why site selectors hate your marketing
TRANSCRIPT
Why Site Selectors Hate Your Marketing
Guillermo MazierVice President, Strategic Accounts, Atlas AdvertisingEconomists, strategists, and digital marketing evangelists working together to create vital community brands that generate results. We believe that our work has a direct and indirect ROI for all of the communities with whom we work.Will CoxSenior Manager, Biggins Lacy Shapiro & CoSupporting companies with location and incentives strategies, and helping jurisdictions design and implement economic development incentives programs
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BacktoBasics–TheSiteSelectorApproach} SiteSelectorsbringanaly0caltoolsto
comparesiteopportuni0es.} Decisionmodelsincorporateclient-
specificcriteriaandweigh0ngtoproducedata-drivenloca0onrankings.
} ReportscapturedinC-suitereadyreportsthathelpdocumentadecisionprocessandbuildconsensus.
} Thereisno“bestsite”foraprojectthereareonlysitesthatfitthecriteria…
CostFactors
Wages
U0lityPricing
TaxRegimes
Incen0vePrograms
LaborMarketIndicators
Talent
Availability
Compe00on
BusinessEnviron-mentFactors
RegulatoryPolicies
Infrastructure
DisasterRisk
Accessibility
QualityofLifeMeasures
CostofLiving
NeighborhoodQuality
PublicSchoolAchievement
CrimeRates
ExamplesofLoca8onalVariables
5
} Aproject’sdrivers,andthusitschoiceofdes0na0on,willvarybybusinessneeds.
• Reduce costs • Achieve operational efficiencies • Access raw materials
Manufacturing
• Access pre-commercial research • Attract top-level science talent • Tap funding sources
R&D
• Acquire marketing & financial talent • Network with industry leaders • Link with global community
Office
• Lower cost labor • Minimal disaster risk • Excellent telecomm/power
Mission Critical
ThereIsNo“Best”Loca8on
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} Nowmorethanever–aprocessofelimina0on
§ DefineObjec0ves&DesignApproach
§ Eliminate“PoorestPerformers”§ Don’tmeetthesitecriteria
§ Didnotprovidethenecessarydata
§ SelecttheBestfromtheRest
§ DiveIntoMarket
§ Nego0ate
§ Choose7
} QualityData=ConfidentDecisions
} DataAccessandPartnerships◦ StateBook� OnlineMarketplaceforsiteselec0onandEDOdatasharing◦ PewCharitableTrustsEconomicDevelopmentIni8a8ve� Suppor0ngincen0vetransparencyandaccountabilitytocommuni0esandtaxpayers
◦ SelectUSA◦ Easyaccessibilityandpromo8onofavailabledata� Usetheresourcesyouhavetopresenttheposi0veandshowchangepercep0oninthenega0ve� BureauofLaborandSta0s0cs,ERI,etc.
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} Focusonwhatis“special”aboutthecommunity◦ Valueproposi0onsthataddresstheneedsofdecisionmakers
} Defineyouraudience◦ Learnandgettoknowthestakeholderswhoaredoingprojectsorengagedinyourarea,regionorindustryfocus
} Directcontactwithindividualcompaniesanddecisionmakers
} AneyeandeartowardFDI
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} Directadver8singcampaigns◦ Industrypublica0onadver0sing◦ Television(EmpireStateDevelopmentandStartUPNY)◦ NontargetedEblastsL◦ Radio(FairfaxCounty)◦ …WhatisworkingSocialMedia(LinkedIn/Twi\er)
} Notclearlydefiningthetargetaudience◦ High-levelandgenericmessage◦ Engagementwithendusersandsiteselectorsnotfocusedontheregionorthetargetedindustryarea
} Familiariza8on(FAM)tours
10
} Microtarge8ngtoindustryandregionalsiteselectorsandstakeholders
} Educa8onandpartnershipwithlocalstakeholdersincludingreal-estateprofessionalsandbusinesscommunity
} Promo8onofneworchangingincen8veprograms
} Debunkinggeographicpercep8ons
◦ Whatarethenega0veandorfalsepercep0onsofmycommunityandhowdoIchangethem?
} Promotetoolsforexis8ngbusinessexpansioninmarket
} ThoughSuland8melyresponsestoinforma8onrequests
◦ Informssiteselectorsonotherprojectopportuni0es
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Withthemajorityofexecu8vesandsiteselectorsvisi8nganEDO’swebsiteasthefirstpointofentry,effec8vemessagingismoreimportantthanever.} Bestprac8cesinclude:
1. ProvideComprehensiveContactInfo� Includeallrelevantstakeholdersphone,emailandpicture(forthepersonaltouch)alongwithgeographicorindustryspecializa0onsor
designa0ons� Contactformsandgeneralemailsareanonstarter
� Knowledgeablerecep0ononmainphonelines
2. KeepDemographicDataUp-to-Date� Thisshouldinclude3rdpartydataandanyindependentmarketanalysistoshowcaseyourcommunity
3. AccessibilitytoIncen0veInforma0on� Comprehensiveoverviewofstateandlocalincen0vesincluding:programsummary,eligibility,andpoten0alvaluewherepossible
4. HighlightKeyIndustries� Whatdoestheregiondobestandwhatisthedirec0onforthefuture
� Howdoyousetyourselfapartfromothercommuni0es
5. ShowcaseLeadingEmployers� Showwhatisalreadythrivinginthearea.Exis0ngindustryareyourbestcheerleaders…andprojectclosers
6. GISforAvailableSites� Informa0ononavailablesiteswithaGIScomponentsositeselectorscanvisualizeexactlywhereavailablepropertyfallsinanarea
7. NewstobeProudAbout� Framewhatisgoingonintheregionwithatleastapostamonthwithexternalnewsoutweighinginternalnews
8. ResponsivenessonMobileDevises� Amustformobilewebsitefunc0onality
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…notthePointofnoReturn
} Comparisonstoestablishedcompe88vemarketsandloca8ons(e.g.costcomparisons)
} Searchabledatabaseofavailablebuildingsandsites} Demographicinforma8on(e.g.popula8on,income,agedistribu8on,educa8onala_ainment)
} Majoremployerlist} Educa8onalins8tu8oninforma8on(K-12andpost-secondary)} Mapsofthecommunity} Qualityoflifeinforma8on(e.g.costofliving,cultural/recrea8onalopportuni8es)
} Tes8monialsfromlocalcompanies
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} Websitebaseddataiscri8cal◦ Trend:EDOengagementmoving0llakerthescreeningphaseanddevelopmentofashortlistofcommuni0es
} Loca8oninforma8onanddataaggrega8onthrough3rdpartyproviders
} Moredetailedandcomplexcompara8vemodelingbetweenloca8onsandregions
} Con8nuedtrendtowardoversight,postperformancebasedincen8vesandawayfromdiscre8onarygrants
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} Targe8ngandpartnershipsbetweenEDOandsiteselec8onstakeholdersamongindustry
} Be_eroverallcoordina8onandcollabora8onwiththerealestatecommunity
} Importanceofspeedtomarketdrivingsitereadinessofavailableproper8es
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Na8onalGovernorsAssocia8onTrendsinStateEconomicDevelopment
} Focusontherela8onshipbetweenstatesandregions
} Emphasizingjobcrea8onfromwithin
} Strengtheningsupportforadvancedmanufacturing
} Crea8ngpartnershipstomeetindustriesdemandsfortalent
} Raisingexpecta8onsforuniversi8estobridgethegapbetweenresearchandcommercializa8on
} Increasingbusinessexportini8a8ves
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Economicdevelopmentmarke0ngisconstantlyshiking,andEDOsaregelngsavvier.They’reembracingtheevolvinglandscape,andadop0ngdigitalstrategiesthatmovetheneedlefortheirorganiza0ons.
Economicdevelopmentmarke0ngcanbelooselycategorizedintofiveac0ons:1. Definingtargetaudiences2. Deployingmarke0ngcampaignsandini0a0ves3. Gelngfoundonline4. Conver0ngdigitaltrafficintoqualifiedprospects5. Analyzingcampaignperformance
State of Economic Development Marketing
The Agency Perspective: What’s Working
Strategy #1Disseminating important community information and engaging with target audiences/community advocates/location decision makers via social media. Example: Brenham ED LinkedIn group
Examples: Amarillo Twitter feed, Henry County Facebook page
Example: Atlas blog article that provides value (offers five free tools for a specific audience)
Strategy #2Digital ads that differentiate, inspire, elicit action
Strategy #3
Print ads that:• Do something
different/capture attention (some industry print publications can be a waste of money if generic or over promotional)• Tell a story without
cumbersome content• Drive digital
engagement (online conversions key in measuring campaign success)
Strategy #4Websites that:• Are data driven• Have dedicated
resources for site selectors (incentives)• Provide a clear value
proposition that addresses the needs of decision makers• Offer a searchable
database of available sites and buildings, and provide data visualization tools that tell your “by the numbers” story
Contentth
ataddress
es
aneed,sel
lsthecom
munity
EDOwebsitesarethepointofentry,somakethemyourbestdigitalasset
Searchable database of available sites and buildings and data visualization tools
Promotional Handouts: Location decision makers are bombarded with giveaways at tradeshows. Your logo and brand on a mug are the same as your competitor’s on a lanyard.
The Agency Perspective: What’s Not Working
Print ads “Anywhere USA”: These concepts have either been done a hundred times, or there are no distinct community attributes present.
If the design and messaging could be for any community, in any part of the country, the ad is likely ineffective.
1. Decide on your audience
2. Understand their drivers and needs
3. Understand who your comparison communities are
4. Do the research on yourself and the other communities
5. Find out the one or two unique elements of your community
DIY: Founda,on for Posi,oning
1. 2.
3. 4. 5.
A business strategy is about deciding where to play and how to win.
-A.G Lafley, Former CEO Proctor and Gamble
The Future from an Agency Perspective
What makes ED marketing great is what is NOT on the ad, website, or creative piece
What is not Working
Whataretheques0onswecanask? Whatoffercanwe
usetoestablishcredibility?
Whatisyourposi0oning?
Whatservicesdoyouprovide?
Whatareyourchallenges?
Howdoyoupassleadson?
Whatareyourcommonques0ons?
Thoughts from a Site Selector
• You are a service organization first• Know where you are in the site selection process• Answer the questions asked• Facilitate information flow• Provide support as necessary
• You are a sales organization last• Selling does no good if you are eliminated due to lack
of information
Why Do Site Selectors Hate Your Marketing?
1. It’s not relevant2. It’s not different3. There is no substantive data4. They’ve seen it before5. It interrupts rather than invites
Thank You!
Guillermo MazierVice President, Strategic Accounts, Atlas [email protected] x232
Will CoxSenior Manager, Biggins Lacy Shapiro & [email protected] 609-613-4266