3 minute read

CAN YOU FEEL IT?

By Christine Merki Senior Account Manager

Ihave a little secret to share with you. Alaska Business has developed a bit of a fan base—outside our office.

Whether it’s the industry leaders who help drive our economy, readers who want to be in the know, or dedicated clients who have been appearing on our pages and website for years, we’re feeling a buzz in the air and want to share some of that positive energy.

Dylan Webb, owner of Ideal Health, explains why he’s signing up for another year of sponsored content in our weekly e-newsletter, the Monitor. “The Monitor was an inexpensive and very effective way of getting my company’s name in front of the business community. I received two leads pretty quickly, which more than paid for it! It was a great investment, and I will definitely be doing it again soon.”

Teresa Thompson, Corporate Enrollment Liaison at the University of Alaska Fairbanks eCampus, is a great ambassador for our Spotlight Digital Profile saying, “Alaska Business’ Spotlight Digital Profile has really helped UAF eCampus spread the word about our Corporate Initiative. The designers were great and the staff worked closely with me to ensure the content I developed was the best for the audience. I would highly suggest working with Alaska Business on a SDP and in their award winning magazine!”

Alaska Business has evolved into much more than a print magazine. We offer print, digital, and website advertising opportunities to target the Alaska business community. We also have sponsorship opportunities at our annual Top 49ers event, which recognizes Alaska’s largest local companies, ranked by gross revenue.

Call me to find out how we can get your business in front of our audience.

Christine Merki 907-257-2911

cmerki@akbizmag.com the next couple of years,” Lundgren says. “We think rates are going to continue going up next year and the next year. So if a borrower waits for two or three years, it pushes out their project.”

Christine is a sales and marketing professional with over fifteen years of local media experience. Her marketing knowledge includes creative, media planning, strategy, and market research and in her spare time she enjoys hot yoga, pilates, gardening, and reading.

For the most part, smaller businesses and those with optional projects are postponing their plans while many larger enterprises are deciding to move forward. “I think some of the larger businesses perhaps received more government COVID stimulus money, and maybe they were better able to restructure their business during COVID and were able to conserve cash,” Lundgren says.

Meeting Customers’ Needs

Because of the supply chain and labor issues, many businesses are redefining their scope, cutting back services or operating hours. “To some, this may be liberating; to others, lost opportunity,” says Kroll. This pivot to efficiency explains the interest in digital services.

“More access to online and mobile services gives our customers the flexibility and security they need to manage their business finances while also adapting to the challenges associated with a smaller workforce and increased cyber risks,” Steadman says.

Stretching the capabilities and attention of workers and supervisors can increase the risk of losses from cybersecurity breaches, so Steadman says FNBA is responding. “We offer our customers a variety of tools to combat fraud and protect their assets so they can focus on running their businesses,” Steadman says.

Northrim also invested in its technology platform to reduce processing costs. “We can automate many repetitive, manual tasks, so that people can do things that are less routine,” Huston says. “So it [the technology investment] is targeted at not just the sophisticated customers but a broad array of small businesses that are looking to become more efficient.”

Denali State Bank is also adopting processes that allow people to conduct business remotely, yet a large segment of its customers prefers to bank in person. “Interestingly, our foot traffic is up this year,” Lundgren says. “It’s up considerably compared to the last two years and even before COVID.”

Since Fairbanks is a relatively small town, it only takes customers about five minutes to reach one of Denali’s four branches in the city. “So it’s convenient to bank in person,” Lundgren says. “Plus, Fairbanks has long, cold winters that keep people inside, so many of our customers enjoy coming in and interacting in person.”

Despite the rising interest rate environment, labor shortage, and inflation, the outlook for Alaska has never been stronger, Steadman says. Alaska has a resilient business environment that will continue to adapt and grow to the market’s needs. “While economic indicators have shown that Alaska has lagged in coming out of the pandemic,” he says, “I anticipate the Alaska market will continue to grow and be strong in the coming years.”

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