Prepared by: Marketing (Business 133) Class at Dean College
Supervised by: Professor Al K. Rashid
At the turn of the twentieth century, Franklin center was the focus of social and commercial activity in town. Trolleys connected the center to other residential and commercial areas. Since then, dramatic changes in shopping patterns affected many town centers including Franklin’s, causing the location of commercial activity to shift to outlying areas.
In an effort to restore and revitalize the area, the Downtown Manager requested Dean College’s assistance in surveying several constituent populations involved with the downtown area. In response, during the spring semester (2004), Dean’s Marketing class undertook two surveys covering the student population and downtown business owners.
The results of these surveys, along with a summary analysis, are provided in this document.
Two surveys were conducted.
- The purpose of the first was to assess Dean College students’ perceptions of Franklin’s downtown business and shopping area.
- The purpose of the second was to assess the perceptions of Franklin’s downtown business owners and to obtain demographics of their overall customer base.
The results of these surveys will be used to guide the town of Franklin in formulating policy and creating programs to stimulate increased activity in the downtown business and shopping area.
Downtown “Defined”
West Central, East Central, Alpine, and West Street were provided as the boundaries for downtown Franklin. The Business Owner Survey targeted all businesses and shops within these boundaries. Furthermore, these boundaries were spelled out on both the Business Owner and Student questionnaires in order to ensure that respondents were focusing their answers on the targeted geographic location. No other shopping centers outside these boundaries are considered “downtown Franklin”.
Population Size and Samples
Two questionnaires were prepared and conducted.
Student Survey
850 students are enrolled at Dean College. The survey organizers decided on targeting 40% of the student population in order to ensure a more than adequate sampling size. 340 surveys were distributed. 297 students actually completed and returned the surveys. This totals 35% of the student body, a highly representative and statistically significant sample.
Business Owner Survey
The downtown business center of Franklin is comprised of 67 businesses. Their names and addresses were provided to the survey organizers by the town. All 67 were targeted for survey completion. 40 businesses actually completed and returned their questionnaires, representing 60% of the total population, a statistically representative sample.
Questionnaire Format
One key item to note is that, in the Student Questionnaire, several sections branch. This means that if a respondent answers a certain way, s/he may be asked to skip several questions because they do not apply. Thus, for example, a student who answers “Never” to Question 1, “How frequently do you shop or do business in downtown Franklin?” is asked to skip to Question 5 because his or her answer to Question 2 about stores visited and Question 3 about times spent shopping downtown, have no meaning. (This occurs again under Question 5, if a student checks off that they will never shop in downtown Franklin.)
There is no branching in the Business Owner Survey.
Survey of Dean Students
The following provides key findings from the Survey of Dean students. Detailed tabulation information is available under separate cover.
Age (Question 11)
The respondents’ ages fall between 16 and upwards of 25, with the majority (89%) ranging from 16 to 21.
- 25% range from 16 to 18
- 64% range from 19 to 21
- 7% range from 22 to 24
- 4% are 25 or older
Grade Level (Question 8)
88% of the respondents are either freshmen or sophomores, which reflects Dean’s position as primarily a two-year college. Juniors and seniors represent a smaller population, primarily dance majors enrolled in a four-year program.
- 58% are freshmen
- 30% are sophomores
- 8% are juniors
- 4% are seniors
Gender (Question 10)
- 55% of respondents are male
- 45% of respondents are female
Proximity to Campus (Question 9)
The majority of respondents live on campus, representing a very close proximity to downtown Franklin.
- 83% of respondents live on campus
- 5% of respondents live off campus but within five miles
- 12% of respondents live more than five miles away from campus
Shopping Frequency (Question 1)
While a majority, or 58%, of respondents shop in downtown Franklin, averaging between one and four or more times per month, there is a large minority of 42% who never shop or shop less than once on average per month. This denotes an opportunity to attract that business as well as those who do not shop downtown very frequently.
- 21% of respondents never shop downtown
- 21% of respondents shop downtown less than once per month
- 32% shop downtown one to three times per month
- 26% shop downtown four or more times per month
The next few questions were answered by respondents who replied affirmatively to Question 1 on Shopping Frequency, i.e., they spend at least some time shopping downtown. The next few questions were skipped by the 21% who never shop downtown.
Types of Shops and Businesses Visited (Question 2)
The most frequently types of businesses visited by Dean students in downtown Franklin are convenience stores, banks, and restaurants. The least visited are dry cleaners and laundromats.
Shopping Times (Question 3)
The most popular time to shop according to 34% of Dean respondents is on the weekend, with 32% close behind favoring Monday through Friday between 5pm and 8pm.
