tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60806157343597802512024-03-14T07:49:27.740+00:00Inward Investment Marketing StrategyClarity are the leading innovators in advanced internet marketing strategies for Inward Investment Promotion and Strategic Economic Development.Clarityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06670820670047722122noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-75448289072262085852024-02-14T12:00:00.002+00:002024-02-14T17:05:51.023+00:00Inward Investment Marketing: Online Lead Generation Strategies for Success<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZWmqjfph8ocZBzkrltAKng9l4WAYXS_Wf8kTez0NhGAyypoGQY6r41PhAlbWplhxCg4V9-1iAgLshYHRmw4RmWlpjiMyLxvNdMFsd7PGD7nXUZtEG9eFqx-yU8ouNe7CgOOfmjczwUWnNVDE_4yxEet1nTsu6XusahzXf0NLGZUIzmYFWiw-4kLJuVY/s1016/Online%20Lead%20Gen%20Blog%20Header.png" />
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<div>It should be uncontroversial to say that effective internet marketing now belongs at the heart of effective inward investment attraction strategies. Recent market research shows that almost all business location searches now involve online research.<span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">1</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span>And the great thing about <i>attracting</i> investing businesses online is that investment leads can effectively be 'self-qualifying': they've found you because your location offer aligns with their needs. Compare and contrast this with the practice of chasing businesses because they have the 'right profile' for your location (e.g. industry sector), but otherwise have no strategic fit or even plans to invest!</div><div><br /></div><div>But the rise of the internet is a challenge as well as an opportunity. While investing companies (or their advisers) are online searching for the best business location, it's also an increasingly crowded environment in which your location offer could easily get lost. </div><div><br /></div><div>Since 2012, when we established <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/" target="_blank">Clarity</a> to specialise in inward investment marketing, we've worked on numerous, regional inward investment marketing projects, refined our techniques, and monitored the online strategies pursued by investment promotion agencies (IPAs) and site marketers.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, here are a few key observations concerning what works, and what doesn't, when it comes to online inward investment lead generation:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1. Highly differentiated inward investment value propositions </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Let's start with that crowded online environment. In any highly competitive marketplace, business success requires effective differentiation - to stand out in the crowd. In our field that means distinctive inward investment value propositions that align specific location strengths, or unique combinations of capabilities, with the identified needs of specific types of businesses. It means avoiding generic sector categories and 'us too' lists of location benefits. However, for successful, online inward investment lead generation, this is just the start of it...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>2. Highly optimised online content </b></div><div><br /></div><div>To enable online lead generation, those distinctive value proposition messages must be crafted into highly optimised content that can attract businesses online - by aligning with their search queries - but also engage their interest and establish your inward investment agency's credibility and expertise. Yes, that means the keywords, key phrases and content prioritisation that many of us are familiar with as being central to SEO (search engine optimisation). But it also means accessible content that's entirely focused on our target audience's needs - presenting valuable business location solutions, insights and supporting data. When value proposition messages are diluted by inaccurate, inexpert copywriting, the consequences are likely to be ineffective SEO, reduced IPA credibility, and reduced lead generation potential. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>3. Meticulous attention to segmentation </b></div><div><br /></div><div>We talked about the importance of effective segmentation in a <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2023/12/inward-investment-marketing-insights.html" target="_blank">recent Clarity article</a>. In summary (and with specific regard to inward investment marketing) segmentation means grouping particular types of prospective inward investors (e.g. in the same industry sector or business function) as a basis for targeting the right location solutions at them. It's closely associated with distinctive inward investment value propositions and effective content optimisation (SEO). </div><div><br /></div><div>But it's also a key area in which investment promotion agency marketing often falls down. The problem is that IPA's typically want to present multiple value propositions (e.g. industry sector offers) on the same website, and often combine them with other types of poorly optimised content (e.g. 'News' releases in which organisations too often 'talk about themselves', not their location solutions for investors). All of this creates 'message pollution' that harms SEO, reduces the value of website content to prospective investors, and ultimately makes it much harder to attract and convert inward investment leads online. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>4. Prioritising inward investment lead generation functionality</b></div><div><br /></div><div>It sounds obvious, but generating inward investment leads online means putting lead conversion (i.e. identification) at the heart of your online strategy and the functionality of your website. Compelling value propositions, optimised content, and effective segmentation can attract potential inward investors to your website, but won't tell you who they are, or provide a solid basis for your follow up actions (e.g. contacting them). This requires strategies potentially including optimised 'calls to action' (encouraging them to identify themselves), the effective use of incentives (e.g. information-rich Location Data packs) and data-compliant lead recording functionality (potentially linked to a user-friendly CRM system) to enable structured follow-up. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's therefore useful for inward investment professionals to ask themselves: 'is our IPA website optimised for lead generation, or is it just an attractive 'online brochure'?' If it's the latter, you'll almost certainly be missing out on opportunities for inward investment lead generation.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>5. Managing partner input and expectations </b></div><div><br /></div><div>It's clear that targeted, optimised, well-segmented online content (notably on IPA websites) is key to generating inward investment leads. But why is this <i>focus</i> so difficult for IPAs to achieve?</div><div><br /></div><div>In our experience, part of the problem is the intrinsic difficulty of managing marketing campaigns involving multiple regional stakeholders and partners. Even when a projects starts out with a focus on the very best, differentiated value propositions (e.g. industry sector offers) and tightly focused messages, pressure from stakeholders can lead to the inclusion of yet another 'key sector' (that isn't really 'key') or another location USP (that isn't really unique). All of this reduces differentiation, dilutes the offer, and makes investor attraction and lead generation harder. </div><div><br /></div><div>These can be difficult battles to win, but IPA teams should make the case for doing the right thing from a marketing perspective, rather than trying to please all the partners all the time - an impossible task anyway! </div><div><br /></div><div><b>6. Keep on publishing and sharing your location benefits online</b></div><div><br /></div><div>There's a common misconception that a website is 'finished' when the developer hands it over to the client - in our case the investment promotion agency or site marketer. But this is to think of the website as something static and unchanging - the 'online brochure' we referred to above. And it's a way of thinking that fails to recognise the website's true potential for inward investment lead generation. </div><div><br /></div><div>Instead, we should think of our websites as dynamic <i>publishing platforms</i> that we can use to continually communicate our location solutions to targeted audiences. Continual website publishing (e.g. via News/Blog feeds) boosts SEO and therefore enables investor attraction. It also enables us to 'nurture' investor and intermediary relationships by sharing that content with (e.g.) targeted LinkedIn connections or email subscribers. And if we attract and engage more of our target audience, it follows that we should be able to convert more inward investment leads too!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Lead generation - the key objective of inward investment marketing</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Generating inward investment leads online isn't easy. As well as requiring optimised messages, platforms and communication strategies, it's likely to require the effective management of broad-ranging regional partnerships with diverse interests and objectives. But it's worth the effort, because investing businesses are online, researching locations, and ready to be attracted by IPAs and site marketers with the right location offers for them. And, quite simply, it can mean the difference between achieving what should be the key objective of inward investment marketing - attracting inward investors - or achieving very little at all. </div><div><br /></div></div><div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/contact.html" target="_blank">Contact Clarity</a> to talk about more effective online inward investment lead generation strategies. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Author:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLp5tUlt_tK-2wkcGutSp60ysP0mIzFmgXz9cxuYlxk7vocUDe5MTPCsbUNPgyjyGuwXmhJJ7Dy5t1zjihItk20yJE1LSYzeJEeHSYTGsWbLePaWXox2vZPJkzo7WtsVya8_3HYfPpVjW5lE_XhtWokkOoo74bPu2Wpra4RrjI-b7yiZRDoEcTCi26Lo/s471/Nick%20Round%202023-BW-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="471" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLp5tUlt_tK-2wkcGutSp60ysP0mIzFmgXz9cxuYlxk7vocUDe5MTPCsbUNPgyjyGuwXmhJJ7Dy5t1zjihItk20yJE1LSYzeJEeHSYTGsWbLePaWXox2vZPJkzo7WtsVya8_3HYfPpVjW5lE_XhtWokkOoo74bPu2Wpra4RrjI-b7yiZRDoEcTCi26Lo/w90-h90/Nick%20Round%202023-BW-2.png" width="90" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nick Smillie</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Managing Director & Senior Consultant</span></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sources:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">[1] GIS Planning, FT Group</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p></div>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-67724972677387947302024-01-16T13:38:00.201+00:002024-01-17T12:05:03.111+00:00Inward Investment Value Propositions. What Are They? What Aren't They? And What Makes a Good One?<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88Md6-1EVnerNH3gmFJvuxXPi-Ve5yyl_Xa6swhbOrbrfHzyZykSO-fbxqfEmcmY97wW9zk4QQLY5wlLRLthZGN6dZZCawhCDpPJaz_FCwryuT-EP_-C9j42_xBMTAqupd12sQ5_EReUm_qXgcGYpczkgiQUApCdH6blJupvdIHqc7v6KC8wsZKZkE04/s1559/VP%20Blog%20Header-170124.png" />
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<div><b>Almost everyone working in the field of inward investment promotion will be familiar with inward investment value propositions. But what are they? And what aren't they? And what makes a good one?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>'Value proposition' is a marketing concept that can apply to any kind of 'product' (including a business location). By one definition it's a concise statement presenting an organisation's <i>unique promise of value</i> to its customers. How does this 'product' deliver benefits that others don't?</div><div><br /></div><div>But for some reason, in the field of inward investment promotion, we repeatedly see marketing messages (e.g. in websites or brochures) that are clearly intended to promise value for investors, but somehow miss the mark.</div><div><br /></div><div>A recurring example is a certain kind of headline economic statistic. For example:</div><div><br /></div><div>'Our region has GVA of X billion (£$€)', or 'a workforce of X million'.</div><div><br /></div><div>(I've just randomly checked two major UK city inward investment websites. Both lead with statistics of this sort).</div><div><br /></div><div>Messages like these present economic data but not value for investing businesses. Because they fail to answer essential, <i>investor-focused</i> questions:</div><div><br /></div><div>So what? What's in it for our business?</div><div><br /></div><div>(Often, they lack the essential context required to make them meaningful at all. Is X billion (£$€) GVA impressive anyway? How does it compare with competitor regions?)</div><div><br /></div><div>We can understand the problem here by thinking of the prospective inward investor like any other kind of customer - a shopper, say. Which is exactly what they are - shopping around to find the ideal location and site. When I visit Marks and Spencer, I'm really not bothered about the company's turnover. I'm searching for a stylish cardigan that's just right for me!</div><div><br /></div><div>And when a retailer wants to sell more cardigans they don't tell their customers about their impressive knitwear sales volumes. They identify their target audience segment (let's say 'well-seasoned gentlemen'), identify their needs, and communicate distinctive product benefits that align with them: e.g. 'comfort and style at a great price!'. <i>That's their value proposition.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>So why do inward investment marketing messages that try to promise value so often fail?</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's an attempt at an explanation:</div><div><br /></div><div>It's generally (and correctly) understood that businesses are likely to make investment decisions (including location and site selection) based on reliable data. So it follows that we should provide them with data about our location. And where do we source those data from? Often the same researchers/analysts who provide us with regional economic data for purposes including local government planning - providing a picture of what our economy looks like.</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem is that investing business are unlikely to select your location and industry sector because the regional data looks good. They want to know the specific benefits for <i>a business like theirs.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Understanding your region's economic profile is an essential baseline. But this shouldn't be the starting point for inward investment value proposition development. Instead, the starting point should be understanding the <i>customer's</i> (i.e. the prospective investor's) needs and drivers: the current trends influencing investment in their industry sector; the specific combination of factors (and their prioritisation) likely to determine their location choice. Only then can the right location data be identifed and presented to respond to those needs. </div><div><br /></div><div>The clue's in the statement at the top of this post: 'value proposition' is a <i>marketing </i>concept. So why would value proposition development be left to data analysts? </div><div><br /></div><div>To be absolutely clear: the data analyst's input is essential - they're a vital and highly skilled part of the team. But, in the case of inward investment value proposition development, their skills must be combined with other types of expertise: the industry sector knowledge (commercial, technological, etc.) required to understand business investment drivers, and the marketing (and 'sales') knowledge required to formulate value proposition messages that really hit the mark.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the problem highlighted here isn't only about over-reliance on data analysts. It's just as bad when the job's left to non-specialist marketers and copywriters. In these cases, everything's 'excellent' and 'world-class', with none of the supporting evidence that a well-directed data analyst can provide!</div><div><br /></div><div>The takeaway is that inward investment value proposition development requires a specialised combination of expertise: research and analysis; marketing and sales; business, commercial, industry sector, location and site knowledge. Credibility, and therefore effective investor attraction and engagement, depend on it. But fundamentally it's a marketing exercise, and it starts with understanding our 'customers' - targeted investing businesses.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/contact.html" target="_blank">Contact Clarity</a> to talk about developing compelling inward investment value propositions for your location and industry sectors.</b></div><div><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Author:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLp5tUlt_tK-2wkcGutSp60ysP0mIzFmgXz9cxuYlxk7vocUDe5MTPCsbUNPgyjyGuwXmhJJ7Dy5t1zjihItk20yJE1LSYzeJEeHSYTGsWbLePaWXox2vZPJkzo7WtsVya8_3HYfPpVjW5lE_XhtWokkOoo74bPu2Wpra4RrjI-b7yiZRDoEcTCi26Lo/s471/Nick%20Round%202023-BW-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="471" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLp5tUlt_tK-2wkcGutSp60ysP0mIzFmgXz9cxuYlxk7vocUDe5MTPCsbUNPgyjyGuwXmhJJ7Dy5t1zjihItk20yJE1LSYzeJEeHSYTGsWbLePaWXox2vZPJkzo7WtsVya8_3HYfPpVjW5lE_XhtWokkOoo74bPu2Wpra4RrjI-b7yiZRDoEcTCi26Lo/w90-h90/Nick%20Round%202023-BW-2.png" width="90" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nick Smillie</span></div><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Managing Director & Senior Consultant</span></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-52082122121399535362023-12-17T14:45:00.005+00:002024-01-16T14:14:19.448+00:00Inward Investment Marketing Insights and Key Trends at the End of 2023<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oy6Sc5TXyVimQErnpN_jEKcrpx2ghlUtCTQhLISwnBJFG2fPm1YKFnjF7JLKSsuNklvryqa6DI82TJb9yGldP8Ae8RsSt-4e0YIAQ89vm9uxYMkuUCm8fb2GTaQVK1Fexi_-OWiw2rirVsvu3YgkeusfuD8CCkSQSB2mMQSrkhTkTyL9ZUFrmOzORzo/s1559/Xmas%202023%20Blog%20Header.png" />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-4103144f-7fff-f7b9-b51c-11a73040403e"><p style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Here’s Clarity’s inward investment marketing wrap up for the end of 2023, in which we take a look at:
