Development panel ponders business study
By JIM FAILE
Hartsville’s new Economic Development Task Force wants to look into the possibility of having a demographics study done of the Hartsville area to generate marketing information that could be useful in helping to attract new retail businesses and restaurants to the area.
The panel talked about such a study, the benefits it might offer and what it would cost at its monthly meeting Monday.
Robert Long, executive director of the Darlington County Economic Development Partnership, said private consulting firms are available to conduct such studies.
He presented a proposal from one such group, the Buxton Company, detailing what kind of services the firm offers. The study outlined in the company’s proposal would cost $60,000, according to the proposal.
Long said gathering data of interest to retailers and restaurants on a particular geographic area is one area in which the firm specializes.
A typical study would look at three geographic locations on a map with measuring distances based on drive time, not on mileage, he said.
Interim City Manger Vern Myers suggested that it may be possible for the city to partner with some other surrounding communities to share in the cost of a study.
Buxton bills itself as a pioneer in the use of customer data to develop successful growth and business strategies, according to the company’s website. The company is an industry leader in market planning and marketing services for retail stores and restaurants, healthcare organizations, consumer packaged goods companies and government and municipalities.
The company’s proposal says its study of Hartsville will start with an in depth collection of the same location variables that Buxton uses to qualify locations for retail clients and translate that information into marketing data community leaders need to attract and grow Hartsville’s retail sector.
The evaluation phase of the study will clarify what makes Hartsville distinctive and valuable from a retailer’s viewpoint, the proposal says.
The consumer profile of Hartsville’s trade area will be matched against the customer profiles of more than 5,000 retailers and restaurants in Buxton’s proprietary database. The final match list is developed with the input of community leaders to reflect the needs and desires of residents, according to the proposal.
Such a study would take about 60 business days to complete, the proposal says.
Adam Mathews of the Economic Development Task Force said a key idea behind such a study is to provide task force members and others in the community with real data they can use in business recruitment efforts. “We want to empower you folks to talk to people,” he told fellow task force members.
No decision has been made to move forward with such a study or to recommend it to Hartsville City Council. Task force members will review the proposal and meet again in August.