Business in Sun Prairie could be a lot better -- at least in the downtown district.
As one long-time businesswoman once said to me when I opened my art gallery/gift shop two years ago, "you can pave the streets with gold and the locals still will not shop downtown Sun Prairie."
I did't believe her at the time, but two years later I'm beginning to wonder. My customer database now reflects 2,000-plus customers who've come in the door and made some kind of purchase. However, one visit per year just won't keep me in downtown Sun Prairie for very long.
It's a reality that many customers just don't understand -- I know; I was one of them. Like most locals, shopping in Sun Prairie was not "top of the mind."
As an independent retailer, I don't have an advertising budget of $50,000 - $100,000 per year. I've spent $30,000 and $15,000 in advertising the first and second year, which got me started but did not produce the sales needed to continue the kind of marketing needed to create a mindset in the local clientele that without thinking heads into Madison for all their shopping needs.
I would venture to say that most of the downtown merchants are in the same predicament. As a property owner in the Business Improvement District, I am assessed a tax to fund a committee whose job it is to improve the business climate here.
The BID and other similar committees are fraught with politics, inexperience, in-fighting and general incompetence that in the end leaves the business climate downtown in a steady drizzle or downright fog.
My suggestion? Combine the budgets of all of these committees, as well as the Chamber of Commerce's budget, into an all-out media (TV and radio) drive-time and news blitz that airs seven days a week for at least a year on all three networks, and at least two radio stations.
The message? "Shop Sun Prairie!" Simple! In fact, could it be so simple that it'll never happen? Or will these committee members continue year after year scratching their heads trying to come up with the next "fill-in-the-blank" festival, parade or contest?
I hope I'm able to hang in there long enough to find out. In the meantime, I applaud the formation of this online newspaper! Hurray for savvy-thinking on your part!
Annie Brewer, Owner
Brewer Square Gallery & Gifts
110 Columbus St.
Sun Prairie
