by Margaret Woodard, Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority
For the past decade, the Downtown Development Authority has worked with a retail strategist to provide detailed demographic reports for potential investors, developers and business prospects who are considering new projects in downtown Augusta.
These reports are a valuable asset to the DDA in terms of recruiting new retail to the Broad Street Corridor and to existing downtown businesses that are considering expansion. They provide data that is unique to downtown Augusta and clearly tells our unique story, and they provide solid data for sound decision making. According to Carly Fiorina, former chief executive officer of Hewlett Packard, “The goal is to turn data into information and information into insight.”
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While many reports are available, the Customer Journey Report has been a tremendous guide to the DDA during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of tracking foot traffic, number of customers, average length of stay, peak hours and customer travel patterns in downtown Augusta. We know where customers go before and after they visit downtown and how far they travel. We can compare these to 2019 and then make adjustments in our strategic plan in regard to promoting downtown during a pandemic. This report played a key role in deciding to work with NextSite beginning in March of 2020.
The Customer Journey Report has crucial information for downtown businesses as well that can be utilized to develop and refine a social media marketing strategy and customize target audiences to maximize effectiveness. In 2020, 80% of our visitors to downtown came from a 30-mile radius.
Downtown Augusta pulls 30% of consumer traffic from the following Tier 1 zip codes:
30906 – Augusta
30907 – Augusta
29481 – North Augusta
30909 – Augusta
30809 – Evans
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Downtown Augusta pulls 12% of consumer traffic from the following Tier 2 zip codes:
30815 – Hephzibah
30904 – Augusta
30813 – Grovetown
Downtown Augusta pulls 10 % of consumer traffic from the following:
Areas between North Augusta and Aiken
Areas west of Evans/Grovetown including Thomson & Harlem
Areas South of Augusta, particularly the Waynesboro area
Social media marketing targeted to these zip codes provides an opportunity for downtown businesses to offer loyalty programs and cross-promote. In addition, it provides an opportunity to leverage downtown’s unique offerings to build brand awareness and customer growth.
The DDA’s mission is to improve the economic climate of downtown Augusta. We want new businesses to come and open their doors. We want existing businesses to thrive and have data at their fingertips to reach a larger customer base to grow and expand. That is one of the many reasons we work with a retail strategist. Our website is under new design and will launch in the very near future and all our demographic reports will be available. The Customer Journey Report for 2019 and 2020 will be available on our splash page until then at www.myaugustadowntown.com.
In addition, the DDA and Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau will host a workshop this year with community stakeholders to share this report and its key data about the trends and patterns of visitors and customers to downtown and provide recommendations on how to convert this data into sales and visits. If you are interested in attending, please email Sarah@visitaugusta.com or mwoodard@myaugustadowntown.com
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