Business Retention and Expansion Final Report - City of Brantford

30From a logistics perspective, 66% of firms import products or services from outside the municipality, 57% import fromoutside of Canada and 49% attain their products from outside Ontario, but within Canada.In summary, the majority of firms are completely satisfied with their current site. In saying this, firms report that businesscompetitiveness over the next three years will reflect local market development, improved customer service and energycosts.Business Development - MarketsThe markets portion of the business development section focused on information pertaining to market share, salesvolume, customer needs and marketing programs.Fifty-six percent of firms are interested in collaboration/networking and information sharing with other businesses.Similarly, 52% indicate that they would pursue joint marketing initiatives, while 21% are interested in joint productpurchasing.Overall, 67% of firms indicate that their total dollar sales are within the area, while 23% are outside the area, but withinthe rest of Ontario, while the remaining 7% are outside of Ontario, but within Canada. With respect to sales trends,58% of firms report that sales have increased over the past three years, 15% have experienced a decrease while 13%have seen uneven sales patterns and the same/no significant change.“The US dollar has made a major difference. Consumer demands are changing and there are moreimports from China.” - Brantford Business OwnerLooking ahead to next year, 73% of firms expect to see higher sales volumes compared to last year, but it is interestingto note that 61% believe that competition will increase. From a market share perspective, 42% of businesses also feelthat their market share will increase, 46% anticipate the same, and 13% believe a decrease is imminent.Survey respondents noted that a variety of sources are available to them for market research/trend information. Mostnotably, industry/sector newsletters (67%), trade shows (58%), suppliers (57%), business networking (44%), andindustry/sector websites (35%) are the main avenues for market intelligence.From a customer standpoint, firms report that they identify the majority of customer’s needs through informal customercontact (86%), customer complaints (69%), and electrical communications (ie. internet, web page) (40%).In terms of the marketing used by firms to advertise their products/services, virtually all firms concentrate their marketingefforts within Ontario/Canada regardless of the marketing scheme employed (Table 5).Table 5: Marketing methods by locationMarketing Scheme Ontario/Canada (%) Outside Canada (%)Internet 99 33Flyers/Brochures 99 10Trade Show Attendance 98 15General Publications 99 10Sponsorship of Events 98 6Business Cards 99 10Total 99 14