The Nashville area has lived through a dynamic decade of growth. There have been regular announcements of new companies, retail and commercial development, growing industries, and people moving to town. Regardless of the business you’re in, one or more of these factors have affected you.
Now due to the pandemic, the entire landscape has been upended. Tourism and hospitality, a significant player in the remaking of downtown and job creation, came to a stop. Healthcare, one of the area’s biggest industries, will have to adapt services and patient relationships. The future of office space and where people will want to live remains an open question.
It’s a lot to deal with for anyone navigating the future for your business.
If you’re in marketing, you not only need to keep up, you need to help make sense of it for your company and your team. It’s important to monitor the market, consumer shifts, competitive activity, and emerging trends so you can identify your own opportunities and challenges.
Staying in touch with local media is your first step, and subscribing to relevant email newsletters and following outlets on Twitter allow you to do that more efficiently. As a marketer, you also need hard data at times. If you’re lucky, you have access to paid resources that enable you to analyze and report what you need, when you need it. But either way, there are many sources at your fingertips to quantify the population and market conditions of Middle Tennessee.
I’ve found these helpful over the years and hope you do too.
The Local Economy
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce is not just an advocate for local business, it’s one of the leaders in compiling, analyzing, and reporting on the local economy. Demographic data, maps and regional statistics - among other information - can be found in the Economic Development area.
Demographics, workforce data and other Regional Stats: https://www.nashvillechamber.com/economic-development/data-reports/regional-stats
Maps of industries, headquarters, etc.: https://www.nashvillechamber.com/maps
County-specific data and information: https://www.nashvillechamber.com/economic-development/our-region
A list of lists and rankings the area has appeared on: https://www.nashvillechamber.com/rankings.
Convention & Visitors Corp.: the increased importance of the tourism industry in Nashville can’t be understated. For any business it’s good to keep track of statistics about the industry, which the NCVC includes here: https://www.visitmusiccity.com/explore-nashville/about/statistics
Nashville Downtown Partnership: if you’re interested in the growth of downtown Nashville, the Partnership reports on the state of downtown, including residential and business activity here: https://www.nashvilledowntown.com/resources/reports-publications-and-plans
Retail Sales: the Tennessee Department of Revenue provides retail sales tax collections by category by month, and retail sales estimates by category by quarter. The data is helpful in quantifying the health of local retail, and if you’re willing to do a little work, can be analyzed by category and county. https://www.tn.gov/revenue/tax-resources/statistics-and-collections/retail-sales-by-calendar-year-month.html
Real Estate Sales: The Greater Nashville Association of Realtors does a good job of reporting and sharing home sales activity on a monthly basis, breaking it down by homes and condos, including average prices and days on market, and providing a separate accounting by county. Find their local market data here: http://www.gnar.org/marketdata
Bureau of Labor Statistics: access monthly information about employment and unemployment, by industry and with historical data by area at: http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.tn_nashville_msa.htm
City-Data.com: this site provides access a wide range of data – from demographics, incomes and voting patterns to crime rate and climate – by zip code and neighborhood level. http://www.city-data.com/city/Nashville-Davidson-Tennessee.html
What sources of data have you found that provide valuable insight to the market, your customers or your business?