The Ontario Ministry of Rural Affairs in partnership with the Rural Ontario Municipal Association have been hosting Teeny Tiny Summits for the last ten years. Their aim is to help Ontario’s smallest communities learn how to grow, adapt, and strengthen their local economies using ideas that actually work at a small scale.
The most recent edition, held online on March 31st covered building community and business prosperity through storytelling and the experience economy. It was attended virtually by over 200 mayors, municipal councillors, and economic development and BIA officials.
The keynote speaker was internationally renown Peter Kenyon, the founder of Bank of IDEAS of Western Australia who specializes in community and economic development, particularly in smaller towns. His first tip for revitalization was to have fresh eyes when looking at where visual improvements are needed.
He pointed to such things as faded, outdated signs, lazy shop window displays, and tired infrastructure. He noted that too many communities were focused on vehicles and not people.
He quoted from a local planning document that said “Design for people and you will attract people. Design for vehicles and you will attract vehicles.” One of his main tips was the theme of his presentation; engage in story telling.
For each of his tips, Kenyon provided real-world examples from small communities around the world demonstrating how this advice made real differences. His final tip was for everyone to offer positively outrageous customer service. He backed that up with an accepted study that revealed that 68% of customers stop doing business with a particular store because of staff indifference or negative attitudes.
Story by Brian Turner
