Business & Tech

'Shop Vienna' — With The Click Of a Mouse

Town launches online directory to make local businesses more accessible.

The Town of Vienna recently launched a "Shop Vienna" program in an effort to bring the town's local businesses to Vienna residents' fingertips.

The program's primary online element is its cyber-directory including every business in town. The directory went live on the town's website July 1.

"Anybody, anywhere can see what we have to offer in our business community," said Kirstyn Barr, the town's public information officer, adding it provides residents easier access to basic information. 

Every business in town that paid for a business license as of May 30 of this year  more than 1,000, according to Barr — is listed in the directory. 

Businesses are divided into categories and sub-categories within the directory in order to make them easier to find. A category might be the broad industry of "restaurants" in Vienna, while a sub-category might be "burgers" or "coffee" or "Chinese."

Though Vienna has provided every business in town with its own page in the directory and its own signpost on the directory's interactive map of the town, it is up to local business owners to transform their pages from a blank slate to a useful tool for potential customers.

Business owners can "claim" their business in the directory by paying a fee; Barr said the town paid the initial cost of hosting the directory online and the entrence fees are intended to allow the directory to pay for itself. The town will not profit from the directory, Barr said. As more businesses claim themselves online, the cost will drop.  

Businesses that do not claim themselves on the directory will still be listed, but their pages will remain empty.

Once claimed, business owners can manage their pages as they wish, including information like store hours, upcoming deals, cyber-coupons and even job openings. Barr said the most recently updated pages will show up higher on the list of businesses in the same category or sub-category, encouraging local businesses to keep their pages up-to-date and relevant to consumers.

Each year, as businesses renew their licenses with the town of Vienna, they will also be given the option to renew their claims in the directory by paying the next year's fee. New businesses in the area will also be invited to claim themselves in the directory as they file for a license to operate in the town.

Barr said the new directory is the only resource in Vienna that includes all of the town's businesses. She added the town has plans to cross-promote the directory with the Vienna Business Association on its website and to conduct mailing marketing as well.

The directory is free to the public through the town's website, and Barr said her office is in the process of developing a mobile app for the directory so consumers can have all the information they need even when they're on the go.

"I think it's going to be a very popular thing," Barr said. "I've gotten a lot of positive feedback so far from the business community."


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