Following is from the Talking UP newsletter
Earlier this year, all licensed businesses in University Place were asked to participate in a brief survey designed to help City staff collect data on the kinds and size of businesses in the city while also assessing owners’ outlook for their businesses. Participants were also asked to rate how they perceive the services rendered by the City of University Place.
Perhaps the best news to come out of the surveys was that 91 percent of the respondents indicated they are satisfied or very satisfied with City services. In fact, this was the highest reported satisfaction level since the surveys were launched in 2003. Of those indicating their satisfaction, 84 percent expressed satisfaction with the City’s permitting processes, fees and regulations.
Among other key findings:
- Almost half (48 percent) of the businesses responding to the survey indicated they had been in business for 10 years or longer.
- U.P.’s businesses are almost evenly split between home-based businesses (53 percent) and storefronts (47 percent.)
- A large majority, 89 percent, say they plan to stay in their current location.
- Many (79 percent) also indicated that they plan to expand their workforce, with the majority of those planning to do so in the next year or two.
That’s the good news, but the survey responses also indicated some areas of concern:
- Only 56 percent of the responding businesses indicated they have an up-to-date website, meaning they may be losing out on the growing number of consumers, including business-to-business, who engage in e-commerce.
- Of the 11 percent who indicated that they plan to relocate, most cited the need to reduce costs or add space as their reason for doing so, with a third indicating they plan to move out of U.P.
“We appreciate all the businesses that took the time to complete the surveys because we take measuring our efforts very seriously,” says Mariza Craig, the City’s director of economic development and assistant city manager. “Although our satisfaction numbers were very high, we continually look for ways to streamline our processes and respect and respond to the challenges our businesses face.”
Although the official survey period is over, Economic Development Department staff members Mariza Craig and Becky Metcalf will continue to mine the survey results for additional insights and are always available to answer questions and take suggestions and feedback from U.P. businesses.