</span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A ‘hybrid working’ future: the opportunities for inward investment and place marketers
</span></span></li><li><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">AI, technology, and getting the inward investment marketing basics right</span></span></li><li><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Attracting inward investment in a tough economic climate</span></span></li><li><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Clarity’s Inward Investment Marketing Word of the Year, 2023</span></span></li></ul><p></p><h4 style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A ‘hybrid working’ future: opportunities for inward investment and place marketers</span></h4><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Back in September 2020, </span><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2020/09/place-marketing-in-new-era-of-hybrid.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Clarity considered</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> how the Covid-19 pandemic might change the ways we work - at that time, many leading service sector employers were planning for ongoing 'hybrid working'. This November (2023), </span><a href="https://www.jll.co.uk/en/trends-and-insights/research/is-hybrid-really-working" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">JLL</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> reported that employees, on average, were spending 3.1 days per week in the office - broadly in line with their ideal of 2.8 days. In general, employers favoured more office attendance (citing benefits including productivity and collaboration), while employees were happy at home (for reasons including less time and money spent commuting</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">).</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">1</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> T</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">he conclusion: hybrid working is the middle ground, and seems likely to be the way forward.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But what does this mean for inward investment and place marketers?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Less commuting means workers can live further away from the city - balancing lifestyle considerations with access to the office. But hybrid working isn’t the only factor driving this trend. In the UK, high property costs and other lifestyle factors are motivating more </span><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64624412" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">renters</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and </span><a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/cost-of-living-young-people-leaving-london-b1086447.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">young people</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to move out of London, or consider doing so - mostly to surrounding counties but also to the Midlands and the North. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For place marketers promoting locations in traditional big city hinterlands and far beyond, this creates opportunities to pitch ‘live and work here’ propositions that previously wouldn’t have been viable. And they can target metropolitan knowledge workers with both spending power and the potential to set up high-value businesses in the future. The trend could, in short, help to make previously neglected provincial locations wealthier and more knowledge economy-focused.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">All of which adds up to a powerful case for putting a compelling ‘live and work’ proposition - addressing both the rational and emotional drivers of individual and family location choice - at the heart of your inward investment and place marketing offers.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">AI, technology, and getting the inward investment marketing basics right</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Everyone was talking about AI this year (the ‘most notable word of 2023’ according to Collins dictionary). But what does it mean for inward investment marketers?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">At the end of 2023, some investment promotion agencies (IPAs) are evaluating how AI can help them to develop value propositions and attract inward investors - from the use of chatbots for online investor engagement to predictive models identifying the locations investors are likely to select, and the risk variables likely to affect their investment decisions.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">2</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Hats off to these innovators and pioneers. But a note of caution is required whenever we’re presented with the latest technology panacea, as we’ve seen in the past with digital products like location apps and data tools.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Before inward investment marketers dive in to procure novel and potentially expensive technology solutions, we think there’s a pressing need to </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">get the internet marketing basics right</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> - and valuable prizes awaiting (in terms of investor engagement and attraction) for those who do. As of December 2023, investment promotion agency websites typically continue to be ‘online brochures’, with poorly optimised and segmented value proposition messages </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">(see below)</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, and minimal exploitation of the internet’s marketing potential - in areas including location data visualisation, investment lead generation, and marketing performance measurement and optimisation.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Human expertise and judgement remain essential (at least for now!) - to understand the location needs and priorities of carefully targeted investing businesses (and their personnel); to develop effective investment attraction strategies based on those insights; to identify </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">relevant</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> location data (amongst the mass of irrelevant metrics), and use them to tell a coherent story; and to communicate location benefits in compelling ways, based on subtle, specialised location and industry knowledge.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">AI will no doubt be a powerful technology to support all this, and it may be different from all the technologies that preceded it. But, at the end of 2023, the very human expertise and judgement of inward investment and place marketing professionals remains critical.</span></p><h4 style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Attracting inward investment in a tough economic climate</span></h4><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Those of us with long enough memories may be forgiven for thinking inward investment attraction used to be easier. In the UK, according to headline government data, FDI projects in 2022-23 are down 27% versus 2016-17 (although up 4% versus 2021-22). International competition is tough, with governments increasingly using big incentives to attract businesses. And the UK’s national inward investment value proposition is arguably harder to distil into an elevator pitch than it used to be.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">3</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> Some formerly booming locations (for example in technology corridor locations outside London) are feeling the pinch. And yet, there are still significant opportunities out there.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Financial services is attracting more investment projects now than in 2016-17. Project numbers in the high-value Advanced Engineering and Software and Computer Services sectors aren’t far short of those recorded in that year. Many of our industry clusters present powerful propositions, from sustainable energy, decarbonisation, and process manufacturing hubs (e.g. Teesside and the Humber), to big-city digital agglomerations. The UK offers leading, research-focused universities, and delivering our Net Zero ambitions will require huge investment, as we’re already seeing in renewables.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">But because it’s a tougher environment, investment promotion agencies must be match fit. They need compelling, data-supported value propositions targeted at specific, credible growth opportunities (not just the same old off-the-shelf sectors); they need integrated marketing strategies combining online investor attraction with </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">focused</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> offline activities; and they need to avoid the basic marketing mistakes that still hold back IPA performance. Which leads us on to…</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Clarity’s Inward Investment Marketing Word of 2023</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">After much discussion (while wearing paper hats and drinking mulled wine), we’ve decided that our Inward Investment Marketing Word of 2023 is </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">segmentation</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We haven’t chosen it because we think it’s something inward investment marketers are doing especially well. Rather, we think it’s an opportunity - with the potential to transform inward investment marketing performance if it’s done better. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In marketing, segmentation can be defined as </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">‘the aggregating of prospective buyers into groups, or segments, that have common needs and respond similarly to a marketing action.’</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 0.6em; vertical-align: super;">4</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> In inward investment marketing, obvious segments include companies in specific, target industry sectors or operations with the same business functions.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our goal as inward investment marketers should be to provide specific investor segments with the location information and data they need (and are likely to be searching for online), and not the information and data they don't (and aren't). This is really important, because businesses in sectors as different (for example) as life sciences and logistics have entirely different location needs, and messages or data prepared for one will often be irrelevant to, and unwanted by, the other. And most inward investment websites currently fail the segmentation test, either because there's inadequate technical segmentation between sector offers (even if they're on separate ‘sector’ website pages) or because messages for different segments are mixed together (e.g. in the same website blog or news feed). The result is that search engines (e.g. Google) are 'confused', making content harder to find (who’s searching for a word soup including 'genomics' and 'portcentric'?), and investors in any given segment are put off, because too much of what they do find is irrelevant to them. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If IPAs address this simple problem with effective technical and content strategies, there could be a substantial increase in the incidence of investing businesses (or their advisors) finding location solutions aligned with their specific needs - which for IPAs would mean </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">more investment leads</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. This is just one example of getting the marketing basics right!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>A year in inward investment marketing</b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/" target="_blank">Clarity</a>, it’s been another interesting year in inward investment marketing. We’ve researched and developed value propositions and marketing assets for sectors as diverse as energy-intensive industry, defence and security, digital tech and even film locations, not to mention Freeports and ‘places to live and work’. And we’ve developed and implemented websites and internet marketing strategies focused on effective investor segmentation and lead generation functionality.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As always it’s been a pleasure to work with our valued customers and partners. We’d therefore like to say thank you to all our clients and collaborators in 2023, and to you for taking the time to read this article. We'll be sharing more insights and a new Inward Investment Marketing Guide in early 2024, so please </span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicksmillie1/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">follow us on LinkedIn</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> to receive updates.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and all the very best for 2024!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Author:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLp5tUlt_tK-2wkcGutSp60ysP0mIzFmgXz9cxuYlxk7vocUDe5MTPCsbUNPgyjyGuwXmhJJ7Dy5t1zjihItk20yJE1LSYzeJEeHSYTGsWbLePaWXox2vZPJkzo7WtsVya8_3HYfPpVjW5lE_XhtWokkOoo74bPu2Wpra4RrjI-b7yiZRDoEcTCi26Lo/s471/Nick%20Round%202023-BW-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="471" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLp5tUlt_tK-2wkcGutSp60ysP0mIzFmgXz9cxuYlxk7vocUDe5MTPCsbUNPgyjyGuwXmhJJ7Dy5t1zjihItk20yJE1LSYzeJEeHSYTGsWbLePaWXox2vZPJkzo7WtsVya8_3HYfPpVjW5lE_XhtWokkOoo74bPu2Wpra4RrjI-b7yiZRDoEcTCi26Lo/w90-h90/Nick%20Round%202023-BW-2.png" width="90" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Nick Smillie</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Managing Director & Senior Consultant</span></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Sources:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #262626; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">[1] </span><a href="https://www.jll.co.uk/en/trends-and-insights/research/is-hybrid-really-working" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">JLL - Is hybrid really working?</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #262626; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">[2] </span><a href="https://www.fdiintelligence.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">FDI Intelligence</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #262626; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">[3] FT, 15.11.23</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial,sans-serif" style="background-color: transparent; color: #262626; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">[4] Investopedia</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>
Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-91706574969865384712021-04-22T11:26:00.028+01:002024-01-16T14:20:26.610+00:00Online Inward Investment Attraction Has Come of Age. So How Can Business Location Marketers Seize the Opportunity?<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEwHWtkQiuPQxQ9d4o70zlgFfi_JJdeVov5NS-bBTfiO8by5W-mzNFdH-VpW5qCuv9S0iqtHFPDixK5ITQ8USiqvnaKeQYRnFkz7StQB9d4pj9JAj8sg5DFK2CxqgH40J5zcL9G_IoonVFDmGWJypl-Uwfq4rmKtQwaOyF4NgNmm-HgSahTFYaTfGXxY/s3054/Rotterdam%20LI%20-3054%20x%201581.png" />
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<div><b>For several years, internet marketing has been part of the inward investment promotion toolkit. But now, through developments in internet technologies, platforms, and marketing techniques, as well as the ways we do business, online inward investment lead generation has truly come of age. Here's why, and how Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) and site marketing teams can seize the opportunity to attract more investing businesses online.</b></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><b><br /></b></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">1. Investing Businesses are Online, Researching New Locations and Sites</h3><div>According to recent data, 98% of investing businesses now research new sites and locations online. [1] Big opportunities are, therefore, out there. The challenge is to make sure those businesses find you.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">2. Every Location Can Attract Investing Businesses Online</h3><div>Not surprisingly, many inward investment professionals fear that their location is at a disadvantage in the online investment attraction stakes, up against bigger, higher profile locations. But fortunately, having partnered with <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#six" target="_blank">places large and small</a>, we can say with confidence that every location has its USP (or USPs), sometimes in very specific, high-growth niches - think biofuels production or specialist insurance, or a thousand other slivers in between. The trick is to successfully project those distinctive <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">investment value propositions</a> to targeted online audiences.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#fiveform" target="_blank">Request Clarity's latest eBook: Inward Investment Marketing That Works - Advanced Strategies to Attract and Engage More Investing Businesses, and Generate More Inward Investment Leads.</a></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">3. Coronavirus Has Made 'Online' Even More Important</h3><div>The pandemic has <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2020/09/place-marketing-in-new-era-of-hybrid.html" target="_blank">transformed the way we do business</a>. With face-to-face activities curtailed, online channels are now of central importance, increasing opportunities to engage and interact with investing businesses online, in addition to presenting our location solutions via online content. Hopefully we'll soon get back to normal, but we can expect it to be a 'new normal' in which substantially more investor engagement takes place online.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">4. Most of Your Competitor Locations Could Do Better Online</h3><div>Another reason to have no fear is that most of your competitor locations aren't doing online investment attraction as well as they could - even the big, high-profile places. Most obviously, too many organisations use online channels to <i>talk about themselves </i>and <i>their</i> priorities (or their stakeholders'). But that's not what investing businesses are searching for. By focusing relentlessly on investor needs, even 'challenger' locations with relatively low profiles can <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2018/01/why-inward-investment-agencies-need.html" target="_blank">stand out in the online crowd</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#fiveform" target="_blank">Request Clarity's latest eBook: Inward Investment Marketing That Works - Advanced Strategies to Attract and Engage More Investing Businesses, and Generate More Inward Investment Leads.</a></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">5. Small Improvements Can Yield Big Rewards</h3><div>Even for IPAs with limited budgets and resources, small, simple changes have the potential to deliver real improvements in online lead generation. If your website loads too slowly, prospective investors are likely to leave before they even glimpse your location offer. So make sure it's fast. If you don't incentivise investors to contact you, they probably won't. So encourage engagement - not just window shopping and walking away.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">6. It Pays to be Strategic</h3><div>Almost every IPA is already engaged in a range of online marketing activities - content creation, website publishing, social media, etc. The budget and resources are, therefore, already there, so it's not a huge step to use them in a more strategic, results-focused way. For example, we can start to combine all our online channels and activities into an integrated system, with everything we do fulfilling a specific function in our marketing funnel: to attract or engage investors, or convert investment leads.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#fiveform" target="_blank">Request Clarity's latest eBook: Inward Investment Marketing That Works - Advanced Strategies to Attract and Engage More Investing Businesses, and Generate More Inward Investment Leads.</a></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">7. Not All Databases Are Dodgy</h3><div>Business databases have a long and questionable history in inward investment promotion. Too often we've seen contacts that are out of date and companies whose investment strategies are never going to align with the locations we're promoting. Now, though, every one of us has easy access to the world's largest B2B database. It has more than 500 million profiles and they're likely to be reliable - because every individual has an incentive to keep their profile up to date, for networking and career development purposes. It is, of course, LinkedIn, and if you know how to use it to its maximum potential it can be a powerful tool for online investor targeting and attraction.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">8. Just Keep Going, and Going...</h3><div>Here's an easy win: once you've decided on your key messages for investing businesses, keep publishing and sharing them though <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2018/01/why-inward-investment-agencies-need.html" target="_blank">high-quality, optimised content</a>, and keep building your online network. Building a strong online profile takes time and repetition, but too many IPAs change tack, or even stop marketing altogether, for the wrong reasons (e.g. a change of leadership). So, try to convince the leadership team that it's best to just keep going, and going...</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#fiveform" target="_blank">Request Clarity's latest eBook: Inward Investment Marketing That Works - Advanced Strategies to Attract and Engage More Investing Businesses, and Generate More Inward Investment Leads.</a></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">9. Marketing and Inward Investment Teams Work Better Together</h3><div>It can be because of different line managers, office locations or methodologies, but quite often IPA Marketing and Inward Investment teams don't work together in an integrated way. This can mean that leads generated online aren't passed on to the Inward Investment team for follow up, and, in the worst cases, that opportunities to engage investors are missed. To address this, we like to integrate user-friendly 'mini CRM' (Customer Relationship Management) systems with our marketing websites, to create a seamless online lead generation and account management process. However, close collaboration across teams is a great place to start!</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">10. You Can Deliver Measurable Results</h3><div>Our company started to develop 'inbound' internet marketing strategies for inward investment attraction almost a decade ago. We've continually refined our strategies since then and, for recent clients, have delivered increases in online lead generation in excess of 250% versus previous approaches (year on year, with leads 'qualified' by the client).</div><div><br /></div><div>Along the way, we've learned that attracting investors online is a little bit like fishing: you need the right hook and bait, and you need to understand the river and the fish (loosely representing content, lead conversion strategies, and knowledge of industries and business decision making). But we've also learned that in between doing it badly and brilliantly, there are several affordable, manageable changes that every organisation can make to improve their catch.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#fiveform" target="_blank">Request Clarity's latest eBook: Inward Investment Marketing That Works - Advanced Strategies to Attract and Engage More Investing Businesses, and Generate More Inward Investment Leads.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Author:</div><div>Nick Smillie</div><div>Managing Director, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd</div><div>e: nick@clarity-strategies.com m: +44(0)7757 305007</div><div><br /></div><div>[1] GIS Planning</div>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-81610144858719889412021-01-26T14:00:00.540+00:002023-12-11T16:08:46.181+00:00Place Marketing Isn’t Magic. The Basic Principles of Effective Marketing Still Apply.<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2nqrUyuHIkdf52tu_hhoo5mdZgsOm0wbUrNfBesgCUoGzsoNHORmtpZMbNZdkUXwYx9_4sfZJAg_DYpzPdY4FSMacD5LmqzCtOs20r3UaQYz2ddHRqoVxj01CG5GqiCYQQzVVgq5UJtt1lSPbak6K9MdEYIAoH-jJtqeM8Ben9jAkfXjCrsiVrje/s903/Bicester%20Eco%20Town%20CGI2.jpg" />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">Place is the word…</h3><p>In the world of economic development, there’s no doubt that ‘Place’ has been the word of the last few years. It's now quite common for local authorities to have Place directorates, and an entire vocabulary of related words has evolved, like 'placemaking' and even 'placeness'.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>And when you start to explore the subject, it’s easy to see why. The places people live in, work in, invest in, or visit are profoundly important to them; as well as providing livelihoods, they're central to people’s senses of identity and belonging – the very meaning of their lives. So, developments must be undertaken sensitively, with proper attention to this 'sense of place', because failure to do so can lead to unhappiness and alienation, and undermine what makes places attractive to residents, visitors and investors alike.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">But what does Place actually mean?</h3><p>So, Place is important, but when you stop to think about it, it’s not as easy to pin down as you might think. What does this concept of Place actually mean?</p><p>Given its association with human well-being, it’s not surprising that the subject has attracted the interest of academics. And some of their insights can help us to find an answer to this question.</p><p>According to one social anthropologist, “A place is not an object that can be completely described and measured. Its phenomenal qualities – the ways in which the place is for you as a perceptible entity – might be quite different and diverse, and the way you perceive a place will depend on the intentions you have in relation to it.” [1]</p><p>In other words, different people view places in different ways: infrastructure planners, developers or businesses might see a place in statistical terms, while residents or visitors might see it in ways that are more emotional or sentimental. No way of viewing the place is more correct (or 'objective') than any other.</p><p>From the perspective of Place Marketing, it’s the final part of the above quotation that I find of particular interest: “the way you perceive a place will depend on the <i>intention</i> you have in relation to it”. Businesses intend to invest, employ and make money; families intend to live happy, healthy lives; and visitors intend to enjoy great experiences and create lasting memories. In marketing terms, we might say that these different groups <i>consume</i> places in different ways, but the general observation provides a useful starting point for considering how we can do Place Marketing effectively.</p><h3>The growth of Place Marketing </h3><p>In the last few years, we've seen an increasing number of relatively less-known places (for example towns, districts and counties) developing their place brands and place marketing strategies. However, I think it's fair to say, many of them have failed to gain real traction.</p><p>When we look at these initiatives, we often see a confusion of messages and images, as marketers try to tell <i>everyone everything</i> that's great about their location, all at the same time. On one such place marketing website, we see a photograph of artwork in a museum ('we have culture...') directly alongside another of an industrial unit ('we have space for businesses...'), followed by a random collection of statistics quantifying airport drive times, cultural assets, businesses - you get the idea. </p><p>Being ungenerous, we could say that many of these place brands and marketing campaigns are just confused and disorganised. To be more generous, we could say that they're trying to replicate the kind of multi-dimensional 'live, work and play' proposition that, for example, attracts finance professionals to London or New York (job opportunities, culture, food...). But those cities have powerful brands that developed organically over many years and benefit from huge recognition. We should ask ourselves: is it realistic or credible to try to achieve the same thing, from scratch and with a limited budget, through our town or regional place branding or marketing exercise? In practice, the result is likely to be nothing more than a sculpture sitting incongruously alongside an industrial unit - convincing neither the culture buff nor the company director in search of the ideal business location.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A better approach to Place Marketing </h3><p>I think the idea of different groups with different 'intentions' is a great place from which to start thinking about how to do Place Marketing better. And fortunately it aligns very nicely with one of the most basic principles of effective marketing, which is as relevant to marketing Places as anything else - that's 'segmentation'. With this in mind, we should consider the following questions when we develop our place brands and marketing strategies:</p><p>1. Who are these different groups (or <i>audience segments</i>) that we want to promote our Place to?</p><p>2. What are the drivers and needs (see <i>intentions</i>) of each segment as Place ‘consumers’?</p><p>3. How can we align the relevant parts of our Place offer with each segment’s needs and drivers (so they get the information that's relevant to them)?</p><p>4. How can we organise all this into a coherent whole, so we’re presenting the right messages to the right people under a credible and flexible place brand identity, without the whole exercise just looking like a confused mess?</p><p>5. How can we define measurable marketing success in relation to each of our target audience segments? (For example, inward investment enquiries or visitor numbers.)</p><p>Effective Place Marketing therefore requires far more than just splurging messages, images or indeed 'stories' about everything that's great about our location. It requires a structured, strategic approach to presenting the right kinds of information to the right audience segments, to influence their behaviour in relation to our Place (i.e. live, invest or visit here). That in turn requires expert knowledge of those audience segments, extending across both business-to-business (B2B) and consumer marketing specialisations. What <i>data</i> do businesses need to evaluate and select new locations? How can we make prospective residents or visitors<i> love</i> our place? And, finally, it requires the sophistication to develop a Place Brand that can incorporate both B2B and consumer messages without turning off any of our target audiences. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">If it seems confusing, it's probably just confused</h3><p>In our recent conversations with clients and contacts, in organisations including local authorities and economic development agencies, we’ve noticed two things. Firstly, there’s a strong desire to <i>do Place Marketing</i> – to tell the world all the great things their location has to offer. And secondly, there’s real confusion about what Place Marketing actually is and how it should be done. There’s a sense that it’s a thing of great complexity - almost some kind of magic art. In our view this isn’t the fault of those organisations; it’s the fault of Place Marketing campaigns that look confusing precisely because they’re confused.</p><p>As Place Marketing (as well as Inward Investment Marketing) specialists, it’s our aim to make Place Marketing less confusing, more coherent and more targeted, and therefore more likely to deliver results. Because Place Marketing really isn’t magic – it just requires strategic thinking, the right kinds of expertise, and the application of some fundamental marketing principles.</p><p><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#fiveform" target="_blank">Request Clarity's latest eBook: Inward Investment Marketing That Works - Advanced Strategies to Attract and Engage More Investing Businesses, and Generate More Inward Investment Leads.</a></p><p>Author:</p><p>Nick Smillie</p><p>Managing Director & Senior Consultant</p><p>Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sources:</p><div>1: Dr Jo Vergunst, ‘Phenomenology and place, or: feeling that you live somewhere’, 2017</div>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-65134359190456364552020-11-04T12:56:00.146+00:002023-12-11T16:09:30.569+00:00Inward Investment Attraction in Times of Great Uncertainty - Thoughts on What City, Town & Regional Agencies Need To Do...<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPbxKGcFNkmfAIbzmDPpHmSkqHg5j8eWbtqECNluGW3F07nLZFvUvJqyHCg_kcWa_YIBlEo98rYS26T647F_8LJ4Gx5gegjk3qGRN2XDScVTVUd3HszTYPLHEvT_yqoz9NSRQuPrX36U-hs-D8QXL7-KXi4WlBa-SnfauF4pRHDOtG8C_eyT3bIM_/s1806/birmingham-3479596-2.jpg" />
