I have always wondered why the folks at the Natchez Convention Center do not look to national retailers like Walmart when it comes to marketing Natchez.

The behemoth from Bentonville, Ark., spends a lot of time developing marketing techniques that will entice customers to buy.

Do you love the smell of fresh baked bread? Walmart and other national grocery stores are betting on it.

When I was working for Walmart’s architects, it was partly my job to make sure plans of new stores specified a small piece of ductwork that pumped the smell of baked goods from the bakery to the store’s entrance.

Walmart uses aromas as just one of the many ways to entice customers to put down their grocery lists and let cravings and emotions influence their buying decisions.

If Walmart does it, then why doesn’t Natchez?

Since January 2009, the Natchez Convention Center has hosted more than 3,000 people. Using an equation provided by the state, Convention Center Director Walter Tipton has calculated the direct economic impact to Natchez so far this year to be $1,824,488.

That’s betting that the average person spends $180 a day when staying in Natchez.

But why should we be content with just $180 a day? What are the techniques being employed to entice visitors to spend more in Natchez?

Where is the aroma of fresh baked bread drifting through the air? If you walk the halls of the Natchez Convention Center you would be hard pressed to find anything that is the equivalent of that small piece of ductwork in a Walmart store.

In fact, on some days it is hard to find someone who is the equivalent of the Walmart greeter.

There is no sign that says, “Welcome to Natchez.”

There is no friendly smile behind a counter waiting to answer conventioneers’ questions about Natchez.

If you need to know how to get anywhere in Natchez, there is no desk with a sign marked “Information.”

There are no large images of historic homes, the beautiful Natchez City Cemetery or other Natchez sights that might entice visitors to explore more of the town.

There is no coordinated effort to hand each and every conventioneer a hospitality bag filled with material touting all that Natchez has to offer.

All there is to offer is a table filled with a few brochures and maps.

And when the convention center closes for the night or sits empty, the center leaves an entire city block in darkness — literally.

If the convention center welcomes so many people to Natchez, what kind of welcome are they getting?

Natchez spends a lot of money on billboards, magazine advertising and other marketing efforts to attract people and conventions to the area.

What are we doing to entice the people we do attract to do and see more during their stay and also to go home and tell their friends about their stay? What are we doing to bring them back?

Who knows? One of the thousands of conventioneers that visit Natchez each year could tell one of their friends about their wonderful stay. That welcoming smile, helpful answer or colorful brochure could lead to another 1,000 person convention.

It could be the next best thing since the smell of fresh-baked bread in Walmart.

Ben Hillyer is the Web editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540 or by e-mail at ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.