ANDERSONVILLE — A new survey from the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce could help the neighborhood woo new businesses, and give business and property owners insight into the habits and desires of local shoppers and diners.
"We definitely are interested to see what is important to people about Andersonville," said Jessica Hammer, the chamber's marketing director. "A lot of people like it the way it is, but there's always things that could make it better."
The consumer survey includes questions about ways to improve Andersonville's Clark Street business district, how respondents decide where to dine and shop, what types of stores they want in the area and which non-Andersonville stores that they think would fit well in Andersonville.
One of the most powerful uses of the survey results, Hammer said, is the credibility it lends to the chamber as it courts potential new businesses.
For instance, if there's a business elsewhere in the city looking to expand and considering Andersonville, if the chamber can tout hundreds of people who want the business in the neighborhood it can help form a strong recruiting pitch, Hammer said.
The first survey of this kind was launched in Andersonville in 2008. The results spurred the creation of the Andersonville Farmers Market after data indicated locals' discontent with a lack of public gathering space and a scarcity of options for buying groceries and fresh produce, Hammer said.
The last survey in 2011 showed a desire for more clothing stores, which factored into the opening of clothing stores including Akira, Milk Handmade, and more recently, Notice: Accessories for Living.
"We really do take the results of these surveys to heart," Hammer said.
Once the results are rounded up, the chamber plans to distribute the data to current businesses and landlords so they can potentially form business strategies based on people's responses.
This time around the chamber aims to double the number of responses to 2,000. The organization is sweetening the deal by entering respondents in a raffle for two tickets to the annual Andersonville Dessert Crawl.
To take the survey, click here.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
