Richard T. (Tucson) Roberts is President of the Covington County Economic Development Commission in Andalusia, Alabama and a Past Chairman of the Southern Economic Development Council.  He shares his experiences in executing CommunityID, the retail marketing strategy for the public sector.

Almost all communities have or will have challenges in executing a retail marketing strategy. They have made the commitment to undertake a retail development program. A marketing plan has been formulated and they believe they are ready; target retailers are identified and they are taking aim, but they fail to pull the trigger and they wonder why nothing has happened? Consider these four pieces of advice on how to pull the trigger and put fire into a retail marketing plan:

1. Put Execution First - Execution Becomes Job One. 

Aggressive marketing is the best and only way to execute the retail marketing plan.  Planning is relatively easy; selling is difficult.  Get out of the office and get in front of your retail prospects.    

2. Assign Responsibility.

All too often cities make the mistake of not assigning one person the responsibility of executing the retail marketing plan.  Assembling a retail development team is fine but one person must have the responsibility, accountability and the authority to keep the group cohesive and on track.

3. Use Your Allies.

In any community, even a small one, there are numerous individuals and organizations that can help you successfully execute your strategy.  Leverage these allies that include, but are not limited to elected officials, commercial real estate brokers, land owners and don’t forget regional and state economic development offices.  Success in community retail development is a collaborative effort.

4. Local Citizens Sell a City.

Often times a community believes that an outside firm or individual can better sell their community than local citizens. Your best sales force is your local officials. They know the community, they have a vested interest and pride in it and last but not least, local officials can make the commitments necessary to make deals.

View the April 2009 CommunityMatters Newsletter