltowns businesses and we want to create them in the most sustainable and effective way possible.”
The Hilltown Community Development Corporation surveyed businesses in May 2022 about their pandemic experience and thoughts on the effectiveness of the old print directory. One hundred seventy business owners responded. “We found out that our businesses had concerns about the effectiveness of the directory as response is so difficult to track. We also tested our ideas about promoting the Hilltowns as a distinct and cohesive place to ‘eat, live and play” and found that business owners were overwhelmingly positive about these new initiatives.”
Due to the increased cost of paper, and concerns about sustainability, the CDC will no longer produce and mail the directory to every household, Brochures that largely replicate most of the listings of the old directory will be created.
“The CDC played an important role in supporting new businesses in the Hilltowns that opened during and after Covid-19 that are now thriving such as the Carm’s, the Common Table and their new ice cream store in Chester and the Williamsburg Country Store. The CDC’s new directory initiatives should further help locals find businesses and drive increased interest in our region,” continues Christopolis. “We are literally 30 minutes away from larger population centers and with concerns about gas prices rising, we hope to welcome more day-trippers from the surrounding areas to our unique rural way of life that includes so much natural beauty, agricultural richness and artistic expression.”
Businesses interested in getting involved are encouraged to look at the advertising opportunities at hilltowndirectory.com/adopportunities. The cost for a listing in the online directory for one year and inclusion in one print brochure is $100. For more information, contact Advertising Director Joan Griswold at joang@hilltowncdc.org or 413-296-4536x102. For inclusion in the Fall 2022 Day-trips Brochure the deadline is August 3, 2022. For inclusion in the online directory and one other brochure.:September 1, 2022
The Hilltown Community Development Corporation is a private non-profit organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for Hilltown residents by addressing economic, housing, education, social and community needs while preserving the rural character of the area.