Regional expansions set stage for GreenStreet location in downtown Kalamazoo

An increasing number of businesses that are thinking regionally has prompted Battle-Creek based GreenStreet Marketing to open its second office in Kalamazoo.

 

Kathy Samson and business partner Todd MacPherson brought their business through tough economic times and now are seeing the need to expand. GreenStreet’s Kalamazoo office will be located at 244 E. Michigan Avenue.

 

Kellogg Community Federal Credit Union and CentraCare, a company dedicated to keeping elders in their homes, are two GreenStreet Marketing clients who have recently expanded into the Kalamazoo market.

 

Other examples of the regionalism the marketing company is seeing include the mergers of Bronson Methodist Hospital and Battle Creek Health Systems and the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek United Ways.

 

"We’ve seen a lot more opportunities to work with Kalamazoo-based businesses," MacPherson says. "But, you have to be ingrained in the community to form those relationships. Clients want you to be in their community. They want to be able to see you and talk to you face-to-face. That’s essential in long-term relationship building."

 

The second office in Kalamazoo "will allow us to assist our clients more strategically," Samson says." For them, that means helping clients make the right decisions, such as where best to place their advertising. The move will help the company better know the market. Being in close proximity to clients also will enable staff to react quickly and efficiently, Samson says.

 

GreenStreet Marketing's Battle Creek office at 245 West Michigan Ave. in downtown Battle Creek is a full-service agency that will continue to serve out-of-state, regional, and Battle Creek clients. GreenStreet employs eight people and uses several freelance partners. There are three employees in Kalamazoo and five in Battle Creek. For the move into Kalamazoo, GreenStreet hired one new team member.

MacPherson says he and Samson decided to locate their business downtown because of the energy and recent revitalization of the area.

 

MacPherson also says the relationships GreenStreet has established in Battle Creek and the success they’ve had in maintaining and growing its client base has enabled them to expand. Samson founded GreenStreet in 1995 and partnered with MacPherson in 1997.