mktsurvey_results

Survey Results: Economic Development Marketing Innovation and Best Practices Survey

In today's competitive landscape, economic development organizations are faced with the increasing challenge of marketing their community to a select group for a finite number of projects. Economic development can be described as having two functions: product improvement and product promotion. Product or community improvement initiatives are most effective when the community works together to strengthen its assets. It is the role of the economic development organizations to communicate these assets to the outside world and improve the perception (or in some cases change a misperception) of the community.

What are the most effective activities that can help a community to accomplish this? AngelouEconomics created a national survey to send to economic development organizations across the country - from small, rural communities to major metropolitan areas - to find out best marketing practices. We received over 200 responses from economic development organizations representing population sizes of less than 100,000 to over 1 million.

The majority of our respondents were non-profit ED organizations (48%). Others were government ED departments (25%) and 17% were chamber organizations.

As far as service areas, the respondents were split almost evenly between city service (29%), county (27%) and a multi-city or county region (29%). The majority of respondents serviced a population of less than 100,000 (40%). 27% represented an area of over 1 million.

The vast majority of respondents utilize a strategic economic development plan in their efforts (97%) which most have developed internally (74%). In addition, 90% of respondents have a marketing plan in place with 94% of them managing their marketing activities internally. Some of the marketing activities, which are most often outsourced, include:

Other activities that were listed as requiring outsourced assistance included tourism development, international strategies, and development of marketing materials and design.

Regarding the effectiveness of marketing tools, respondents had a broad range of opinions. The most effective marketing tools were:

On a side-note, a high percentage of some marketing activities received a "Not Applicable" ranking, perhaps because these tools are not used by a large number or respondents. These included Media Familiarization Tours (33%), Interactive Media Advertising (33%), and CD-Roms (34%).

Targeting appears to be an important strategy for most respondents. Many have already established industry targets as part of their overall strategy. The majority use internal research departments to establish their target lists (78%). 70% use referrals and 65% use word of mouth. Only 31% subscribe to a database service and 23% purchase customized lists.

These industry targets run from the very broad (high-tech) to very specific (ship manufacturing, pottery). As in all marketing endeavors, it is important to develop targets that fit a community’s assets. The top 10 target industries respondents listed include:

Others included medical device manufacturing, agriculture, wood products, clean energy, and defense.

One of the methods used to communicate with target industries is through industry trade shows. Below are the top trade shows that respondents listed as attending. The majority participate in tradeshows as attendees only (71%) while 65% attend as exhibitors, 61% participate through coop participation with a state or regional entity, and 35% host events as part of their trade show attendance. The top eight trade shows are:

Top Trade Shows

BIO

CoreNet Global

Medical Design & Manufacturing (East or West)

International Council of Shopping Centers

National Plastics Exposition

Society of Automotive Engineers

Semicon West

Industrial Asset Management Council

National Association of Manufacturers

46% of respondents run print ads in industry trade publications (among those that advertise at all). The others use economic development trade publications such as Site Selection, Area Development, Business Facilities, Expansion Management and Southern Business & Development for their print ads. A small percentage (17%) place print ads in general business or news magazines. However, a significant number (36%) run ads regionally in regional news outlets.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Most of the marketing strengths listed by respondents not surprisingly were based on their existing assets including quality of life, location, workforce, low costs, etc. This response shows that most communities are utilizing the same assets as differentiators. In order to truly stand apart from the competition, communities will have to focus efforts on finding other qualities that make them unique. Several respondents also listed as a strength their existing positive image and name recognition.

An interesting trend included listing organizational structure as strengths. This included effective website and collateral materials, proactive and well-funded strategies, local government support, experienced staff and a great track record. Also given significant focus were existing relationships. Not only relationships with site selectors and within targeted industries, but also relationships with allies such as regional partners, utilities, and state organizations.

As far as their challenges, most respondents seem to face similar hurdles.

By far the largest challenge mentioned by respondents were resources, both in terms of funding and staff/time. Challenges are also organizational in nature including lack of a focus, lack of a plan, no targeted marketing and no follow up. Lack of awareness, branding or a misperception of the community was also a major challenge for some respondents.

Other challenges are focused around the community's assets. These challenges include high costs for housing and land, high taxes, lack of a skilled and educated workforce, lack of incentives, and lack of transportation infrastructure. While many respondents listed location as a strength, it is also a challenge for others. Overcoming these challenges through community improvements and focusing on existing attributes should be a key component of their strategy.

An additional challenge discussed concerns a lack of support from the state level or poor attitudes at the local level. This includes difficulty in getting state support in terms of incentives, a negative attitude from local elected officials and the lack of an entrepreneurial environment. Marketing to the outside cannot be successful without internal support, so changing attitudes at home is of tremendous significance.

With regards to funding of marketing, most of the survey respondents that chose to provide funding and resource information had an overall budget of $100,000 - $500,000, ranging from a low of $80,000 to a high of $50 million. In terms of marketing budget, the responses ranged from $0 to a high of $6 million with a majority listing their marketing budget as below $100,000. Only five respondents had a marketing budget over $1 million.

In order to be successful, sufficient resources need to be allocated to marketing efforts. Generally speaking, below are typical marketing budgets for respondents that serve a population of 500,000 or less:

Community Population	Marketing Budget
< 100,000	$70,000
100-250,000	$120,000
250-500,000	$250,000

This correlates to less than a dollar per person. In order to maximize return on investment, marketing dollars should be spent wisely on those activities that are the most effective.

Best Practices

Over 113 communities and organizations from across the country were nominated by their peers as an example of economic development marketing best practices. Several organizations were nominated in more than one of the categories.

Named in more than four categories:

Innovative Practices
Some of the trends highlighted by our respondents regarding innovative practices involve developing alliances, targeting, funding, downtown development, and international marketing. To summarize some of these innovative practices:

Specific programs will be highlighted in future newsletters.

Marketing and communication play a significant role in economic development. However, it is important to not rely solely on external corporate recruitment as the primary marketing activity. Stakeholder support and communication is equally as important as a successful program needs to start from within the community.

Economic vitality also comes from the growth of local companies, small business start-ups, entrepreneurial activity and tourism. These components should also be included as part of your communications strategy. Remember, marketing begins at home in the community. The best marketing campaign in the world will fail without community support and a good community product with assets and infrastructure in place.