Inside Bludot CRM: A look at the tools powering economic development
- Matt Moloney
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Economic development professionals have no shortage of responsibilities — from engaging local businesses and tracking retention projects to supporting recruitment and managing reporting. Too often, these efforts rely on scattered spreadsheets, inbox searches, and disconnected systems that make it difficult to see the full picture.
The Bludot CRM brings all of this work into one place. Purpose-built for economic development, it combines relationship management, project tracking, and communication tools in a single platform — giving teams visibility, efficiency, and collaboration without complexity.
Centralizing business data into one living system
Every community has its own data — spreadsheets, contact lists, notes from site visits, grant applications, and emails. In Bludot, all of this information lives in one secure, centralized platform.
When you log in, you can instantly see an overview of your community’s business landscape:
Active and prospective businesses with profiles that include key contacts, ownership details, and activity history
Recent updates like new openings or closures identified through Bludot’s verified business data refreshes
Email insights and unmatched activities that prompt quick follow-ups
The result is a single source of truth for your business community — no more reconciling spreadsheets or wondering if you have the latest version of a contact list.
Managing engagement from first contact to long-term retention
Whether your city is courting new prospects or supporting established businesses, Bludot helps you track every stage of engagement.
Each business or prospect profile includes a full history of interactions: site visits, meetings, surveys, calls, and even automatically synced emails. You can easily log activities, assign tasks, or create projects tied to specific businesses — ensuring your entire team stays on the same page.
Many communities use this to track:
Business attraction projects — from early inquiries to site selection and grand openings
Retention and expansion efforts — such as grant applications or expansion projects
Assistance requests — like permitting support or incentive tracking
When a prospect becomes an active business, all of their data and history carry forward automatically — preserving institutional knowledge and simplifying reporting.
Turning activities into actionable insights
Beyond day-to-day tracking, Bludot offers built-in dashboards and reporting tools that give teams a real-time pulse on their business engagement.
With just a few clicks, users can view:
Activities logged by each staff member over time
The number of businesses engaged per quarter or year
Trends in business openings, closures, or expansions
For local governments, these reports are invaluable when presenting updates to leadership or applying for grants — providing clear, data-driven evidence of the impact of economic development work.
Customizing the platform around your workflow
Bludot was built to adapt to the way economic developers work, not the other way around. Every community can customize:
Data fields to track local priorities, such as minority ownership, employee count, or business license status
Project templates for recurring initiatives like small business grants or façade programs
Labels and filters to quickly segment businesses (e.g., by district, industry, or size)
Even mapping tools allow users to draw custom areas or import official boundaries — ideal for visualizing business clusters, BID districts, or targeted outreach zones.
Simplifying outreach and collaboration
Communication is a critical part of business engagement, and Bludot makes it simple. Teams can send surveys, group emails, or personalized messages directly from the platform — each automatically matched to business profiles.
Whether it’s checking in with manufacturers, inviting local retailers to an event, or sending a BR&E survey, every message is tracked. Read receipts, response metrics, and activity logs help you understand what’s working and where to follow up.
Bludot CRM is built for teams — and the community
Economic development is collaborative by nature. Bludot lets teams work together seamlessly, with shared visibility into every business interaction. Even departments outside of economic development — like planning, licensing, or fire — can access business contact information in a controlled, secure way.
And for the public-side of engagement, Bludot offers an interactive business directory and shop local app, so communities can share verified business data with residents while continuing to manage it internally.
Powering economic development in 30+ states
From small towns to major metros, communities across the country use Bludot to modernize their economic development efforts.
Whether you’re building a database from scratch or replacing outdated systems, Bludot gives you the visibility, structure, and automation to support stronger, more responsive business engagement.