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<div>During this period of great economic uncertainty, it's not surprising that those of us working in economic development and inward investment promotion sometimes feel like rabbits caught in the headlights - shocked and unsure of which way to turn.</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div>Here's where we stand today (from a UK perspective): in the second quarter of 2020, the UK economy shrank by 20% - the biggest slump since records began. This is the second time we've had a 'worst recession since the 1930s' in just twelve years, and tomorrow we'll enter our second national lockdown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Furthermore, irrespective of individual views on Brexit, it's a fact that our trading arrangements with our big neighbour, the EU, are certain only for the next eight weeks. Inward investment professionals will recall that many of the largest inward investments to this country since the 1990s were founded on a powerful national proposition: direct, unhindered access to a single market of 500 million people, combined with other key benefits including flexible labour and robust institutions. On top of all this, we're living through a period of rapid technological change, creating both threats and opportunities in sectors such as energy and transport.</div><div><br /></div><div>For many of us, all this change and uncertainty has undermined national, regional and sector <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">inward investment value propositions</a> that have served us well for several years. With planes on the ground and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50008268" target="_blank">uncertainty around regulatory alignment</a>, what story do we tell to promote our aerospace cluster? With threats to just-in-time supply chains and revolutionary new technologies, how is our automotive sector proposition bearing up?</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">So far, so very uncertain. So what should we do?</h3><div><div>Perhaps a good starting point is to remind ourselves that dealing with economic shocks, often without the best hand of cards, is what regional economic development has always been about. In the 1980s, structural change hit many of the UK's industrial cities, towns and villages hard. It was the job of inward investment professionals to attract new businesses based on value propositions - alignments between what their locations had to offer and what businesses needed - that responded to new, fundamentally changed circumstances; not on what they would have liked, or what had applied before.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, our first conclusions should be, (a) that responding to economic shocks and tough times is <i>central to what we do</i>, and, (b) that it's almost certainly time for us to rethink our regional and sector inward investment value propositions to respond to the new reality.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Facing uncertainty...</h3><div>But how can we develop new value propositions when everything's so uncertain - our sector strengths, access to markets, the ongoing relevance of our regional capabilities - based on factors including coronavirus, Brexit, and rapid technological change?</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Here are a few ideas.</h3><div>1. First of all, we need to ensure that we possess a deep, up-to-date understanding of our fundamental location advantages, based on factors that will continue to drive business location choice. If we know, for example, that our workforce profile and skills ecosystem are outstanding in the area of advanced manufacturing, that provides a solid basis for future inward investment proposals. In a changed economy manufacturers are likely to adapt to serve new, growth markets, but they will still need skilled engineers, apprentices and specialised R&D partners.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's also important to remember that many established sectors are likely to bounce back. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's looking forward to a holiday in the sun, by plane, when this is all over!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#fiveform" target="_blank">Request Clarity's eBook: Inward Investment Marketing That Works - Advanced Strategies to Attract and Engage More Investing Businesses, and Generate More Inward Investment Leads.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>2. Secondly (and related to 1), we need to use high-quality sources to stay on top of industry trends and developments, so we can identify new investment opportunities for our locations. Many of the regions our company has worked with have attracted investors in new growth industries based on capabilities built up over decades in 'legacy' sectors. For example, offshore oil and gas workers often have the transferable skills required by the fast-growing offshore renewables sector, while petrochemicals workers can be ideally suited to new, greener, 'circular economy' process businesses.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. Thirdly, we should recognise that while our previously 'more stable' economy worked for some places, many others were left behind. And it could be that the economic changes brought about by coronavirus, in particular, create opportunities where previously there were few. For example, the pandemic has led many, <a href="https://blogs.sussex.ac.uk/uktpo/2020/05/28/building-supply-chain-resilience-a-reflection-on-project-defend-and-the-reshoring-of-manufacturing/" target="_blank">including the UK government</a>, to think more in terms of domestic supply chain <i>resilience</i> than simply cost efficiency. This could lead to the 'reshoring' of manufacturing, and new investment opportunities for industrial areas.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, as <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2020/09/place-marketing-in-new-era-of-hybrid.html" target="_blank">highlighted recently in this blog</a>, the rise of 'hybrid working', which looks set to become the new norm, is likely to create opportunities for smaller towns and cities previously left behind as the big cities boomed.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for those major cities, there's no doubt that lockdowns and remote working are seriously impacting areas of their economies including office-based sectors, higher education and hospitality. But it's equally certain that the creative, talented people working in those cities and sectors will adapt to survive, as they have to cope with the challenges of lockdown - thereby creating new sector strengths and location benefits. It may also be that cities develop in new ways that are less focused on central business districts and commuting, resulting in new quality of life propositions.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Conclusions </h3><div>So, in summary, here are our recommendations for inward investment professionals in this time of great change and uncertainty:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Understand your location's fundamental (and potentially transferable) strengths</li><li>Scan the horizon for emerging trends and growth sectors</li><li>Get ready for recovery - because it will happen!</li><li>Accept and respond to change - because it's at the heart of what we do</li><li>Get prepared to deliver results in a new world that isn't yet clearly defined, but will present growth opportunities </li></ul><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/#fiveform" target="_blank">Request Clarity's eBook: Inward Investment Marketing That Works - Advanced Strategies to Attract and Engage More Investing Businesses, and Generate More Inward Investment Leads.</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Author:</div><div>Nick Smillie</div><div>Managing Director</div><div>Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.</div></div>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-19066949437039601262020-10-14T11:00:00.029+01:002023-12-11T16:10:10.181+00:00Time-Lapsed? Why Industrial & Logistics Sites Need Better Internet Marketing Strategies for the New Online Business Era<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbMx5HMi0USt_C6R5DZWcjpiMyfC02Ah1QeVW5cjRPSFdsIraQBrcC2MvnD_A9pkzHda9x2IbIDh67lsGDtKDjhyC2FA8WffpEiU7qZYyKGGrBiezZ6qgxaePkh_AUKp4FkTMXRph4bPWsylVxyZHQOZvdxlMzzQStOfvPX1MlaAPw6sHuQuEr5uM/s800/AMP%20Aerial%20Pic%203.png" />
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<p>One major consequence of coronavirus has been the urgent reassessment of well-established business practices. Most obviously, many more activities have moved online, including customer interactions. This has brought about revolutionary change in the ways businesses use technology, with many gaining an edge on their competitors by adapting at impressive speed. On the other hand, companies that don't move with the times are likely to lose out.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p>As a case in point, I've observed for several years now that the way industrial and logistics sites are typically marketed online, by their owners or developers, has fallen behind internet marketing best practice. This observation may come as a surprise to some, because the way sites are promoted online often looks excellent. However, I would argue that this focus on appearances is the problem - because it conceals a lack of focus on the <i>internet marketing strategies</i> that will be essential to stay ahead of the competition in this new, online-dominated business era.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Popular Approaches</h3><p>Let's consider some common characteristics of online industrial and logistics site marketing (which tend to be found with remarkable consistency across the sector):</p><p><b>1. A focus on visual creative content</b></p><p>As online technologies have developed, this particular area of B2B marketing seems to have focused most on their potential to deliver visually impressive content. For me, this is exemplified by construction time-lapse videos, which are seen everywhere in the sector. More generally, it's shown by the prioritisation of visual creative content - video, graphic design, CGI, photography - over solutions-focused content that prioritises site and location data.</p><p><b>2. A lack of focus on high-quality site and location data</b></p><p>Anyone familiar with this sector will know that site brochures always have a section on site and location data (notably drive times and demographics) towards the back. However, the data presented are often of little use to potential site occupants. Demographic statistics are typically headline numbers without proper explanation or source referencing, and certainly no comparisons with other sites and locations. Sometimes data are scrambled, for example confusing consumer and labour catchment areas. Overall, you'd think that whoever put the data there didn't understand them - and you'd probably be right.</p><p><b>3. A lack of focus on online lead generation</b></p><p>Here's a very simple example of this: I'm watching an expensively produced video on a logistics site developer's LinkedIn feed (and yes, it includes a construction time-lapse). For more information, I'm invited to click through to a website where I'm invited to download the site brochure, which I do. Creatively, no expense has been spared on the video, website or brochure. And yet nobody has thought to ask me for my contact details in return for what should be valuable information (to deliver an immediate return on marketing spend). Not missing easy opportunities to generate leads really is page 1 of the internet marketing handbook.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A More Strategic Approach</h3><p>In contrast to this creative content-led approach, a more strategic approach, incorporating internet marketing best practice, would start with some fundamental questions:</p><p><i> </i><i>What types of businesses are we targeting?</i></p><p><i>What are the drivers of their site and location selection decisions?</i></p><p><i>How can we respond to those drivers in a unique way, to attract more of them online, engage their interest, and generate more leads for our site?</i></p><p><b>Target Business Drivers</b></p><p>The fact is that our target audience is made up of rational businesses making major investment decisions that need to deliver the best possible returns for their shareholders. This means selecting sites and locations that can be shown to deliver in key areas that affect business performance - for example fast access to markets, or the availability of a labour force with the right profile. And this in turn means that their priority, as well as what they're searching for online, is likely to be high-quality, trustworthy site and location data.</p><p><b>More Strategic Content</b></p><p>This realisation should underpin our approach to content development. We should ask: how can we select the right content formats (e.g. video, infographics, data sheets or insightful articles) to best communicate our valuable site and location solutions to target businesses, and achieve specific marketing goals (e.g. attracting new businesses, informing their site evaluations, or converting leads).</p><p>If industrial and logistics site marketers were taking this more strategic, customer-focused approach, their content would look very different. High-quality data would feature more prominently, presented in the formats that are most useful and valuable to investing businesses.</p><p>I would emphasise that <i>this type of content can and should look great too</i>. It's just that looking good is the icing on a more substantial cake, not the cake itself. With content more focused on real customer needs and priorities, it's unlikely that construction time-lapse videos would be quite so prevalent.</p><p><b>More Strategic Online Platforms</b></p><p>The same strategic thinking should apply to how we build and optimise our online platforms: website, social media pages, email, Analytics. How can we make them work together to maximise performance in specific, measurable ways - to build and engage with targeted business networks; attract more, relevant website visitors; maximise lead conversions; and develop relationships through ongoing communications?</p><p>It's quite clear that this isn't happening at the moment. As our 'brochure download' example shows, basic strategies often aren't even in place to generate leads, let alone build relationships with them.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">What's Happening Here?</h3><p>What's happening, I believe, is that the online approaches used to market industrial and logistics sites are being driven by the content that creatively focused agencies want to sell (because it's <i>what they do</i>), not the specialised internet strategies that would deliver the best possible, measurable marketing results, and the best returns on marketing spend. It's also quite clear that marketers are doing <i>what they've always done</i>, and <i>what everyone else is doing </i>in the sector. You could call it being stuck in a rut.</p><p>Essentially, approaches still dominate that have their roots in the earliest days of the internet - when glossy brochures were simply moved online, and before the internet's full marketing potential had been realised.<br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The Good News</h3><p>As the world of business moves ever more online, the bad news is that site marketers who don't up their game are likely to lose out to those that do. The good news, however, is that better internet strategies are well-established in the wider world of B2B and industrial marketing. They can easily and quickly be applied in this sector, to deliver significant performance improvements, including more leads, for site owners and developers.</p><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/contact.html?FNAME=Nick&EMAIL=nms595959%40gmail.com&formname=Clarity+Contact+Page&cc=nick%40clarity-strategies.com" target="_blank">Clarity has delivered internet-focused marketing strategies and campaigns for many of the UK's leading enterprise zones, industrial sites and Technology Parks, with proven lead generation performance. Contact us to find out how we could help you to get better marketing results online.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Author:</div><div>Nick Smillie, Managing Director</div><div>Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.</div><div><br /></div>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-5845671009381360902020-09-23T13:45:00.016+01:002023-12-11T16:11:16.615+00:00Place Marketing in the New Era of 'Hybrid Working' - Identifying Opportunities for Provincial Towns, Cities and Regions After Coronavirus<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9koQCx3lwFjQJ2xKKTxHkZ3rwmnm6kgJukc5d1XEHypI1_2lwy1iBn7Et4-risLy8F4gi9lJ9hFgIRX3Y46klUbBckLZ-4xIx9EMAgDfvmT2NVYuC0AsT5G4aYR4eUyety1a5WjyueojCg_vhVSwKsFS3zrv6MzFFMNPIpWwYOl6SGao_mRwVFKAa/s1806/Birmingham%20Skyline%20Image%20%281%29.jpg" />
