Survey Targets Forks Township Businesses

The 450 Forks Township businesses being invited to a roundtable on May 9 also are being asked to fill out a survey.

Alison Miers, vice president of Easton initiatives for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the survey will provide township officials with better insight about what their businesses need.

"I am very excited about the roundtable and the survey," Township Supervisor David Billings said. "I think this is a great opportunity for the township to better understand many things about our local economic environment."

The 23-question survey asks businesses for their name, title, address, phone number and email. It also asks for the type of business, the number of people employed and the years the business has operated in the township.

Then the questions get more complicated.

Business owners are given five options from whether they strongly agree to strongly disagree about whether an organization is needed to promote Forks businesses, how important it is for that organization to promote businesses to residents and those outside the township, how the organization should share business information and what is the best way for a business to be active in the community.

Billings said these questions are important.

"First, why do businesses choose Forks? Second, what attributes make a business successful in our township," he said. "Finally, what are the root causes if, unfortunately, a business is not successful."

The survey continues to ask whether the township's government has helped or hindered the business.

It asks what businesses Forks should try to attract and what the government should do to try to keep businesses in the loop regarding township news.

The rest of the survey focuses on social media: whether a business uses the township's website and whether the business has a website and utilizes Facebook and Twitter.

Billings said he looks forward to reviewing the results.

"I would like to ensure we have a business friendly environment and the ability to attract a wide range of businesses," he said.

The roundtable will take place at the . The event will begin with registration at 7:30 a.m., with the breakfast program starting at 8 a.m.

Any Forks Township business interested in attending or learning more about the roundtable should contact Miers at 610-739-1512.