Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance

Team 2
Market Analysis

The Company
●Mix of restaurants, shops, and boutiques
●How to help downtown thrive
●Special events

Customers
● College Students
● Online shopping → move to digital
○ Social Media
● Price, quality, convenience vs.
sustainability, trust, ethical sourcing
Market Analysis
Conditions
● Pre-pandemic lifestyles
● Negative impact of Covid
● Supporting local businesses

Competition
● Online retailers: Amazon
● Nationwide stores: Target,
Walmart, Old Navy, etc
● Reviews
● Advertising
● Offers to students
Current Strategy
Analysis

Giveaways Community
Advertising and Events
Promotions
 Current Strategy
Analysis
Advertising
● Traditional advertising:
commercial on local television
● Digital advertising: Lots of
information on website and
monthly email newsletter
Community Events
● HDR hosts events themselves:
○ Winter Wonderfest
○ Cookie Tour
○ Halloween
○ Block party
● HDR posts and provides
information on other events
happening downtown hosted by
other businesses and
organizations
● Information largely posted on
website and social platforms
Social Media
● Instagram (active), Facebook
(active), and Tik Tok (inactive)
● Lacks student followers
● Promotes events, downtown
businesses, contests
Promotions and Giveaways
● Posted on social media platforms
● Encourages people to shop
downtown and to engage with
HDR’s social media posts
● Downtown Dollars
Current Strategy
Analysis

Market Segmentation

● There does not seem to be varied strategies for

targeting different segments
● The current strategy seems more focused towards
families in Harrisonburg.
● Ads are not placed strategically to be seen by the
student segment.

Appeals

● Community and belonging

● Joy and family (holiday campaigns)
● Asks consumers to support local businesses
Focus Group Composition

● Upperclassmen VS lowerclassmen

○ Mix of gender

○ Same size

■ 5-6 participants
Focus Group Questions
Perceptions of Downtown Harrisonburg ● Who shops downtown?
● What would you like to see downtown?
● Accessibility?

Buying Behavior ● Where do you like to shop?

● What do you look for when deciding
where to shop?
● What encourages/discourages you from
shopping downtown?

Special Occasion Shopping ● Homecoming weekend?

● Holidays?
● Convenience vs. Experience?

Advertisements ● Perceptions of advertisements

● Have you seen them?
● Opinion on social media/website
Focus Group Findings

Overall Findings

● Unfamiliar with Downtown

● Expensive Perception

● Students not the target market

● Monthly visits

● Received little advertisements

● Social media lacking

Strengths and
Weaknesses
Strengths
● Frequently posts on social
media.
● HDR hosts several community
events. These give exposure to
local businesses and bring
customers downtown.
● Downtown Dollars
● High involvement by local
businesses
Weaknesses
● Social media posts consist
mainly of promotional content
and information on downtown
businesses and events
● Inactive Tik Tok
● General targeting, catching the
attention of Harrisonburg
families, but not students
● Weak on-campus exposure
leading to low student-following
on socials and students
assuming HDR is not relevant
to them
Our Recommendations
1.Target college students from
local universities

2.Mix-up content types on social

media

3.Get local restaurants involved

4.Improve parking and

transportation
Other Examples