The purpose of this survey was to inform the design of a future strategy to improve conditions in and around downtown Monmouth while preserving the cultural heritage of the area. More specifically, three purposes of the survey were:
To identify business types (retail, service, food, etc.) and typical operation procedures (hours of business, business organization, use of social media, etc.)
To understand business owners’ perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of conducting business in Monmouth
To ascertain areas where the city can improve resources for business owners
A total of 91 businesses were asked to participate in the survey and 31 businesses responded via the online application SurveyMonkey and through distributed paper surveys for an overall response rate of 34 percent.
Lessons Learned from the Business Survey
Monmouth has an established core of business owners who own their own business and property as sole proprietors and have been located in Monmouth for 10 or more years; a majority of these business owners operate in the financial, insurance or real estate sectors. Despite the longevity of many businesses, approximately half of all respondents indicated that they were unaware of five of the city’s financial incentive programs and only a handful of respondents have contacted the City, the Chamber of Commerce or the Business Council for assistance in the past year.
Many respondents indicated that they use social media tools like Facebook and Facebook was the social media tool most likely to be frequently updated. However, of those who are currently not using a social media tool, about half were interested in learning or unsure and half were not interested in learning how to use social media tools. Regardless of the use of social media tools, very few Monmouth businesses conduct sales over the internet, with the vast majority operating as traditional brick-and-mortar establishments serving a local market. This is confirmed by the fact that most businesses advertise only within Warren County or, at most, a 3-5 county area and largely identify their primary customers as traditional households – few businesses cater specifically to the student-aged population.
Respondents identified the vitality of the local economy, local competition, state and local tax rates and the attractiveness of the area to managers and professionals as problems related to being located in Monmouth. Despite these problems, respondents indicated favorable perceptions of zoning and development regulations, the cost of land, access and availability of mobile/cellular service and access to equipment and software suppliers, among others. Most businesses have set goals for the coming five years in order to expand their operations, increase revenue and client bases and upgrade or remodel their business spaces.