Horry County now has 411,000 residents and growing. Most of these residents relocated from the northeastern U.S. and have family members who still live in their former neighborhoods.

Question: When former neighbors call these Horry County residents, do they get a positive recommendation for staying downtown Myrtle Beach? Are these new Horry County residents “brand advocates” or brand critics of the City of Myrtle Beach?

After multiple ongoing downtown shootings on Ocean Boulevard, MyrtleBeachSC News did a SMS poll survey of 2,000 residents who signed up for text messages from our news site as members. MyrtleBeachSC News has 274,000 local subscription members who opt in to receive such texts on a regular or occasional basis.

The Questions we asked in our poll:

• Is the City of Myrtle Beach a destination you would suggest to a relative or acquaintance from your previous state of residence for a vacation?
• Do you visit the city of Myrtle Beach for shopping, dining or the beach?
• What is your preferred coastal city in Horry County or Georgetown County?

Brand Critics – Where most Horry County residents live

If Carolina Forest, the Burgess Community, or the Longs area were to be incorporated, they would become the three largest cities in Horry County.

Residents in these regions do not feel a strong connection to the City of Myrtle Beach.

Of those responding:

• 94% of individuals stated that they would not recommend vacationing in the City of Myrtle Beach.
• 96% of individuals mentioned that they do not visit downtown Myrtle Beach for shopping, dining, or the beach.
• The City of North Myrtle Beach was preferred by 37% of respondents. Surfside Beach and state parks, or the Litchfield and Pawleys Island beaches were preferred by 47% and 16% of participants, respectively.
• The two area state parks topped the list as a stand alone

IT’S NOT MYRTLE BEACH! – Deliberate Brand Confusion

These above and similar articles headed all Grand Strand area searches on Google yesterday. In an email we sent to our email data list this morning, Horry County residents largely responded these type articles upset them.

The Carolina Forest, Burgess, and Longs/Little River regions do not want to be associated with the City of Myrtle Beach. They view these as sponsored posts aimed at diverting attention from recent shootings in downtown Myrtle Beach.

Why Better Press Doesn’t Help

Yesterday, our team was contacted by Tuvia Wilkes, a local Myrtle Beach downtown business owner, who expressed concerns about the lack of positive publicity in the downtown areas. According to him, business in the area has significantly declined Summer 2025, and many merchants are at risk of closure after the end of the summer.

However Brand Management experts The Isadora Agency stated that positive press will never overcome 411,000 brand critics county-wide.

Suggestion about how to work building a bridge to Brand Critics

Brand management should concentrate on nurturing brand supporters rather than developing brand critics or negative views. Some viewpoints propose that strategically identifying brand critics can assist in refining your positioning.

Brand management endeavors to establish a favorable image and cultivate supporters by following these steps:

1. Focusing on Brand Identity, Consistency, and building a bridge to the community of constituents:

• Establishing a strong brand identity: Defining your mission, values, target audience, and unique value proposition are crucial to setting the foundation for your brand and its perception. This includes owned visual and content assets like brand awareness videos, blogs, and listening to brand advocates and brand critics. The City of Myrtle Beach currently has no owned content for building a bridge to county residents.
• Maintaining Consistency: Ensure your brand messaging, visuals, and overall experience are consistent across all customer touchpoints, both online and offline across Horry County. This predictability builds trust and makes your brand easier to recognize. 
• Product Development: The City of Myrtle Beach needs to build a downtown product that Carolina Forest, the Burgess Community, Market Common, Dell Webb, The Grand Dunes, Dunes Club and even Little River want to visit.

2. Prioritizing Customer Experience:

The City of Myrtle Beach is facing a genuine challenge with 411,000 brand critics that no urban area can financially sustain.

• Creating positive interactions: Brand management is inherently tied to customer experience (CX). A positive CX at every stage of the customer journey, from initial awareness to post-purchase support, and ongoing county-wide communication is essential.
• Building emotional connections: Beyond functional needs, creating memorable and emotionally engaging interactions can deepen customer loyalty county-wide. This involves understanding customer needs and preferences and tailoring experiences accordingly.
• Addressing negative experiences effectively: Even when things go wrong, brands that handle negative feedback with empathy, transparency, and effective problem-solving can turn dissatisfied customers into loyal advocates.  Currently, the City of Myrtle Beach is doing little to nothing to address Horry County concerns about the city’s downtown crime issues. The city, has rather, isolated itself and put the entire burden solely on the town.

BUILD A COMMUNICATIONS BRIDGE

MyrtleBeachSC News is collaborating with a Mount Pleasant team to utilize AI in gaining unique insights on each subscriber in our membership list. Understanding each member’s own, unique, personal world view is the most ideal way to communicate with them.

3. Cultivating Brand Loyalty:

• Rewarding loyalty: Implementing programs that reward local county residents with incentives, exclusive offers, or early access to new products or services can encourage county residents to visit the town and build brand advocacy.
• Actively listening to feedback: Seeking and acting upon customer feedback shows you value the opinions of what is currently almost 411,000 brand critics. This strengthens trust and engagement, leading to increased county resident loyalty.
• Building trust through transparency: Being honest and open in your communication and owning up to current and past mistakes builds trust, a critical element in fostering brand loyalty. 

In summary, effective brand management, with a strong focus on a positive customer experience, consistent messaging, and building trust, aims to create a base of loyal customers who will advocate for your brand, ultimately contributing to brand growth and success.

The key to future success for downtown Myrtle Beach is to invite 411,000 county residents into helping rehabilitate the city’s brand.

Myrtle Beach can and should turn these brand critics into brand advocates. MyrtleBeachSC News is ready and eagerly wishes to support any initiatives aimed in this direction.