Singles and Doubles: Using Small Retail Wins to Sustain Community Momentum

What happens to community support when a region goes a long stretch without a major economic development win? Staff can get worn down, elected officials face pressure, and residents start to lose confidence - even when bigger projects are quietly moving forward behind the scenes. This session explores how smaller, quicker retail recruitment wins - the singles and doubles - can keep momentum and morale high while larger industrial and economic development projects work through longer timelines.

This session looks at how a steady cadence of visible retail wins builds public trust, gives elected officials something tangible to point to, and keeps communities engaged and patient through the slower, higher-stakes deals that take years to land.

Session Highlights

• How smaller retail recruitment wins create visible, tangible progress for staff, elected officials, and residents
• Balancing a long-term industrial or economic development pipeline with shorter-term retail wins
• Building a recruitment strategy that delivers a steady cadence of wins, not just one big swing
• Real examples of how retail recruitment kept communities engaged during long development timelines