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For a long time now, the big cities have looked like the winners in the economic development stakes - especially those with strengths in service and technology sectors. And an important reason for this has been agglomeration, or industry clustering.<span><a name='more'></a></span><div><div>In summary, agglomeration is the concentration of interconnected businesses in one place. It provides them with direct access to specialised knowledge, skills and supply chains, which in turn leads to increased productivity, innovation, and competitive advantage. And it's a self-reinforcing process; over time, more businesses and skilled people are attracted, making the cluster yet more successful. Obvious examples include London's financial services sector and tech in the San Francisco Bay Area.</div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Losers, as well as winners...</h3><div><br /></div>But agglomeration, unfortunately, creates losers as well as winners. As investment and skilled workers are sucked in to the big cities, peripheral towns, cities and regions can get left behind. Often, these are places with manufacturing and industrial roots, without the critical mass to compete for high-value service and tech sector investment and people. For example, even if a town has one major IT sector employer, <i>where's your next career move?</i></div><div><br /></div><div>But there are also downsides within the big cities themselves. Where agglomeration occurs, property costs typically rise, resulting in eye-watering rents for both businesses and workers. To continue, therefore, agglomeration depends on the benefits (better profits, salaries and career prospects) continuing to outweigh the costs.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Agglomeration at the limits?</h3><div><br /></div><div>Even before the arrival of Covid-19, there were signs that, for many workers, the attraction of the big city was reaching its limits. For example, in 2015 average house prices in London were already more than 3.5 X the average in the North of England, and growing by 10.6% annually (versus 3.7% for the UK overall). [1] As a consequence, net outward migration from London began to increase, as more workers were drawn away by lower living costs. [2]</div><div><br /></div><div>Anecdotally, I noticed these changes in my home city of Sheffield (just over 2 hours by train from London). I met more people who said they'd moved here because raising a family in the capital was simply no longer viable. And more service-sector business people were saying that location was no longer such a big deal; technology now meant that clients in England's wealthy South East were increasingly happy to be serviced by businesses based in the North.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">'Live, work and play here' - nearly, but not quite...</h3><div><br /></div><div>These changes were reflected in provincial inward investment and place marketing messages. The 'live, work and play' pitch had long been an important element in inward investment promotion, but targeting skilled workers had, for the most part, been secondary to the core proposition: 'locate your business here'. Now, in an era of ballooning metropolitan house prices, improved communications technologies and more freelance working, the quality of life message, targeted at people rather than businesses, was coming to the fore.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet, while sometimes well delivered, the appeals of less economically successful locations to the lifestyle dreams of high-value workers were never quite compelling. The fact remained that most large service and tech sector employers were in the big cities, along with the best career development opportunities. So the question remained: 'Am I prepared to sacrifice career success for lifestyle benefits?' For most, the answer continued to be 'no'.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">And then came coronavirus...</h3><div><br /></div><div>It seems that the jury's still out on how the coronavirus pandemic will affect living, commuting and office working patterns; however, talk of permanent change is increasingly common. As recently as March (2020), one <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/blog/how-will-coronavirus-affect-jobs-in-different-parts-of-the-country/" target="_blank">Centre for Cities article</a> asserted that 'once coronavirus has peaked, face-to-face interaction will continue to be more important than ever' - effectively predicting that big city agglomeration would carry on as before. [3] However, by August, footfall in the UK's cities remained a fraction of pre-lockdown levels. Office workers weren't returning, the largest cities were suffering most, and London was suffering most of all. [4]</div><div><br /></div><div>While the UK government (for a time) called for a mass return to the office, many leading service sector employers were less convinced, and are now planning for ongoing 'hybrid working' (home and office). Because, for many businesses, large-scale home working has been a success. In the words of one Stanford University professor: 'stigma associated with the practice has collapsed'. [5]</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">So what does all this mean for Place Marketers?</h3><div><br /></div><div>It's worth emphasising again - no one really knows how our working lives will be affected permanently by coronavirus. But we can follow trends like 'hybrid working' to their logical conclusions to inform our place marketing strategies for this new era. </div><div><br /></div><div>Big city agglomeration has been a driver of wealth creation for centuries, and it's unlikely to go away. However, it seems equally unlikely that, henceforth, it will be characterised by high-value workers cramming into trains, every day, to sit at computer terminals in expensive offices doing work that could more easily, and perhaps more productively, be done at home. More home working simply makes sense, even if the big city office is reinvented as a vital networking hub.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, if workers only need to visit the office once or twice a week, they'll be free to live much further away from the big city, and free to choose from a far wider range of possible locations. That could mean coastal resorts, the countryside, or one of the many towns and even cities that score highly for quality of life but less well for service and tech sector career prospects. According to residential estate agents, the move out is already happening. [6]</div><div><br /></div><div>For place marketers, the obvious response is to promote their locations as places to 'live, work and play' with more vigour than ever - addressing both the rational drivers (e.g. housing affordability) and emotional drivers (e.g. a distinctive 'sense of place') that influence individual and family location decisions. Because what had, in many cases, been a nice but ultimately unconvincing idea could now be a powerful, realistic proposition for lots of people.</div><div><br /></div><div>And the potential prize is a big one: more high-value, high-income residents with the potential to boost the wealth and dynamism of regional economies, many of which had been left behind by big city agglomeration. That's always been a central goal of regional economic development - you could call it 'levelling up'.</div><div><br /></div><div>Author:</div><div>Nick Smillie, Managing Director</div><div>Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/" target="_blank">Find Out More About Clarity: Inward Investment Marketing Strategies</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Sources:</div><div>[1] <a href="https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about/house-price-index/headlines" target="_blank">Nationwide, 2015 (Q3 data)</a> (Q3 data)</div><div><div>[2] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/24/bloated-london-property-prices-fuelling-exodus-from-capital" target="_blank">E.g. see The Guardian, 24.7.17</a></div><div>[3] <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/blog/how-will-coronavirus-affect-jobs-in-different-parts-of-the-country/" target="_blank">Centre for Cities, 17.3.2020 </a></div><div>[4] <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-just-one-in-six-back-in-the-office-in-cities-as-boris-johnsons-return-to-work-plea-ignored-12053139" target="_blank">Sky News / Centre for Cities, 20.8.20</a></div></div><div>[5] <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/203cc83c-72b0-49c9-bea5-6fb38735a8fc" target="_blank">Financial Times, 14.9.2020 </a></div><div>[6] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/may/08/homebuyers-plotting-move-to-country-amid-increased-home-working">E.g. see The Guardian, 8.5.20</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comSheffield, UK53.381128999999987 -1.470085-3.9078368486897688 -71.782585 90 68.842415tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-64041325855767302622018-09-12T17:26:00.014+01:002022-10-19T10:14:46.358+01:00Data-Driven Inward Investment Marketing (2): How 'Total Cost' Data Can Reveal Your Location's Real Advantages<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDxlSsUsBprsSaMDd5X71C_r-ZU85g1YBU2pBb8nW9Js9x9LcAAMg34weg3RSrn0SMVzBNey_xcPUdIViPhVM6c0J_2U55D71yC4HPk5jVsSb4NoUtyNXJ6r7YhzUlsECiyfbMuCc4_z0ye2BLwYXSHf-1O9fuHZSeOZ_SeWWJ8WbaY_QcpmYiqTZ/s1806/Bickerstaffe%20House-3.jpg" />
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Using data in Inward Investment Marketing is all about providing investing companies with <b>solid evidence</b> of your advantages as a business location (including versus competitors).<br />
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<a name='more'></a>One way to do this is to present headline data relating to major business costs - property rents, for example, or average salaries. These can often be traced back to recognised third-party sources (e.g. government statistics), making them easy for investing businesses to verify, and therefore trust.<br />
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But there are also shortcoming with headline statistics like these. Firstly they don't tell the full story regarding the factor costs they relate to (e.g. Property Rents aren't <i>Total Property Costs</i>). Secondly, when they're presented in isolation, it isn't clear how important (or unimportant) they are in terms of the overall costs of a business investment project.<br />
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That's why there's a strong case for presenting more in-depth cost data: to show individual factor costs more accurately and fully (e.g. property costs), and their contribution to overall business costs. This adds value for investing companies, because it provides them with more complete information for their location evaluations. And it can add real value for you as an inward investment marketer, by revealing location advantages that you may not have been aware of!<br />
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To illustrate this, here's an example of how costs <i>could</i> break down for an office investment project. We would emphasise that the percentages stated are <i>indicative only</i>. However, they are based on our experience of real office cost evaluations, and therefore provide a useful guide.<br />
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Rents Are Not the Only Property Costs...</h4>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="371" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSksOTEXKecU__MVEL0m2DiTmONH5H_92s1pPI3_6_16sI83630880lUzZmoJOKzsBm07O8OcXMYOIw/pubchart?oid=481267032&format=interactive" width="600"></iframe>
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As this example shows, rents can represent significantly less than half of Total Property Costs. Those 'other property costs' include property taxes and building running costs, and they can be important cost differentiators between competing locations. (In the UK, for example, changes to Business Rates could make the property tax element more important than ever).
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Observations for Inward Investment Marketers:</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>It's good to have Total Property Cost data for your location and its competitors. They can reveal cost advantages that you weren't previously aware of, and help you to add value for prospective inward investors.</b>
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...and People Cost a Lot of Money!</h4>
But just how significant are those Total Property Costs in terms of overall business costs? To place them in context, here's an indication of what could happen when Labour Costs are added to the equation:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="371" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSksOTEXKecU__MVEL0m2DiTmONH5H_92s1pPI3_6_16sI83630880lUzZmoJOKzsBm07O8OcXMYOIw/pubchart?oid=1353534579&format=interactive" width="600"></iframe>
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<b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Observations for Inward Investment Marketers:</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Labour Costs can represent a huge outlay for investing businesses (potentially more than 5 x Total Property Costs). High-quality Labour Cost data is therefore key to understanding and communicating your location's overall cost advantages. More generally, people are key to business success, so data regarding labour availability and quality are equally important.</b></span>
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Data quality, transparency and sector knowledge are key...</h4>
As always, data quality and transparency are key. For detailed cost analyses to be credible, property, labour and other cost metrics must be defined clearly. And its important to be able to tell investing businesses where the data comes from, how they were processed and based on which assumptions. Saying 'just trust us' will never be enough!<br />
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Industry sector knowledge is essential too. For example, for Labour Cost estimates to be credible, it's essential to understand the labour classifications that relate to particular types of business operations.
