Known as the metropolitan area of the Rio Grande Valley, the City of McAllen, Texas is a regional hub for employment, education, shopping and tourism. While the city’s population is about 140,000, it has a much larger consumer base with an estimated 50,000 people coming into McAllen every day.
A Fascinating Message
The city met Buxton at a Texas Municipal League conference on economic development when a Buxton representative spoke during a session. McAllen was interested in Buxton’s services because their current method of pursing retailers did not use data.
“Before working with Buxton, our retail attraction strategy wasn’t grounded in data,” said Rebecca Olaguibel, City of McAllen retail and business development director. “When we approached the retailers on our wish list, we often discovered that our city was not a strong fit for them.”
Buxton was able to develop a plan to help McAllen better understand its customer base and attract retailers to the city. After analyzing all the consumer data on McAllen’s residents and visitors, Buxton combined the information to generate a list of retailers that are a strong fit for the city.
The Custom Package
The consumer insights are used in pursuit packages that Buxton compiles for each matched retailer. These packages detail why a specific retailer is a good match for McAllen, so the city has data to support why the retailer would thrive in their community. McAllen has found the pursuit packages to be a concise way of putting all of their market information together.
This city in deep south Texas began to see how data could help their city. Retailers are intrigued by Buxton’s data on the city and how it specifically pertains to their industry. McAllen does not have to waste time any longer pursuing retailers that are not a match for the community.
Future Plans
In the future, McAllen faces tremendous growth and potential for diversifying their economy. City leaders are working on making McAllen a well-rounded community and an attractive city for consumers. Tourism will continue to play an important role in McAllen’s future. Since Buxton’s solution accounts for visitors as well as residents, it helps the city to attract businesses that appeal to both residents and visitors, which generates revenue to invest back into the community.
“Buxton is a great match for a city who is looking to take their community to the next level.”
Olaguibel has been pleased with the city’s partnership with Buxton.
“The people who work at Buxton are concise; they have a responsiveness I have never seen,” Olaguibel said. “Their customer service is excellent. I feel like the people at Buxton have the same passion for my city as I do. Buxton is a great match for a city who is looking to take their community to the next level. If you are with Buxton, you are in very good hands.”