Building a BR&E survey that gets results

Business retention and expansion (BR&E) programs are only as strong as the information behind them. If surveys are too long, outdated, or disconnected from your database, engagement drops — and you risk missing opportunities to help local businesses thrive.

Bludot’s survey tools make it easy for economic development teams to create streamlined, automated BR&E surveys that boost response rates and feed data directly into the business database. No more manual data entry, no more missing contacts, and a much clearer picture of your business community’s needs.

Why a good BR&E survey matters

Effective surveys go beyond collecting statistics — they open the door to stronger relationships with local businesses. They help identify businesses at risk, uncover opportunities for growth, highlight emerging challenges, and guide the creation of new programs. By following up on survey results, cities can demonstrate their role as an active, supportive partner in the business community.

Step 1: Build a smarter survey

With Bludot, surveys can be built using multiple question formats, from dropdowns to checkboxes. Known business data — such as name, address, and contacts — can be auto-filled, so businesses only need to review and confirm information rather than re-entering it every year. This saves time for businesses and increases completion rates.

Surveys can also automatically create new business profiles, ensuring that startups, prospects, and businesses not yet in your system are captured and included in future engagement.

Step 2: Distribute with impact

Once ready, surveys can be shared in multiple ways: through Bludot’s group email tool, embedded on a website, linked via QR codes, or included in newsletters. A single share link works across all channels, making promotion easy and consistent.

Emails can come directly from your city or organization, adding a personal touch that encourages participation. Responses can also be tagged with specific labels for reporting, allowing you to segment data by region, industry, or program participation.

All survey submissions are automatically logged as activities in the CRM, helping you measure outreach effectiveness and tie survey results back to your broader engagement strategy.

Step 3: Review, update, and act

Survey responses instantly update business profiles, ensuring your database is always accurate and up to date. If a business updates its address, adds new contacts, or provides additional details, those changes are reflected immediately.

Results can be viewed in two formats:

• Aggregated charts showing trends such as most common challenges or overall business outlook

• Individual PDFs for more in-depth follow-up with each business

  
  

Responses can also trigger follow-up activities — for example, if a business flags an urgent challenge or interest in a specific program, staff can be notified to reach out right away.

Step 4: Embed surveys into ongoing workflows

Surveys don’t need to be one-off projects. They can be embedded into ongoing processes, such as onboarding new businesses, conducting post-event follow-ups, or tracking progress for specific initiatives. This keeps engagement continuous and ensures your team is always collecting relevant, actionable data.

From data to decisions

Centralized, real-time survey data enables year-over-year comparisons to track growth, sentiment shifts, and emerging needs. Sharing these insights with leadership and partners helps strengthen the case for new programs, resources, or policy changes.

With Bludot, BR&E surveys aren’t just a way to collect information — they become part of a larger system that continuously supports, connects, and champions your business community.

To see it in action, schedule some time for a demo.