You may have noticed that our demographic analysis made some rather broad assumptions. Unfortunately, professionals unfamiliar with our region occasionally base decisions about the Roanoke Valley's buying power based on this kind of cursory analysis.

For instance, we locals know that our retail market extends beyond the boundaries of the pre-defined MSA into the New River Valley, Lexington and Bedford. We also instinctively understand where the money is and where our traffic patterns take us on a daily basis. Is it really any wonder why the Panera at Tanglewood or the Sheetz at Williamson and Orange are so successful?

When recruiting national retailers, we make sure they see our Valley beyond the arbitrary delineations of the census bureau. We don't dispute their data, but we might question whether its parameters are accurate. We might point out that averages are less relevant where affluence is highly concentrated or that it not necessarily the amount of traffic that matters, but the kind of traffic that matters. We present them with additional data that encourages them to re-evaluate our trade area or a particular site. These are the kinds of salesmanship efforts that make our valley more desirable to retailers and help keep our property values rising.