In my past life as a network development manager with Caltex, it became obvious that if you did not clearly explain what you were looking for, a great deal of time was wasted sifting the good from the bad. The solution was to develop a two page property guideline that was sent to all parties (agents, developers, land owners), who indicated they may have a potential site for us.

This guideline had to provide information to help filter the sites and yet not reveal our strategic thinking. Accompanying the property guide was a small check chart for the agent or developer to complete if they believed the property met our demands. Of course with electronic media this can be done in minutes now.

We would be offered about three or four opportunities a week. The oil industry works to some reasonably clear parameters, and it was just a matter of filtering real opportunities from time wasting ones.

So for starters, spending the time to clarify exactly what you want from a site will shorten the process in the long run, and reduce time wasting journeys to visit unsuitable locations.

Creating a property guideline

It’s important to define the characteristics of a site that are non-negotiable. The list will vary from industry type and franchise. Some of the following could be on the list:

• Size – what metreage do you require? Will the site need to be visible from the street?
• Physical characteristics – do you need to be in a shopping main street or in the hub, but not in a side road? Will a small shopping centre with a street frontage suit?
• Direction – some businesses have a preference for one side of the road – either attracting morning traffic or catching the home-bound drivers.
• Competition – consider whether direct competition is helpful or a hindrance. What type of businesses do you want to be near?
• Road type – how important is car traffic flow? Do you need a high footfall?
• Visibility – do you want good visibility for your signage?
• Access – you need to consider customer and any delivery access? Will your customers be able to park? Do you need to be near public transport?
• Demographics – what market do you want to reach? Is this a suburban business, or inner city?
• Suburbs or areas – nominate suburbs or specific areas you are interested in and do not be afraid to mention areas that are not in your focus.

It might be useful to create such a document that will serve as a reference point before getting down to site visits, meetings and open discussions.

The property guideline can assist the network development process in the first step in filtering the opportunities, before time is wasted on full analysis. It is all about improving the quality of what is offered to you for consideration.

Summary

If you tell people what you are looking for, you have more chance of finding it. If you are unclear on what you want, you waste a great deal of your time looking at rubbish in my view.

Peter Buckingham is the managing director of ‘Spectrum Analysis Australia Pty Ltd’, a Melbourne based geo-demographic consultancy specialising in store and site location.