Client Success Story

Client Success Story:

CLIENT OVERVIEW

The Taney County Partnership supports economic development in a tourism-driven region by advancing business attraction, retention, workforce development, and quality-of-life initiatives. Serving the Branson Lakes Area, the organization leverages data-driven tools to market sites, support local businesses, and attract new investment at local, national, and international levels.

THE CHALLENGE

When Matt Adkins joined the Taney County Partnership in early 2025, the organization was operating on an outdated site inventory and site selection platform that no longer supported its evolving economic development mission. While Taney County is best known as a tourism-driven economy, the Partnership needed a modern, data-rich platform capable of supporting business attraction, retention, expansion, and longterm community development.


The challenge was twofold: replace an antiquated system with a more intuitive, visually compelling solution, and ensure the platform could support nontraditional economic development use cases such as hospitality, retail, housing, and mixed-use development—not just industrial manufacturing.

“It’s the only technology of its kind built on the Esri platform, which allows us to integrate and streamline our GIS data straight into GURU. And the aesthetics matter— it’s a platform you actually want to use.”


-Matt Adkins

Executive Director Taney County Partnership

THE SOLUTION

Having previously worked with GIS WebTech in a prior role, Adkins selected GURU Site Selection to modernize Taney County’s site inventory and economic development marketing.


Built on the Esri platform, GURU allowed the Partnership to seamlessly integrate GIS data and custom map layers directly into its site selection workflow. Just as important, the platform delivered a clean, modern user experience that encouraged exploration by developers, site selectors, board members, and elected officials.

IMPLEMENTATION & ONBOARDING

Onboarding was fast and intuitive. GIS WebTech provided hands-on training and ongoing support for staff, board members, and elected officials. The ease of use allowed the Partnership to cross-train stakeholders so they could confidently access data and respond to inquiries in real time, even when staff were unavailable.

“GURU is incredibly easy to use. It just gets easier the more you work with it. Our staff and board members pick it up quickly and keep exploring on their own.”
-Matt Adkins

HOW GURU IS USED


The Taney County Partnership uses GURU Site Selection daily to support conversations with developers and prospects. Key use cases include:


  • 3D Site Visualization: Modeling hotels, restaurants, and mixed-use developments to help developers visualize opportunities in a tourism-focused market.
  • Real-Time Data Access: Pulling demographics, income, traffic counts, and infrastructure data instantly—from the office or the field.
  • Board & Developer Engagement: Providing easy-to-digest, centralized data that builds confidence and speeds decision-making.


MEASURABLE RESULTS & IMPACT

INCREASED
VISIBILITY

GURU expanded the Taney County Partnership’s reach and visibility well beyond its traditional market.


Impact

  • Site views from more than 60 countries worldwide
  • Expanded brand presence at the state, national, and international levels

BUSINESS
RETENTION &
EXPANSION

GURU supported a local, family-owned flooring company in identifying and securing a new location for expansion.


Impact

  • $2.5 million private investment
  • New jobs created and a long-vacant property returned to productive use
“GURU was game-changing. It accomplished our goal of increasing brand visibility at the state, national, and international levels.”
-Matt Adkins


MEASURABLE RESULTS & IMPACT

BUSINESS
ATTRACTION

GURU enabled the successful marketing of a large, longvacant site by clearly communicating infrastructure readiness and development potential.


Impact

  • 200+ housing units planned in Phase One
  • New commercial and retail development
  • Significant increases in future property and sales tax revenue

TIME & COST
SAVINGS

GURU streamlined research and reporting workflows, dramatically reducing staff time spent on RFIs.


Impact

  • RFI response time reduced from days to hours
  • Automated reports generated in seconds
  • Engagement tracked through Tiny URLs embedded in RFI responses
“It will be the best investment you make for your organization—especially if you’re focused on business attraction and retention. If you have any passion for GIS, you’re going to appreciate everything GURU brings.”
-Matt Adkins

WHY GURU

For Taney County, GURU is not just an industrial site selection tool. It is an all-inclusive economic development platform.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Built for more than industrial sites

GURU supports tourism-driven economies by effectively marketing hospitality, retail, housing, and mixed-use development.


Faster decisions with better data

GURU’s centralized GIS data, real-time reports, and mobile access significantly reduce RFI response time and improve confidence for developers and site selectors.


Proven economic impact

GURU helped activate long-vacant properties, support a $2.5M local business expansion, and attract large-scale development projects.


Expanded global reach

GURU’s Tiny URL analytics revealed a dramatic increase in visibility, from a handful of U.S. states to engagement across 60+ countries worldwide.


SCHEDULE A DEMO

We understand that every community and every situation is unique, which is why our approach is designed to be flexible and tailored to your specific needs. Contact us today to schedule a demo and learn how our tools can support your goals.