The City of Auburn has approximately 4500 licensed businesses. When business owners pay their annual license fee, there often is an underlying question of “what do I get out of this?” The city’s Economic Development department now has their answer. A unique searchable database of Auburn businesses, encouraging users to Buy Local.
Using grant money from the Port of Seattle, the city worked in collaboration with the local business community on this initiative. This Buy Local database is one of a kind, providing Auburn businesses with a unique advantage over other area businesses. Businesses automatically entered into the Buy Local Auburn database when they register or renew their license online. Each night the database refreshes, rewriting itself and adds newly registered/renewed businesses.
Using the Buy Local Auburn Database
Additional questions have been added to the online licensing process to provide database users with more information about area business. The Business Incubator will offer classes will be offered in the future to assist businesses in writing strong descriptions to entice patronage. The information provided by the business owner will help “consumers make informed decisions about the purchases they make in Auburn.”
The database allows for users to search by phrase, keyword or by business type. Searches using keywords provide results if the word is in the business name or if it is included in the description. Searches can be narrowed down to keywords within a specific industry type. Each time a search is performed the results are issued in a roulette fashion, as to not favor any single business.
Businesses that renewed or registered for their license online for 2018 are currently included in the database. When a business registers for their license online, they are added to the database when it updates each night. Economic Development Manager Doug Lein shared that the database currently hosts all of the city’s licensed businesses. He hopes to see businesses utilize the database with updated discreptions of what they offer.
UPDATED: Friday May 4, 2018 11:40pm
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