Why economic developers are choosing Bludot as their all-in-one platform for BR&E success in 2026

Matt Moloney
Dec 30, 2025
5 min read

For economic development teams, every year begins with big ambitions: deeper business relationships, clearer reporting, smarter outreach, and measurable impact. But too often, the tools available are patchwork — spreadsheets here, email logs there, project notes in someone’s head. That makes consistency and scale difficult.

Bludot offers a complete, connected platform purpose-built for economic development. The all-in-one platform for BR&E combines internal tools (CRM + Business Data) with resident-facing engagement tools (Business Directory + Open Rewards) to help you stay organized, act on data, and drive real economic impact.

Here’s how economic developers are using Bludot to make 2026 their strongest year yet.

A single system to organize relationships and engagement

Good economic development starts with knowing your businesses — not just their contact information, but the history of interactions, the stories behind their growth, and the issues that matter most.

CRM Screen. All-in-one platform for BR&E

Bludot’s CRM centralizes all of that in one place: visits, emails, calls, surveys, projects, loans, grants, tags, labels, and more — giving teams a living record of their business ecosystem.

A great example comes from New Ulm, MN. Before building structured systems:

“Prior to 2021, the City had no records on our local business community. No one could tell me how many businesses we had because it had never been tracked.” Heather Bregel • Economic Development Director • New Ulm, MN

Heather personally canvassed New Ulm’s business community and used Bludot to finally bring all that engagement together:

“Once we had identified all of our local businesses, we started contacting them to set up an in-person visit at their business… Business owners appreciate having someone come out to see their operations and listen to their concerns. I think they just want to know they are seen and heard.” Heather Bregel • Economic Development Director • New Ulm, MN

That combination of structured data and human engagement turns anecdote into accountability and suspicion into clarity.

Turning business data into actionable community insight

Bludot isn’t just a place to store contacts — it’s a platform that helps teams understand patterns and make decisions.

Data governance, consistency, and visibility are essential to strategic economic development. Fairfax County, VA demonstrates how powerful this transformation can be:

“We used this opportunity as somewhat of a fresh start… to really look at the types of data we were gathering and start to create some data governance within the organization.” James Lear • Business Analyst • Fairfax County, VA

Those governance practices unlocked deeper insight:

“We used the Label functionality in Bludot to assign labels to businesses to track the various programs that they had participated in and their status in those programs… We never had that kind of holistic view of program participation before.” James Lear • Business Analyst • Fairfax County, VA

And finally, they were able to act on what they saw:

“We were able to use Bludot to quickly identify businesses that we wanted to provide outreach to… We’ve started using Bludot’s survey capabilities to gauge the pulse of the business community.” James Lear • Business Analyst • Fairfax County, VA

Bludot helps turn business lists into living networks of engagement — where insight leads directly to action and follow-through.

Business Directory — helping residents discover and support local businesses

Supporting local businesses is not just an internal priority — it’s a community engagement opportunity.

Bludot’s Business Directory helps residents explore and patronize businesses in their community. That visibility becomes even more powerful when tied to broader promotions.

Business Directory - All-in-one BR&E platform

In South Miami, the Business Directory was central to their critical Taste of SoMi event:

“The Bludot Directory has strengthened our connection with the local business community by offering a centralized platform where businesses can be easily discovered and promoted.” Brandon Diaz • Communications & Marketing Manager • City of South Miami, FL

Residents and business owners saw real benefit:

“Visitors love how easy it is to explore restaurants, get directions, and access menus all in one place… Businesses appreciate the added exposure and the fact that they’re included on the official city website tied to local promotions like Taste of SoMi.” Brandon Diaz • Communications & Marketing Manager • City of South Miami, FL

Bludot’s public directory turns internal CRM data into community value — making it easier for residents to connect with local shops, restaurants, and services.

Open Rewards — driving measurable community impact and local spending

Traditional “shop local” campaigns often lack measurable outcomes, but Bludot’s Open Rewards program changes that.

Instead of coupons or paper punch cards, Open Rewards directly connects resident behavior with economic impact in a measurable way. Residents earn points for shopping locally, and merchants benefit from increased spending.

Indio, CA’s experience illustrates how effective this can be:

“Our goal for the program was to encourage residents to shop locally, boost sales and foot traffic for small businesses, and foster a sustainable, community-driven economic cycle…” City of Indio Economic Development

The results were impressive in both economic activity and resident engagement.

Bludot’s Open Rewards program also delivered strong impact in Southlake, TX — and the on-the-ground experience highlights why:

“Building those relationships with our business managers and owners… that trust is already there — that’s huge.” Robert Briggs • Assistant City Manager • City of Southlake, TX

And it wasn’t just a nice perk for residents:

“Our residents and visitors were happy to earn $20-$30 just by going shopping!” Dylan Duque • Economic Development & Tourism Specialist • City of Southlake, TX

City leaders saw measurable results:

Over $1.5M in local economic impact
About 20x return on investment
Strong resident participation

Open Rewards turns local spending into data you can use, impact you can show, and support you can build with councils and business communities.

Why an all-in-one platform for BR&E matters

Many teams start with spreadsheets. Some try to retrofit enterprise CRMs built for sales. But economic development is different: long timelines, deep relationships, multifaceted outcomes, community engagement, and impact measurement.

Bludot is built for these distinct workflows:

Relationship management and BR&E tracking
Program participation and project visibility
Surveys and business pulse assessments
Resident discovery and business promotion
Measurable economic impact through local rewards

And the biggest advantage? Everything works together.

Your CRM data powers your outreach. Your surveys update business records. Your directory and rewards tools support the same businesses you track internally.Your reporting becomes clearer, faster, and deeply credible.

Integrated tools mean fewer siloed systems, fewer manual processes, and more time spent on strategic work that moves the needle.

Looking ahead

Economic development will always be about people, partnership, and impact — but the right tools make it possible to operate with clarity, confidence, and scale.

With Bludot, communities don’t just manage information — they build stronger relationships, support their businesses more effectively, and create programs that deliver real economic results.

If your team is looking to: