Transcript Marketing Communities Internationally

Marketing Alberta Communities
Regional Economic Development
Workshops
March 14 to 18, 2005
Module 2 – Responding to an Investment Inquiry
Presented by:
Community Databases
Information is the “Product” of your
economic development program.
Community Profile
– Demographic & Statistical Data on the community
– Labour Force Data
Industrial/Business Directory
– Comprehensive listing of manufacturing and ‘exportable’
services businesses
Real Estate Database
– Inventory Existing Buildings and Available Sites
Comparative Cost Information
– Utility Rates, Taxes, Labour Costs, Rents, etc.
More Information - Faster
1980 –
1985 –
1990 –
1995 –
New Age for Economic Development
In less than a decade the Internet has
fundamentally transformed the practice of
economic development.
It has also fundamentally altered the relationship
between an economic development officer and
his/her client (and their advisors).
– Client already has access to most of the information the
EDO is used to providing
– First contact is now a really serious inquiry involving
“high level” data.
“Like skipping the 1st and 2nd dates completely and
going directly to the 3rd date.”
New Age for Economic Development
Corporate Use of the Internet
– As early as 2002 Dean Whittaker of Whittaker
& Associates reported that 84% of U.S.
companies routinely go to the Internet to
gather information & short list communities in
their site searches.
Today that would be in excess of 95%
New Age for Economic Development
Realtor/Consultant Use of the Internet
– Philip O’Keefe reported in 2003
94% of realtors & consultants use the Internet as
their primary source of information during site
selection.
– Companies value the privacy of the Internet for site
selection.
75% of those surveyed called for economic
development agencies to upgrade their sites for
this purpose.
New Age for Economic Development
Community Web-Sites
– In a 2001 study my firm found that 92% of
communities in Ontario had web-sites with
dedicated sections for economic development
What’s more each community in the survey had
plans to expand their site with more information
and new features.
Ontario Municipal Web-Sites
Contents - Current & Planned Additions - May 2001
Community Profile
Labour Market Data
ICI Listings
GIS Applications
Profiles - Major Employers
Research Reports
Sector Profiles
Business Directory
News Releases
Staff Directory
Maps
Newsletter
0%
20%
40%
Current
60%
Planned
80%
100%
Award Winning Web-Sites
IEDC Award - www.okcedis.com
– Other US Sites referenced by Don Schjeldahl - Austin
Company in presentation at EDAC 04 - www.edac.ca
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–
–
–
choosewashington.com
imaps.indygov.org/ed/index.asp
www.oregonprospector.com
www.sandiegobusiness.org
EDAC Marketing Awards
200K-600K - www.city.woodstock.on.ca
601K> - www.region.durham.on.ca
EDCO Marketing Awards
Large Community - www.city.woodstock.on.ca
Small Community - www.frontenaccfdc.com
What Companies Need from Your
Web-Site
Most Important
– Buildings and/or Sites
– Local info they can’t get anywhere else
Also important – but available elsewhere
– Workforce Information
– Cost of Doing Business
– Demographics/Statistics
IEDC Template for Community
Profile
Originally developed by a working group of
American and Canadian economic developers
and site selectors and introduced in May 2000
as a North American standard.
– 1200 elements organized into 25 tables (Excel)
Adopted by “Invest in Canada” – “Alberta First” –
“Invest BC” plus a number of communities.
(Ontario Investment Service provides similar data in their own
format – as well as real-estate listings.)
Many find it too complex and cumbersome.
Review of IEDC Template
Prepared by MMK Consulting for Federal Gov’t
– Conclusions
Community profile data is most used when preparing initial
lists of possible sites.
– Relationship-based approach to marketing is critical so ensure
your web-site development is integrated into your overall
strategy.
Locally generated data (land & buildings, labour, taxation,
competitive environment) is most important.
Don’t break your back converting to US formats – resources
are better directed to broadening the scope of your data.
Minimum Requirements
Make sure your data is
current and comparable
– With citations from recognized
sources
YOU aren’t a recognized
source
Make sure companies can
“Google” your web-site.
Make sure your profile on
Alberta First is complete
and up-to-date.
Best Practices in Web-Sites
Observations from MMK Report
– Intuitive & Easy to Find
– Data clearly labeled and easy to find
– One Stop Shopping
– All data in one location
– External Links
– Links to relevant sources allows client to validate data and
obtain expanded information
– Currency & Relevance
– Site selectors say data more than 1 year old is grounds for
elimination
– Real Estate Data
– Industrial & commercial real estate data
– GIS systems now becoming the norm
– Need for Economic Development Office to supplement
New Age in Economic Development
“Overnight is no longer good enough”
Richard Sheehy, Industrial Design Corp.
Communities must become more sophisticated in:
– gathering/organizing community data
– responding immediately to specific questions
– New Gold Standard in Investor Servicing
To be able to email a response to a client’s
question - while still on the phone with them.
Importance of Investor Servicing
Reputation is a Priceless Asset
– Ingredients
Speed, Responsiveness, Relevance
Dedicated Officer handling all aspects of project
Make it painless for the Investor
– identify and remove barriers
– Investor Servicing doesn’t stop on arrival
Real Live Examples
From the Files of AED
For further information contact us at :
182 Willow Ridge Road, RR #3
Ilderton, ON N0M 2A0
Tel: (519) 666-3668 Fax: (519) 666-3670
Email: [email protected]