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Gut Sandwich: Why Gap Analysis Falls Short and Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

By Kevin S. Crowder

All too often communities and local governments engage consultants to run a “Gap Analysis” and identify “retail strategies” to attract new businesses, only to find that these strategies are limited and often do not truly enhance the
community or meet its needs.

Retail and small business development must occur within the context of an overall place-based economic development approach; otherwise, dollar stores, chains, and restaurants where food comes out of a bag will be the future.

Ultimately, successful economic development is an exercise in intestinal fortitude and not always a place to play it safe. Look beyond the trailing data and find your community’s potential. Learn from successful entrepreneurs and apply their thinking to your economic development growth efforts. Don’t rely solely on the data; instead, put the relevant data between a slice of intuition and a slice of instinct and eat a Gut Sandwich.

“Market Analysis only tells you how you got to a place you may not want to be anymore. It doesn’t have anything to do with your potential and where you can go. Stories make the difference.”