The San Anselmo 2016 Merchant Survey is in full swing. If you’re a merchant, landlord or other stakeholder you can take the survey here.
We’ve already gotten about 60 completed surveys and there is approximately one more month to collect responses. I’ve spoken with some of the respondents and there is genuine excitement about the outreach by the San Anselmo Economic Development Committee (EDC) and the upcoming consumer survey. We’ve already received some very valuable questions to integrate into the consumer survey. The completed surveys also suggest there is a strong desire to remain in regular contact with the EDC.
It will be an interesting puzzle to determine how EDC will communicate with the community in the future. One of the challenges I’ve found since moving to San Anselmo is the difficulty in communicating with various stakeholders. Whether it’s between the town and residents, the school with parents or businesses to consumers, it is very difficult to find an efficient communication channel with an appropriate signal-to-noise-ratio.
One of the most effective methods communication tools I’ve seen so far is the Marin Power Yoga Facebook Group. Amy and Jamie (the co-founders) and the other teachers, do an exemplary job of communicating with the members and soliciting feedback from the membership about current programs and new offerings. They also highlight other local merchants. There’s always a concern about Facebook lock-in, but Marin Power Yoga is a very interesting use case to ponder as the EDC decides how to best communicate with the the community