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">To Summarise:</span></h4>
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<li><b>Headline cost statistics are valuable, but they don't tell the full story</b></li>
<li><b>Rent is not the only property cost: Total Property Cost data can reveal your location's <i>true property cost advantages</i></b></li>
<li><b>People cost a lot of money: incorporating high-quality Labour Cost data into cost analyses can help to reveal your location's <i>overall cost advantages for businesses</i></b></li>
<li><b>Data quality, transparency and sector knowledge are all key to establishing credibility with prospective inward investors</b></li>
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<b>The Clarity team includes experts in data research and evaluation, inward investment promotion and advanced marketing strategies. Our clients for data-supported Inward Investment Value Propositions include leading developers and Investment Promotion Agencies. <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/contact.html" target="_blank">Contact us</a> to find out more.</b></div>
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.<br />
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<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-82476959921097423432018-09-11T11:35:00.000+01:002023-10-10T17:16:25.691+01:00Developing Outstanding Inward Investment Value Propositions: 5 Key Principles for Success...<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINSFaBB3cr8uCjHKZcr_dcN1mPtYwHzzC8PewlXCXkvg6OzQwWxJRqh6JHv_8yfiOypTvMoZpjmdwJ02hTLK0qBnYIrULhmWB8Sq_R8XjuTHPOCCeDebYXzGcEUqHSMh6uOqQMdomlaiO4olcHNnkoFyb2Z_3cZAXrczzKKzaN7xOCT53Zb8ompOHtjM/s960/Blog%20Header%203-Proposition.png" />
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<b>Perhaps the most basic challenge facing Investment Promotion Agencies is this: how to make their business location stand out from all the other locations that investing businesses could choose instead.</b><br />
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That's why effective location <b>differentiation</b> is essential, and why Value Proposition research and development should be the starting point for every Investment Promotion Agency's marketing and sales activities (and all their other activities for that matter!).<br />
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But What Exactly is an Inward Investment Value Proposition?</h3>
Your location's Inward Investment Value Proposition can be described as it's <b>unique promise of value</b> to expanding businesses. In the purest sense, it's a statement summarising why businesses should select your location over the competition, by demonstrating that it <b>addresses their needs</b> most effectively - thereby delivering <b>more value</b>. In practice, this statement must be supported by more in-depth location data, providing credible evidence for your claims.<br />
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An Effective Inward Investment Value Proposition Should Identify:</h3>
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<li>Your <b>target market segment</b> of expanding businesses</li>
<li>What their <b>location selection problems</b> are</li>
<li>The unique reasons why your location <b>solves their problems</b></li>
<li>Why your location solutions are<b> better</b> than your competitors'</li>
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So, now we've clarified what an Inward Investment Value Proposition is, here are <b>5 guiding principles to consider</b> when it comes to making yours <i>outstanding</i>:</div>
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1. Specialise. Target. Differentiate.</h3>
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The fact is that different types of businesses have widely <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/01/inward-investment-and-economic.html" target="_blank">differing types of 'location selection problems'</a>. Some may need to minimise costs and get physical goods to market as quickly as possible; others may need access to the highly skilled (albeit expensive) people you'll find in urban knowledge clusters. And it's highly unlikely that your location will be able to offer<b> unique</b> benefits to all kinds of businesses.</div>
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The key, therefore, is to match your <b>genuine benefits</b> with the <b>identified needs</b> of a <b>complementary market segment</b> of expanding companies. That's the case for developing highly targeted value propositions focused on specific<b> industry sectors</b> or <b>business functions</b> rather than trying to be all things to all businesses (more about that <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2015/09/inward-investment-are-your-regions.html" target="_blank">here</a>).</div>
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2. Resist the Temptation to Doctor the Data.</h3>
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This is all about ensuring that your Inward Investment Value Propositions are credible and trustworthy. Businesses will expect your claims to be supported by evidence, including high-quality, verifiable data. And the more transparent that data is, the more likely it is that businesses will trust it, and you. If it takes statistical gymnastics to make the data work in your favour, there's a high chance that you're chasing the wrong types of businesses...</div>
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3. Quantify <u>Value</u> Wherever Possible.</h3>
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For businesses, <b>value is all about money</b> - saving it, making more of it, and minimising the risk of losing it. Therefore, wherever possible, your Inward Investment Value Proposition should <b>quantify the financial advantages</b> of selecting your location (again based on verifiable data and trustworthy calculations).<br />
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4. Choose Your Competitors Carefully.</h3>
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This is another point about credibility and trustworthiness. It's not unusual to see Investment Promotion Agencies presenting comparisons versus locations that <i>aren't really competitors at all</i>, but which have been selected to make their location 'look better'.</div>
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Expanding businesses, which will understand the sectors they operate in, are unlikely to be convinced by this. And they're unlikely to see the Investment Promotion Agency in question as a credible partner, because the evidence will suggest that they don't really understand the sectors they're targeting. So, if you compare your location with others, make sure they're credible competitor locations!<br />
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5. Don't Leave Your Inward Investment Value Proposition on the Shelf.</h3>
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Another thing that's often found in the world of inward investment promotion: agencies commission expensive consultancy reports to identify their unique location benefits, supported by detailed evidence and data. But then the report stays on the shelf, or is only occasionally pulled out to inform 'sales' proposals to individual businesses with which the agency already has direct contact (<a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/02/the-inward-investment-marketing-funnel.html" target="_blank">at the bottom of the marketing funnel</a>).</div>
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The fact is that your Inward Investment Value Propositions, and the data that support them, should inform all of your marketing and sales activities, from the <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/02/the-inward-investment-marketing-funnel.html" target="_blank">top to the bottom of your marketing funnel</a>. If you don't use them to attract businesses at the early stages of location research and evaluation (notably online), you'll have a smaller pool of known investing businesses to submit customised 'sales' proposals to anyway. For this reason, we believe in making value proposition documents 'marketing ready' right from the start - not just turning consultancy reports into marketing materials later on. In other words, value proposition development has to be an intrinsic part of your overall inward investment marketing and 'sales' strategy.<br />
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<i>(Image shows a Clarity sector Inward Investment Value Proposition document)</i><br />
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
Managing Director<br />
Clarity | Inward Investment Marketing Strategies
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<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-10745211218642012502018-05-31T12:42:00.004+01:002023-12-11T15:48:07.205+00:00GDPR and Inward Investment / FDI Marketing: A Disaster or an Opportunity?<b>Today is GDPR Day +6, and there's little doubt that inward investment marketers across Europe will, by now, be nursing seriously depleted email marketing lists. The problem, of course, is that the new regulation requires contacts <i>actively to opt in</i> to receive emails; the old approach of adding contacts to lists and hoping they won't unsubscribe is no longer OK.</b><br />
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<a href="https://draft.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a>So, inward investment marketing teams will have emailed their contacts asking them to opt in, and most, in all probability, will have chosen not to. We shouldn't be too surprised by this - if contacts were only on our mailing lists because we put them there, actively opting in is unlikely to be at the top of their list of priorities.<br />
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But is this a disaster for Inward Investment/FDI marketers?</h3>
As marketers we're reassured when we see big numbers - for our mailing list, LinkedIn connections or website page views. But sometimes we're less comfortable at the next level of detail. How many of these contacts really engage with our marketing content? How many are genuinely relevant intermediaries or influencers? How many are real prospective inward investors?<br />
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The mass GDPR unsubscribe (or, more accurately 'non-subscribe') forces us all to confront these questions - a good thing, even if we may not like the answers.<br />
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An opportunity to do better marketing...</h3>
So what are we likely to find when we look into the GDPR mailing list ‘disaster’? First of all, some contacts will have chosen not to subscribe simply because our content is no longer relevant to them. That's good, we're cleaning up our list. After that it gets more difficult. Why are genuinely well-targeted, relevant contacts choosing not to sign up? This is where the 'disaster' becomes an opportunity - to look closely at how we do our marketing, and to do it better.<br />
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By choosing not to subscribe, our contacts make us ask some fundamental questions about how we do our jobs. Do we really understand their drivers as investing businesses or intermediaries? What are they searching for online and <i>want so much that they'll actively choose to sign up for more of it?</i> How can we align our <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">business location offer</a> with their needs, to make them really want to hear from us? What's the optimal mix of <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2017/01/inward-investment-how-to-use.html" target="_blank">location data</a>, news or case studies, and in which content formats (text, video, <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2017/01/infographics-for-inward-investment.html" target="_blank">infographics</a> etc.), to attract them and keep them engaged?<br />
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We can gain insights in these areas from our marketing analytics (how have different posts performed?) or by asking our contacts either formally (e.g. through surveys) or informally (by just asking them). The important thing is that this apparent disaster forces us to become <i>better marketers</i>.<br />
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So what are the likely consequences of GDPR for Inward Investment marketers?</h3>
First of all, it seems, most mailing lists are going to get much smaller, which may take some getting used to. But they'll also be much higher quality, because the people on them will be relevant, and genuinely want to be there!<br />
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On the inward investment marketer's side we can hope to see several positive consequences: better research to understand investor drivers, <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/07/why-inward-investment-agencies-need.html" target="_blank">more targeted content</a> to communicate <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value propositions</a> and <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/11/data-driven-inward-investment-marketing_22.html" target="_blank">location data</a> to them, more engaging content formats, more thought about investor interests when we select and share news stories. And then there's everything that goes with '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permission_marketing" target="_blank">permission marketing</a>' (i.e. marketing that people actually want!) - improved transparency and trust, leading to stronger client relationships. Put like that, it doesn't sound like such a disaster after all!<br />
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<b><a href="http://eepurl.com/dwuvXL" target="_blank">Subscribe here to receive Clarity's Inward Investment Marketing insights by occasional e-mail - but only if you really want to!</a></b>
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<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-71522800865277776822018-02-07T13:09:00.004+00:002023-12-11T15:48:25.220+00:00Data-Driven Inward Investment Marketing (1): Using Labour Market Data to Land Inward Investments<b>As every inward investment professional knows, an effective <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value proposition</a> - for your location, sector or site - is key to attracting expanding businesses. In turn, that proposition must be supported by high-quality location data, addressing all the factors that influence business location choices - from taxation rates to property costs.</b><br />
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The primary importance of labour market data</h4>
But none of those factors is more important that labour, which makes robust labour market data an <i>essential</i> tool for inward investment marketers.<br />
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Here's why, and how labour market data can be used effectively to attract and engage investing businesses...<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Business models vary, but people are <i>always</i> key.</span></h4>
Some businesses gain competitive edge by minimsing their labour costs - many distribution companies, for example. Others gain that edge through innovation - for example research facilities employing highly paid scientists. Either way, the availability of <i>the right kind of labour</i> is key to making the business model work, and hence <i>a key driver of location choice.</i><br />
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The importance of labour is further highlighted when we consider its cost. In the case of office operations, labour costs typically exceed property costs by a multiple of 5 or more, even when office running costs (in addition to rent) are taken into account.<br />
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<i><b>Labour's a huge cost factor, and businesses simply can't afford to make location decisions without high-quality labour market data.</b></i><br />
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So what labour market data do investing businesses need? </h4>
At a basic level, businesses need reassurances about <i>labour supply and demand</i> in your location - that there's sufficient supply of the specific types of workers they need, and that demand for labour from other companies in the area isn't excessively high. They'll need to know that labour in your area is cost-competitive. And they'll need to know that your location compares favourably with <i>credible</i> competitor locations based on a range of availability and cost metrics.<br />
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For investing businesses, labour market data can show the scale of a location's workforce in key categories, labour capacity to support employment growth, labour demand metrics, commuter flows (showing where the workforce originates) and population projections (indicating capacity to support future business expansions).<br />
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Using labour market data to attract and engage investing businesses</h4>
High-quality labour market data can be used throughout your inward investment marketing and sales activities. Headline statistics can be used to attract new businesses into your <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/02/the-inward-investment-marketing-funnel.html" target="_blank">marketing funnel</a> (e.g. via online <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/07/why-inward-investment-agencies-need.html" target="_blank">Content Marketing</a> campaigns or in printed brochures). More detailed data sheets can be used to engage businesses at the location evaluation stage (e.g. as downloads) or at the decision-making stage, as part of customised sales proposal, to help <i>land inward investments. </i><br />
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<b><i>But that's only possible if you start the process by arming yourself with in-depth, high-quality labour market data, for your location and its competitors.</i></b><br />
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<b>The Clarity team includes experts in data research and evaluation, inward investment promotion and 'B2B' marketing. Our clients for Labour Market Studies include leading developers and Investment Promotion Agencies. <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/contact.html">Contact us</a> to talk about a detailed Labour Market Study for your location or site.</b></div>
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.<br />
<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-77744233084948645942018-01-12T12:16:00.003+00:002023-12-11T15:48:51.481+00:00Why Inward Investment Agencies Need Effective Content Marketing Strategies...<b>As a specialist Inward Investment Marketing company, we like to keep an eye on how Investment Promotion Agencies are marketing their countries, states or regions to expanding businesses, with a particular focus on their online strategies and activities.</b><br />
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<a name='more'></a>And a key observation we're continuing to make is this: to build more awareness of their business locations, nurture stronger relationships with investing companies and generate more inward investment leads, many investment promotion agencies would benefit greatly from implementing effective Content Marketing Strategies.<br />
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What is Content Marketing for Inward Investment Promotion?</h3>
In summary, Content Marketing involves the creation, publication and continual online distribution (via website, social media and e-mail) of valuable and relevant content (e.g. text, data, graphics or video) to attract your target audience, engage their interest and generate more inward investment leads.<br />
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It involves putting your 'Blog' at the heart of your website (i.e. making your site 'dynamic', not just 'static'). And it means having a clear <b>content creation strategy</b> - to communicate your<i> location solutions</i> to prospective inward investors systematically and effectively.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: learn more about Content Marketing Solutions for Inward Investment Attraction.</a></i></span></b><br />
