Business Retention and Expansion Strategy
City of Converse, TX Economic Development Corporation
Economic Strategy
The City of Converse, TX is a diverse and growing community in the greater San Antonio, TX metro area that has seen a 50% increase in population between 2010 and 2020. The Converse Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) is a strong and engaged partner with a mission to implement innovative solutions that develop deeper community connections, catalyze job creation, and increase tax revenues. In support of this mission, Fourth Economy worked with CEDC in developing a strategic plan for its Business, Retention, and Expansion (BRE) program.
Fourth Economy sought to help the CEDC examine and reinvigorate its approach to BRE while building on past successes, optimizing efficiency and effectiveness to ensure that the City of Converse’s business ecosystem is poised to thrive.
Our Approach
Our team conducted interviews with businesses, the CEDC team, and key resource-providing partners to better understand past city actions conducted in support of BR&E. These interviews and additional analysis formed the basis for developing a BRE strategy that was forward-looking and immediately implementable. In addition, we evaluated CEDC’s marketing and communications efforts and developed an Integrated Marketing Plan to advance communication goals that are transformative, yet achievable, given a small staff. Finally, our team inventoried the business support ecosystem and developed a Business Resource Directory to connect businesses with other resource partners.
Fourth Economy provided an assessment report and recommended visitation plans for BRE efforts going forward, identified business support resources that could be more accessible to local businesses, examined ways to optimize the referral process to these resources, and developed a communications plan to help guide the organization in its work in coming years.
The CEDC will use these to showcase the growing community of local businesses and increase awareness and discovery of those businesses by residents and customers; encourage businesses-to-business (B2B) networking and relationship building to support collaboration, procurement and supply chain connections, and shared growth; and to better promote and increase use of the resources, tools, and programming that the CEDC and partners have available to serve the business community.
Location
Converse, TX