Amounts Spent in Downtown Franklin (Question 4)
The majority, or 68% of respondents, spend less than $100 per month in downtown Franklin followed by 12% who spend between $100 and $200 per month downtown.
Improving the Shopping Experience: Better Parking (Question 5)
When questioned about the need for better parking, 36% rated it very important or important, while 22% rated it slightly important. 42% said it was not at all important.
Improving the Shopping Experience: Improvements to the exterior and interiors of the buildings in downtown (Question 5)
37% of student respondents rated improvements to the fabric of downtown buildings either very important or important while 30% said it was not at all important.
Improving the Shopping Experience: Shops/businesses open more hours (Question 5)
51% of respondents rated increased shop opening hours as very important or important. In contrast, 25% found it not at all important.
Improving the Shopping Experience: Better Selection of Goods/Services in Existing Shops
Another key item for improvement is the provision of a better selection of goods and services from existing downtown businesses. 65% of respondents found a better selection of goods and services from existing businesses to be very important or important. 19% cited this as not at all important while 16% say it is slightly important.
Improving the Shopping Experience: More shops and variety than there are now (Question 5)
By far one of the most key areas cited for improvement was the provision of more shops and more variety than now exists. 71% of respondents rated more shops and variety as very important or important. Only 19% find this to be not at all important and 10% find it slightly important.
Other Suggested Improvements (verbatim responses) by Current Shoppers (Question 6)
Some recommendations by students for improving the downtown business/shopping experience included the addition of new businesses such as Blockbuster, TJ Maxx, Dunkin’ Donuts, a bowling alley and nightclubs.
Suggested Measures to Increase the Number of Visits by Current Shoppers (Question 7)
Some recommendations by students to increase the frequency of their visits downtown included such items as offering students incentive coupons, better service related to students’ needs, cleaner sidewalks and turning restaurants into clubs at night.
Non-Downtown Shoppers (Question 5)
62 of the 297 student respondents said they never shop or do business in downtown Franklin. They were asked to skip to question 5, where 32 stated they would never shop or do business at all in the future as well, no matter what changes were made. These 32 respondents total 11% of all who completed the questionnaire.
Summary of Results
The following provides key findings from the Survey of Downtown Franklin Business Owners. Detailed tabulation information is available under separate cover.
Type of Businesses (Question 1)
The nature of the respondents’ businesses breaks down as follows:
- 67% are service-oriented businesses.
- 20% are retail businesses or shops.
- 13% are restaurants.
Number of Employees (including owner) (Question 2)
- 54% of businesses in downtown Franklin employ one to five employees.
- 33% employ six to fifteen employees.
- 13% employ more than fifteen workers.
Length of Time at Current Location (Question 3)
Most businesses in the downtown area have been situated there for a relatively long time.
- 37% have been at their current location for sixteen years or more
- 35% have been there six to fifteen years.
- 28% have been in downtown Franklin for one to five years.
Square Footage of Business (Question 5)
The majority, or 73% of businesses, ranges from 600 to over 1200 square feet.
- 27% are 100 to 600 square feet.
- 33% are between 600 and 1200 square feet.
- 40% are over 1200 square feet.
Age Groups of Customers (Question 8)
Most customers, totaling 59% of the downtown business clientele, fall within the range of 20 to 50 years of age.
- 7% are under 13
- 13% are between 13 and 19
- 24% are between 20 to 35
- 35% are between 36 and 50
- 14% are between 51 and 65
- 7% are over 65
Percent of Annual Sales Made by Dean College Students (Question 4)
Dean College students represent a low percentage of customers for businesses in downtown Franklin. For the majority of businesses, Dean students constitute as little as 0 to 4% of the customers. Customers mostly are non-students who are residents of the town of Franklin, comprising mostly between 40 to 100% of those who do business in the downtown. Residents of nearby towns within five miles comprise between 0 and 40% while those from towns farther than five miles constitute between 0 and 10% of the customer base.
Sales Trend in Total over Past Two Years (Question 11)
Results show that the slight majority of respondents, at 54%, experienced an increase in sales over the past two years. 30% neither grew nor lost sales. 15% had experienced some level of decreased sales.
Major Competitors’ Locations (Question 12)
A large minority of respondents believe their competition is located in the downtown Franklin area while the remainder believe their competition is elsewhere in town or outside of Franklin.
- 24% of businesses said major competition is in downtown Franklin.
- 27% of businesses believe that major competition is located in Franklin but not downtown.
- 27% believe the competition is in neighboring towns.