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Why does Content Marketing work for Inward Investment Attraction?</h3>
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Content Marketing works because it boosts your search engine profile (SEO) significantly, and focuses on projecting the valuable <i>location solutions</i> that businesses really want. When we talk about location solutions, we mean high-quality <i>facts and data</i> that companies can use to build <i>location business cases</i> - about your cost advantages, workforce capabilities, property portfolio and so on. 'News' stories and case studies are important parts of the mix too, building confidence in your location by highlighting new developments and investor announcements. <i><u>But location solutions are most important of all - because they're what investing businesses are actually searching for online</u>.</i><br />
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In the specific context of inward investment promotion, Content Marketing helps national and regional agencies to nurture and build relationships with companies between meetings or trade shows, and to keep business decision makers continually up to date with your regional advantages, sector propositions and developments. That's important, because landing inward investments can take some time, in the face of stiff competition. An effective Content Marketing strategy can be the best way of ensuring that business decision makers <i>don't forget</i> about your location, and why it aligns with their needs more effectively than your competitors'.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: learn more about Content Marketing Solutions for Inward Investment Attraction.</a></i></span></b><br />
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Getting More Value from your Online Content...</h3>
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So, if you're an inward investment agency developing your new website or e-marketing strategy, think again before just publishing your valuable content to static, 'brochure style' web pages. Instead, think of your website as the <i>publishing platform</i> you use to <i>project</i> your 'location solutions' to businesses - via your high-quality Blog and your targeted, sustained, Content Marketing Strategy.</div>
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity | Inward Investment Marketing Strategies<br />
<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-72527650611622949682018-01-07T17:58:00.001+00:002020-09-14T16:43:59.167+01:00Inward Investment: Is Your Location Data Up to Date? (And Why It Really Should Be...)<b>Inward investment marketing is all about communicating data - facts and statistics - about your location to targeted investing companies, with the aim of attracting them to you. But - you may have noticed that out-of-date data is a common feature of inward investment marketing content. So, here are six key points to consider when updating your location data, starting with why it's so important to keep it current in the first place...</b><br />
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1. Up to date location data is essential, not optional</h3>
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If you were running a business, would you make a major investment decision on the basis of out-of-date information? Hopefully not. So, if that's what companies find on your inward investment agency or site marketing websites, they're likely to look elsewhere for information they <i>can</i> rely on. For inward investment marketers, that's a missed opportunity to engage investing companies, and to highlight the benefits that make your location stand out from the competition.<br />
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2. If the budget's tight, focus on the most important data</h3>
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A tight budget is often cited as a reason for not updating inward investment marketing data. However, with effective prioritisation, key data can be refreshed affordably. For example, labour is the biggest cost category in many investment projects, and not finding the right people with the right skills is likely to be a significant risk. Up-to-date labour force data and statistics are therefore essential - without them, it's possible that your location or site won't even be considered. So, if the budget's tight, prioritise the data essentials, relating to key factors including labour, property and connectivity.<br />
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3. Schedule updates for your key location statistics</h3>
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Investing businesses love statistics - they're objective, enable comparisons between locations and can often be obtained from known and trusted sources. And fortunately, governments and international organisations typically update published statistics on a regular basis (e.g. annually). That means that once you've identifed the sources and metrics of most value to your target audiences, and created templates accordingly for your marketing materials, keeping them up to date doesn't have to be an impossibly time-consuming or expensive task.<br />
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4. But data's about facts, not just statistics...</h3>
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Yes, numbers are important, but they're not the whole story. If your information about local universities, training courses or companies isn't up to date, it can mean a big blow to your credibility. Business decision makers are experts in their sectors so if, for example, you're talking about a company that's changed its name or, worse, no longer exists, you won't look like the well-informed local partner they're looking for. So, keeping data up to date means all your messages, not just the statistics.<br />
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5. ...so make sure your materials are easy and affordable to update...</h3>
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The fundamental importance of up-to-date facts and statistics should influence the formats you choose for your marketing content. To state the obvious, online and electronic content (e.g. your website) is the most flexible and easy to update. Printed materials are more of a problem, but efficiences can be made by slimming down brand and design-focused brochures and complementing them with simpler, more easily refreshed <i>location data sheets</i>. After all,while your location brand is important, we would argue that high-quality location data is <i>more important</i> to investing businesses.<br />
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6. Use your data to tell a coherent story...</h3>
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The reason it's so important for <i>you</i> to be the source of high-quality, up-to-date location data is that <i>you </i>get to incorporate them into positive messages about your business location. These are your value propositions, which explain how the data you're presenting mean <i>more value</i> for investing businesses, and can help to attract them to you.</div>
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Nick Smillie</div>
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MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.</div>
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<b>Related articles:</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/11/data-driven-inward-investment-marketing.html" target="_blank">Find out more about using labour market data to land inward investments</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">Find out more about developing outstanding inward investment value propositions</a></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/contact.html" target="_blank">Contact Clarity</a> to find out about our inward investment data research and value proposition development services</b></div>
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Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-8926062371583518462016-11-08T12:00:00.001+00:002023-12-11T15:51:13.200+00:00Inward Investment: On Priority Sectors and Your Location's Economic Development NeedsIn this blog, we’ve often written about the importance of effective value propositions in inward investment promotion – aligning your location benefits with the identified needs of investing businesses. But there’s another alignment that’s equally important – the one between the priority sectors you promote through your inward investment marketing and your location’s identified economic development needs.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>Here’s an example to illustrate what we mean…</b><br />
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In the last few years, we’ve worked with several locations that share the following characteristics:<br />
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1)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They offer fast access to high-income, high-population regions, making them attractive to firms distributing goods to wealthy consumer markets <i>(i.e. they have a strong warehousing and distribution <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value proposition</a>)</i><br />
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2)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They’re also located within, or with fast access to, world-class high-technology industry clusters, for example life sciences, ICT or advanced engineering <i>(i.e. they have strong <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value propositions</a> in these high-technology sectors too)</i><br />
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<b>So how should a location with these characteristics prioritise its industry sectors?</b><br />
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If we assume that both <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value propositions</a> are equally strong, identifying the location’s economic development needs helps to answer this question. In simplified terms*, if the location is characterised by relatively high unemployment at lower skills levels, and can deliver large-scale, well-connected sites, there’s likely to be a sound case for making the warehousing and distribution sector a priority. If, on the other hand, unemployment is low, relevant skills levels are high and land is constrained, there’s likely to be a case for prioritising high-technology sectors in which investments are typically characterised by fewer, well-paid jobs, smaller-scale property requirements and high productivity.<br />
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<i>*It should be emphasised that we're talking about relative importance here, not an 'either/or' choice between sectors, as well as generalised sector characteristics.</i><br />
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<b>But that's obvious, isn't it?</b><br />
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Perhaps it should be, but in our experience it often isn't, because local authority economic development and inward investment functions aren't always as coordinated as they could be. In which case, a location's investment promotion agency may be focused on attracting high-technology companies while overlooking an equally important need for large-scale employment at lower skills levels (e.g. warehousing). Or, based on strong market demand, planners may be granting permission for large-scale warehouse operations when sites are limited and there's limited local need for the type of employment created. In the latter scenario, high-tech, high-productivity businesses can be crowded out by companies that respond less well to the location's economic development needs.<br />
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<b>Lessons learned...</b><br />
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The basic lesson to be learned here is: <b>know your location</b>. Once you understand its economic development needs and its benefits for businesses (in response to identified business drivers), economic development and inward investment teams can work together, with private sector partners, to deliver the right mix of sites and market them to businesses in targeted, prioritised industry sectors. That, in turn means starting out by collecting and analysing <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/11/data-driven-inward-investment-marketing.html" target="_blank">high-quality location data</a> that identifies your location's <i>opportunities</i> as well as its <i>problems</i> - its unique <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value propositions for businesses</a> as well as its economic development needs.<br />
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
Managing Director, Clarity<br />
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Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-8983664945100531662016-10-18T16:50:00.005+01:002020-09-14T16:45:13.592+01:00How to Generate Inward Investment Leads (or: 'Beware Men Bearing Lists')When we discuss inward investment marketing with our clients, we talk about a strategic process. It involves developing value propositions, identifying target audiences, building networks, building location profile, nurturing relationships (with intermediaries and expanding companies) and, of course, <i>generating investment leads.</i><br />
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But in the end it’s all about the leads, isn’t it?</h4>
Yes. So it’s hardly surprising that inward investment agencies sometimes want to cut straight to the chase, asking consultancies to provide ‘lists of leads’ instead - oven-ready to be followed up and landed by their team. After all, why go through a process when the same result can be achieved in one easy step?<br />
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All of which raises important questions for inward investment practitioners:<br />
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<i><b>Is there a quick and easy route to inward investment lead generation?</b></i><br />
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<i><b>Or is a more strategic approach really necessary?</b></i><br />
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Bad Lists, and Better Lists…</h4>
Firstly, it should be emphasised that the quality of 'lists of leads’ varies greatly. In some cases, companies are presented as ‘leads’ based on the most superficial ‘profile fit’ with a location (widget manufacturers for a widget manufacturing region, say). Other lists are based on sound market intelligence - identifying companies with expansion plans and niche capabilities that align with a location’s specific strengths.<br />
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But for the vast majority of inward investment agencies, the problem remains the same: <b>the probability of landing investments from companies identified in this way is so low, it's almost zero.</b><br />
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<span style="color: #0000ee; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: build your targeted Inward Investment Marketing Strategy</a></span><br />
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The Probability Problem…</h4>
It's not that speculative approaches to companies can never work - they can, under favourable circumstances with the right resources. National or state government agencies, for example, may be able to link highly profitable inward investment propositions to large-scale strategic developments – think national transport, energy or industrial strategies.<br />
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But in the case of smaller, regional locations and investment agencies, a whole series of factors dictate against success.<br />
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Think about what’s being proposed here:</h4>
Armed with your list of ‘leads’, you’ll be approaching companies out of the blue, asking them to make major investments in a location they’ve probably never considered, or even heard of. And if there is a highly attractive business environment or market opportunity, it will probably be at a national or even continental level – making yours just one of several possible investment locations.<br />
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Your timing will have to be just right for the company, and their investment timeframes will have to make the exercise worthwhile for you. Their executives must be amenable to your entirely speculative approach, and your regional offer must align with business strategies about which you can only have limited knowledge. Meanwhile, with each challenge that arises, an already low probability of success gets lower and lower…<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: build your targeted Inward Investment Marketing Strategy</a></i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b>
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So, what’s the alternative?</h4>
Put simply, the alternative is to make the lead generation process easier for you (you’ll notice that the ‘easy way’ wasn’t so easy after all!) and the probability of success far greater.<br />
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In practice, this takes us back to the strategic approach summarised at the start of this article, including the following key steps:<br />
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<b>1. Start by developing high-quality location and sector <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value propositions</a>, supported by high-quality data.</b> Yes, we've said it before, but these underpin all your lead generation activities, and are therefore <i>essential.</i><br />
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<b>2. Build and leverage your network of advocates and ‘multipliers’, both online and offline. </b>Arm them with your value propositions. Start local and work outwards, especially if your resources are limited. Right at home, regional developers and property agents have an established interest in promoting your location. They also have<i><b> real inward investment leads</b></i> that your value propositions and support can help to land.<br />
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<b>3. Adopt ‘inbound’ marketing strategies</b> based on the principle of <i><b>attracting investors to you when the time’s right for them</b></i>, not chasing them because the time’s right for you.<br />
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This means projecting your high-quality value propositions outwards through your online and offline networks and marketing platforms, creating trails that will attract <i>companies searching for your location solutions</i> – <b><i>i.e. real inward investment leads</i></b> – back to you.<br />
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Author:<br />
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Nick Smillie</div>
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Managing Director</div>
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Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.</div>
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<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-70294183116748808032016-09-10T12:59:00.001+01:002023-12-11T15:51:35.084+00:00Inward Investment in 2017: Generating Leads Online with Applied Value Propositions<center><span style="text-align: left;">As Inward Investment Marketing specialists, a lot of our time is focused on developing data-supported </span><b style="text-align: left;">value propositions</b><span style="text-align: left;"> for locations and sectors - i.e. researching, identifying and presenting the unique </span><i style="text-align: left;">value</i><span style="text-align: left;"> they offer to investing companies. That's exactly as it should be - effective value propositions are at the heart of effective inward investment attraction.</span></center>
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But once a compelling value proposition has been developed, how should it be <i>used</i> to do what investment promotion agencies and site marketers need to do: generate investment leads and land inward investments? And, specifically, how should it be used <i>online</i>, where investing businesses and consultants are likely to be researching potential business locations?<br />
