Staff

The Valley Echo

Readers, tell us what you think and perhaps $1,000 worth of free grocery shopping will be your reward.

Yes, readers of Black Press community newspapers across the Kootenays will have a chance to win one grand worth of shopping at Save-On Foods, by completing an online survey that will help local businesses better understand local customers.

The survey — the product of a partnership between Black Press and Pulse Research, a respected B.C. research company — looks at the shopping plans and priorities of our readers, and their media reading habits.

By answering the survey questions, readers will help gauge the current consumer climate to help businesses adapt and craft new ways to serve clients and customers.

Responses will be kept completely confidential, and reader contact information will only be used to enter readers’ names into a prize draw for one of five $1,000 Save-On gift cards to be given away across the Kootenays. The survey is online only — no phone calls — and will take 35 to 40 minutes to complete.

“We are excited to bring this survey to the East Kootenay.  Our local businesses will benefit from the information and be provided insight on how our readers will be looking to spend their hard earned money in the coming year,” says Valley Echo publisher Dean Midyette.

The Pulse Research survey has already been a successful tool for businesses. For one example, one client took the results of the research to the bank and on the strength of the data was able to secure a loan to expand the business.

The benefits of the study include showing potential areas for growth or expansion.

For more information, check out www.pulseresearch.com/eastkootenay.