Success Stories In Retail Recruitment


Watertown, South Dakota Uses Buxton Data To Save Time And Money
Economic developers in Watertown, S.D., learned that the information they received from Buxton’s CommunityID^® study has many valuable applications.

Most importantly, the data from Buxton helped Watertown officials understand which retailers were right for their community. With this knowledge, they successfully landed many national and regional chains that Buxton identified as matches, including Applebee’s, Walgreen’s, Office Max and Dunham’s.

But knowing the right retailers for your community is not enough. It’s just as important to know who is not right, says Richard Benda, president of Focus Watertown, a public/private partnership that guides the economic development of the city.

Benda used the Buxton information to help city officials and residents understand why certain retailers would not consider setting up shop in Watertown. For instance, Benda often heard Watertown residents mention the name of a particular department store as one that would be welcomed. The data from Buxton clearly showed that this store operated only in cities much larger than Watertown’s 20,000 residents, and with a density of specific types of consumers not found in Watertown’s trade area.

By sharing this type of information, economic developers saved time and money that might have been spent pursuing these stores. "The information from Buxton allows communities to more effectively use their resources," Benda says. "You don’t have people directing you to do something that is not going to be successful."

Watertown used the list of contact people from Buxton to get in touch with the decision-makers at each company. "The information gives you an ‘in’ at the retailers," Benda says. "You need to have solid information, not just community prepared data."

In addition to being impressed with the Buxton data, Benda enjoyed the people he worked with at the company. He also appreciated Buxton’s helpfulness. "Buxton goes above and beyond the letter of the contract to provide the services that are needed."

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