The afternoon session of last week's Historic Stoughton Marketing Conference had commerce leaders working together to figure out Stoughton's defining characteristics and the archetypical customer they are trying to "sell" the city to.
Taking what they learned from the speakers during the morning session, about two dozen of Stoughton's entrepreneurs, artists and government leaders worked in the Fire Department meeting room to develop a unified vision of what Stoughton has to offer consumers, and who their dream customer would be, their "bull's-eye."
The session's objectives were to build a framework that would market historic Stoughton, generate marketing ideas and messages, and organize a task force to begin promoting historic Stoughton, according to Mary Boeding, a retired director of innovations for Kraft Foods and organizer for the group.
Having grown up in a small town in Iowa, Boeding said she understood the mindset of the small-town business owner.
She also said she was very impressed with Stoughton's historic downtown.
"I knew there was history (in Stoughton), but I didn't really realize what you had in this downtown area, it's phenomenal.
"The meeting's outcome will give us a preliminary definition of (Stoughton's) 'High Value Customer,'" Boeding told the group, "and our objective with this customer."
After an initial meet-and-greet, attendees learned about each other and what common ground they shared. A strong desire to see Stoughton develop and become a shopping and tourism destination was one of the main factors that brought participants to the conference. Once they had grown comfortable with what they all wanted to achieve, Boeding asked them to describe Stoughton for her.
"If Stoughton was a shopping mall, how would you define it?" she asked.
Group members described the city as a collection of specialty stores, primarily serving nearby residents, but also known to surrounding communities as a hub for art and culture.
Tradition and personal relationships were also at the forefront of what participants thought made Stoughton work, the feeling the city is close-knit enough that everyone knows everyone.
Several members said they took off their "rose-colored glasses," when they had to think about Stoughton, that it really is a hit-or-miss location for shoppers. While there are a lot of unique shops, where you can find toys, or art, or crafts, there's no place to buy a suit or a pair of shoes, and shoppers have to leave the city to find many items. There are also several store fronts that are vacant, which detract from the aesthetic of a "vibrant" shopping destination.
Seveal men in attendance said they don't have the shopping mindset that women have, and don't do "shopping trips." Without stores that offer necessities, they have little reason to come downtown in the first place.
A slogan was developed for the city, one that claims Stoughton is a place where shoppers can "Slow the pace, relieve the stress, come and spend the whole day - Stoughton, where you leave with a smile."
The idea that shoppers give themselves the gift of giving to others by buying from Stoughton was one of the recurring themes of the project, which group members proposed should be spread.
"We want to shift the mindset of 'gift' being an experience shared with family," Boeding said, "and not just an item."
After determining just what Stoughton has to offer: plenty of shopping, history, education and culture, Boeding asked the conference members to determine who they want to sell Stoughton to.
This "High Value Customer" that business owners hope to attract turns out be a middle-class woman, age 30-60, with discretionary income to spare.
The terms used to describe this "creative connoisseur" included: "life-long learner, fun, savvy, values herself, wants to be treated special, approachable, inclusive, likes experiences, and appreciates small pleasures."
The shopkeepers really want to service a customer who desires to learn from the myriad arts and crafts classes held throughout the city, someone who craves creative release as therapy.
And now that the Historic Stoughton Business Alliance has determined its ideal shopper, it will begin work on forming task forces dedicated to marketing and advertising the city to her, and other potential buyers.
Gary Walker, conference co-organizer and co-owner of Woodland Studios, 195 E. Main St., said Carl Chenoweth, chairman for the city's Economic Development Committee is "100 percent behind what we're doing here, and would like to see this becoming a subcommittee in some fashion - not in any way to manipulate it or be in charge of it - but to just be behind it. This idea of unity that we've been expressing all day, I think is something that we can start putting together as a group ... I think we just have to work on this a little harder."
A task force has yet to be assembled for the group, but those who attended provided contact information and will be reached once the time and place for the first Historic Stoughton Task Force meeting is created.
