As 2015 ends and 2016 begins, Team Klamath is releasing the findings of our first quarterly members’ survey. Although the full survey data is not yet published, here is an overview of the findings.

Improvements

We sought to find out how many of our members had experienced an improvement in business quality over the past year. When asked whether business has improved (such as increases in contracts and/or sales) over the past 12 months, 52.17% of our members said yes. 39.13% said their businesses had stayed the same, and less than 10% (8.70%) said that business had decreased.

Investments

Many of our members rely on capital investments and fixed assets to maintain and improve their operations. When asked how many members had purchased any new equipment or made any large capital investments within the last two years, 73.91% responded affirmatively. 26.09% of members stated that they have not made these purchases.

We asked members to list any capital or equipment investments in the comments section of the question. The responses include:

• Construction and landscaping equipment
• Infrastructure upgrades
• Printing equipment, software, and hardware 
• New building construction ($17 million), commencing in 2016
• Computer server and phone system

Sales

Because sales are the lifeblood of any business, we asked our members where the majority of their sales are derived. 56.52% of members stated that the majority of their sales are local, 4.35% attributed the bulk of their sales to business in the state of Oregon, and 34.78% said that they were sustained by regional sales throughout the Pacific Northwest. Although 4.35% claimed to rely on national sales throughout the United States, no respondents indicated that the majority of their sales were international.

Market Research

Understanding markets is a key to success in nearly any industry, and KCEDA plans to help members gain a foothold on it in 2016. Among our members, 34.78% indicated their market research capabilities were strong, 47.83% of respondents said their market research abilities are “average,” and 13.04% chose “weak.” Only one respondent chose “very weak.”

Klamath County Business Advantages

One of the missions of KCEDA is to improve the business climate of Klamath County. With that in mind, we asked members what business advantages they identify here in the county. Their answers include:

• Small, manageable competition
• Quality of life
• Affordability
• Low advertising costs due to word-of-mouth referrals
• Strong community ties

If you participated in the first KCEDA Business Climate Survey, Team Klamath thanks you for partaking. As 2016 kicks off, we plan to use the data we gathered for your ongoing benefit as a local business owner. To see the actual survey results, please refer to the underlined link provided directly below. 

Business Climate Survey Results