- 22% believe competition is in more distant towns.
Competitors’ Advantages (Question 13)
A large percentage (43%) of respondents replied that their competitors benefit from advantages other than those listed in the survey. These included the following “verbatim” comments: More convenient and/or better location; more staff support; more established recognition; better parking; and competitor is larger size.
Of those choices provided in the survey, the following were selected:
- 28% believe their competitors have chain/national/regional recognition.
- 16% believe their competitors have more attractive surroundings
- 13% believe their competitors benefit from a better mix of shops nearby.
Impact of Franklin Downtown Partnership’s To-Date (Question 14)
29% of respondents indicate that the Franklin Downtown Partnership has had a positive effect to-date, while 24% say it has had either a negative or no impact. The remainder did not complete this question.
When asked questions about specific improvements to the downtown area, improved parking rated the highest responses followed by town funding of exterior improvement programs and, third, developing a program to attract a wider variety of businesses to the downtown.
When asked a final “free form” question about improvements, the top three responses were for: parking, special events, and more shops.
Where Employees/Customers Park if Business Has No Designated Spaces (Question 6)
Results show that 65% park “in another place” if the business has no designated spaces while 22% park on Main Street and 13% park on a side street.
Total Needed Parking Spaces (including currently owned spaces) (Question 6)
- 35% need one to five parking spaces.
- 31% need six to fifteen parking spaces.
- 34% need sixteen or more parking spaces.
Improving Downtown Franklin: More Parking Spaces (Question 15)
- 85% say more parking spaces is very important or important in improving downtown Franklin.
- 9% rate it slightly important.
- 6% say it is not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: More Easily Accessible Parking (Question 15)
- 76% rate easy to access parking as very important or important.
- 12% say it is slightly important.
- 12% believe it is not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Create Programs to Make It Financially More Attractive for Businesses to Fund Improvements to the Exteriors of Buildings (Question 15)
- 79% respond that it is very important or important for programs to fund more attractive exteriors.
- 7% rate this as slightly important.
- 14% rate this as not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Develop a Program to Attract a Larger Variety of Shops than are in Downtown Now (Question 15)
- 71% rate a larger variety of shops very important or important.
- 23% rate this as slightly important.
- 6% said it was not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Help with Marketing and Advertising (Question 15)
- 68% say it is very important or important that they have help with marketing and advertising from Franklin Downtown Partnership.
- 19% find it slightly important
- 13% find it not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Improve Traffic Flow (Question 15)
- 46% believe improving the traffic flow is very important or important.
- 27% rate it slightly important.
- 27% rate it not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Install Safer (Brighter) Lighting (Question 15)
- 44% say it is very important or important to install safer or brighter lighting.
- 33% say it is slightly important.
- 23% say it is not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Improving Street Signs (Question 15)
- 43% believe improving street signs is very important or important.
- 16% say it is slightly important.
- 41% say it is not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Develop a Program to Attract Certain Types of Shops to Create a Themed District (Question 15)
- 42% rate a themed district as very important or important.
- 34% think it is slightly important.
- 24% rate it not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Adding Seating (Question 15)
- 39% rate this as very important or important.
- 29% rate this as slightly important.
- 32% say it is not at all important.
Improving Downtown Franklin: Install More Appealing Lighting (e.g. Antique style lights) (Question 15)
- 38% rate the installation of more appealing lighting to be very important or important.
- 34% say it is slightly important.
- 28% rate this as not at all important.
Top Improvements to Downtown Franklin (Question 16)
Downtown Franklin businesses owners were asked to advise the Town of Franklin about the top two improvements to increase business. Number one on the list is more adequate parking. Second on the list are more events, while the addition of more shops follows as third.
Fourth, respondents advise separate train station parking separate from downtown Franklin business parking. Fifth, business owners want to provide residents with discount shopping.
Other suggestions include continuous bus services to downtown Franklin; improved traffic control; additional seating; and street signs at the end of each street. At the very bottom of the list is a two-way street system in the center of Franklin.
Charles Calagni
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In-Kun Chan
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Hing-Yin Fung
David Giltinan
Chris Gupta
Tsun-Ching Hui
Masahi Iizuka
Hiu-Chong Ip
Lauren Keeler
Woo-Joong Kim
Ho-Lam Kwan
Yee Wai Kwan
Chiu Ho Lau
Chung Hon Ma
Cheong Lukwingm
Lauren Mangano
Joseph Piazza
Anne Saetae
Bryan Soucy
Saki Takahashi
Kristie Tempest
Jonathan Villanueva
Jonny Von Bergen
Jorge Von Bergen
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