Spencer, IA (KICD)– The Spencer City Council met in a Committee of the Whole setting on Monday to continue its consideration of teaming up with an outside consultant to help grow the local retail base.

Austin Farmer from The Retail Coach joined the meeting to help make a case of why the city would benefit from such a connection noting his company has seen a lot of success in the last few years.

Farmer broke down the process The Retail Coach uses to find the right fit for retailers and communities which all starts with using cell phone data to find the size of the market.

Farmer adds his company’s work also looks at the development side of literally building new relationships.

The Retail Coach could also single out a specific business in its data, like the Clay County Fair, to get a rough idea of where its annual visitors are coming from.

If Spencer decides to move forward with the proposal the one year cost would total up to 25 thousand dollars with Spencer Municipal Utilities having recently agreed to pay fifty percent.