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Funnel-Shaped Thinking...</h4>
To answer these questions, it helps to think in terms of the <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2017/01/the-inward-investment-marketing-funnel.html" target="_blank">Marketing Funnel (see diagram here)</a>, that tried and tested model of the customer's journey towards 'buying a product' (or, in our case, selecting a business location). Assuming that we start with a professionally developed <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value proposition</a> report supported by <a href="https://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/11/data-driven-inward-investment-marketing_22.html" target="_blank">high-quality data</a>, we can tailor its content to the the needs of businesses at the various stages in the funnel, like this:<br />
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<b><br /></b><b>1. Projecting Value Propositions via Content Marketing Campaigns</b><br />
<span style="background-color: red; color: white; display: inline-block; margin-top: 4px; padding: 8px;">TOP OF FUNNEL (AWARENESS)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">Examples: Clarity for Essex and Notts, UK</td></tr>
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At the <i>Top of the Marketing Funnel</i>, our objectives are to create <b>awareness</b> of our location offer and <b>attract</b> online audiences. In the <i>Middle of the Funnel</i>, we're aiming to <b>build relationships</b> with those audiences by <b>helping</b> them with their location research, thereby establishing ourselves as <b>a trusted source of information</b>. To achieve these objectives, our location and sector value propositions can be repackaged as Content Marketing campaigns - addressing key themes such as labour force profile or property solutions in a structured way - for publication and sharing online.<br />
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The whole point of Content Marketing is to focus on high-value, customer-focused content - making it ideal for the projection of value propositions and supporting location data. 'Top of Funnel' content should focus on powerful headline messages, potentially using formats such as infographics or video - high on quality, light on detail. 'Middle of Funnel' content should present information and data in greater depth (e.g. using data visualisations).<br />
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<i>KPIs (analytics) at this stage should focus on 'awareness' and 'engagement' metrics.</i><br />
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<b>2. Using Value Propositions to 'Convert' Investment Leads Online</b><br />
<span style="background-color: orange; color: white; display: inline-block; margin-top: 4px; padding: 8px;">MIDDLE OF FUNNEL (CONSIDERATION)</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i5vR0faCmvM/WHYxKBTbKzI/AAAAAAAAH_c/JVHh_4MtKMUS4X6h7BbB5rR3aF4Hkh23ACLcB/s0/Location%2BData%2BGuide.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i5vR0faCmvM/WHYxKBTbKzI/AAAAAAAAH_c/JVHh_4MtKMUS4X6h7BbB5rR3aF4Hkh23ACLcB/s500-e30/Location%2BData%2BGuide.jpg" /></a></div>
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'Middle of Funnel' Content Marketing nurtures investor and intermediary relationships over time. But our marketing objective must be to <b>move our audience further down the funnel</b>, towards the point of <b>direct contact</b>, as a basis for identifying and landing investment projects. This brings us to the next online application for our value propositions and location data: facilitating <b>Investment Lead Conversion</b>.<br />
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Lead Conversion is all about identifying website visitors by obtaining their contact details. It's the point at which the <b>sales</b> process starts, because once we know who we're dealing with, we can start to understand their specific needs and target our location solutions accordingly (i.e. 'segmentation').<br />
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But, as every marketer knows, website visitors don't give up their contact details easily - a valuable incentive is typically required. And in the world of business location selection, there's no more valuable incentive than high-quality location data - drawn from your value proposition reports.<br />
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<i>KPIs (analytics) at this stage should focus on 'conversion' metrics.</i><br />
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<b>3. Using Value Propositions to Land Inward Investments</b><br />
<span style="background-color: #6aa84f; color: white; display: inline-block; margin-top: 4px; padding: 8px;">BOTTOM OF FUNNEL (DECISION)</span>
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Now, we wouldn't want to give the impression that moving investment leads down the Marketing Funnel is as easy as 1-2-3! To paraphrase those financial services adverts: <i>'leads can go up as well as down'</i>. And once leads have been converted, it's highly likely that further 'lead nurturing' will be required, to build the relationship prior to direct contact (for example with segmented e-mails - another opportunity to draw on your value proposition reports and data).<br />
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But for genuine, identified investment prospects, the right time will come for direct contact, and, in some cases, to submit a tailored Proposal for investment in your location. This is perhaps the most obvious point at which to draw on your value proposition reports and data, combined with research into the specific investor's strategy, needs and business drivers.<br />
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<i>KPIs (analytics) at this stage should focus on 'landed inward investments'!</i><br />
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<b>How's Your Inward Investment Marketing Funnel?</b><br />
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So, your inward investment value propositions and location data can add value throughout your Inward Investment Marketing Funnel, subject, of course, to one essential requirement: <i>you need a functioning Marketing Funnel in the first place!</i><br />
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Your website, and linked online platforms (social media, analytics etc) need to be designed to work as an integrated Marketing Funnel. And your Marketing and Sales (i.e. 'Inward Investment Manager') functions need to work seamlessly in the same way, both online and off line. If they do, the potential exists to drive more value from your marketing investments - value propositions, location data, website, social media and e-mail campaigns - by generating <i>more inward investment leads</i>. Which, of course, is likely to lead to <i>more landed inward investments</i>.<br />
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.<br />
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Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-89071737432928218762016-09-07T11:44:00.006+01:002023-12-11T15:53:30.482+00:00Post-Brexit UK Inward Investment: Key Strategies for Challenging TimesI had an interesting conversation a couple of weeks ago with a contact at a UK marketing data company. Comparing 'post Brexit-vote' notes, it transpired that we'd both seen an increase in enquiries for economic and demographic data from UK organisations seeking to influence business location and site selection - and attract inward investment.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b>We also agreed on the reason why:</b><br />
Following the shock of the referendum vote, investing companies are demanding additional reassurances regarding potential business locations - especially with regard to a labour market that could be disrupted significantly if barriers are raised to immigration from the EU.<br />
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In other words, in these uncertain times, many investing businesses are taking their location evaluations to the next level of scrutiny. And they're expecting marketers to support them - with better location information and data.<br />
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For me, this is just one example of how inward investment marketers can, and must, go the extra mile in response to the Brexit challenge. Starting with a bit more on data, here are a couple more:<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: build your targeted Inward Investment Marketing Strategy</a></i></span></b><br />
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<b>(1) Use location data to add value for investing businesses (and you)</b><br />
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High-quality location data - about your labour market, property solutions, connectivity etc - must now be at the heart of your inward investment marketing. These are just a couple of ways you can use it:<br />
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<li><b>Data sheets and 'white papers'</b> can add value for businesses by providing detailed data and analysis about your location offer (and how it compares with the competition). They can be offered as online downloads (in return for contact details - i.e. to <i>generate leads</i>) or supplied directly, at the 'sales' stage of the process (to aid location evaluations and, hopefully, help to close deals).</li>
<li><b>Data-focused <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/07/why-inward-investment-agencies-need.html" target="_blank">content marketing</a> </b>can attract and engage businesses online, through articles that provide genuine, valuable <i>location insights</i></li>
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<b>(2) </b><b>Start local (then work outwards)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>Now, perhaps more than ever, speculative marketing efforts at far-flung (and high-cost) exhibitions are unlikely to reap rewards. Meanwhile, back at home, foreign-owned local companies will be fighting to make the case for re-investment in UK operations. What's more, and as always, locally based businesses and (e.g.) research organisations can provide access to related companies - in their supply chains or industry networks - for which your location solutions may also be highly relevant. So, start local, with both your marketing and sales activities - to retain the businesses you've got, and to target others for which you're likely to have an attractive location offer.<br />
<i><br /></i><b><span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: build your targeted Inward Investment Marketing Strategy</a></i></span></b><br />
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<b>(3) Start with your <i>Strategy</i> (not your Expenditure!) </b><br />
<b><br /></b>An effective inward investment marketing strategy sets out your distinctive <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/04/inward-investment-value-proposition.html" target="_blank">value proposition</a>, your target audiences, and the means you intend to employ to make then aware of your offer, engage their interest, and land their inward investments. When times are tough, business investment projects are scarce, and (more than likely) marketing budgets are constrained, it's more important than ever to develop a clear, targeted strategy - to ensure maximum returns on your marketing investment.<br />
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<i><b>In other words, don't start spending your money - on brochures, exhibitions, videos, online and the rest - until your strategy's firmly in place!</b></i><br />
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Author:<br />
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Nick Smillie</div>
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Managing Director</div>
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Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.</div>
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Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-40952232683910994812016-06-30T10:57:00.001+01:002023-12-11T15:53:40.996+00:00Brexit: What UK Inward Investment Agencies Should Do Now<b>In the week since the EU referendum result, I've spoken with several UK investment promotion agencies and businesses, and heard the full range of post-Brexit concerns.</b> Extreme economic and political uncertainty is putting business investment plans on hold. Companies are concerned about EU market access, retaining EU national workers (at both the 'knowledge' and lower skilled ends of the scale) and their places in supply chains that cut across EU national borders.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Just a couple of days ago, I was convinced that the post-Brexit settlement would inevitably involve the UK accepting free movement of labour in return for access to the single market - politicians, I thought, would baulk at the economic consequences of pulling out. Yesterday, though, politicians from across the spectrum emphasised the primary importance of controlling immigration - even if that meant UK companies paying tariffs to access the EU market. I, for one, am sceptical that under this scenario barriers to dealing with the EU would be as straightword as small EU duties on imports from the UK.<br />
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<b>So, the only thing we can be certain of right now is uncertainty. Isn't it inevitable, therefore, the UK investment promotion agencies will be plunged into a state of paralysis?</b><br />
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When I thought about this, I was reminded of a related economic crisis, 24 years ago. At lunchtime on 16th September 1992, I found myself in a Derbyshire pub watching the ERM crisis unfold on a TV screen. There was shock as the UK government increased interest rates rapidly from 10% (already high!) to 15% - for some it meant impossible mortgage repayments. Then a lighthearted fatalism set in. 'I'm done for' was the common sentiment. 'But why worry - we're all done for! Get another round in!'<br />
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<b>In the end, the sky didn't fall in after Black Wednesday; it tends not to. With the usual caveats (war, most obviously) worst case scenarios tend not to come about.</b><br />
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For post-Brexit UK, a number of scenarios are possible - conceding on immigration and staying in the single market; restricting immigration and accepting barriers to EU trade. But even if that happens, other features of the UK's business environment are likely to remain advantageous to businesses, or could change in their favour: corporation tax; bureaucracy and regulations; the value of the pound.<br />
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Whatever happens, UK investment promotion agencies will be dealt a hand of cards - some good, some less so - that they will need to turn into distinctive, compelling Inward Investment Value Propositions for businesses. And it's highly unlikely that the hand will be all bad - in the world's fifth largest economy, potentially winning value propositions will still be there.<br />
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Right at this moment, there are several aspects of these value propositions that have big question marks against them - most obviously relating to EU market access. But equally, there are several elements that agencies can develop, refine and back up with the latest data, in readiness for the less uncertain business climate that will inevitably come - their industry clusters, labour force profiles, knowledge bases and property solutions. As always, the answer to a challenging competitive environment is to identify strengths and <i>value</i>, and communicate them to target businesses as effectively as possible.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: learn more about developing and communicating outstanding Inward Investment Value Propositions.</a></i></span></b><br />
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The other priority for inward investment agencies should be to stay close to their incumbent businesses, especially those with overseas ownership. Identify their concerns and potential risks; do everything possible to support local management teams and help them to make the case for retaining and expanding UK operations. Again, high-quality facts and data about your location's advantages are key. But so are creative solutions and local network building, in areas including skills development and planning.<br />
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As is so often the case with companies during tough economic times, many of the consequences of this shock could, ultimately, be positive for UK investment promotion agencies - sharper value propositions, better data, improved sales and marketing practices and stronger relationships with businesses. All of which will reap rewards when the uncertaintly is finally over.<br />
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Author:<br />
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Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.<br />
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicksmillie1" target="_blank">Connect with Nick on LinkedIn</a><br />
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<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-46282395141858306672016-06-21T13:42:00.001+01:002023-12-11T15:54:00.068+00:00Inward Investment: Are Your Region's 'Priority Industry Sectors' Really All Your Priorities?It's standard practice for regional Investment Promotion Agencies to focus on <b>priority industry sectors</b>, and with very good reason. In a highly competitive global market for business investment, locations need to focus on their areas of strength and differentiate their offers, to present credible <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/strategy-development.html" target="_blank">value propositions</a> to investing companies.<br />
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But in the case of many (not all) locations, theory and good intentions are as far as this commitment to targeting and differentiation goes. In practice, far too many locations claim - unconvincingly - to specialise in <i>everything</i>, highlighting multiple 'priority sectors' that look much like <i>everywhere else's</i> (the usual sector categories are familiar to all of us: Creative and Digital Industries, Advanced Manufacturing, Biotechnology etc...).<br />
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So what's the problem here? And what can regional inward investment agencies do to <i>really</i> differentiate themselves and target their marketing messages?</h3>
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Problem 1: Pitching for Everything...</h3>
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The first problem is a tendency to 'play it safe' - to <i>pitch for everything</i> rather than being <i>focused</i>. All the time, regional inward investment teams, and their political masters, are seeing competitor regions secure inward investments across <i>all</i> industry sectors. And to focus on a very limited number of specialist areas is to rule your region out of the race for many of them. That takes nerve, and some explaining when your agency's performance is evaluated at the end of the year.</div>
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But it's <i>the right thing to do</i>, because your region won't win investments anyway where it's proposition is weak, and claiming to be good at everything only diminishes your credibility in areas where you genuinely excel.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: learn more about developing your winning Inward Investment Marketing Strategy.</a></i></span></b><br />
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Problem 2: Trying to Please Everyone...</h3>
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Here's another example of following the path of least resistance. Every region is home to businesses and industry organisations representing a broad range of sectors, and it takes some nerve to suggest, as a matter of policy, that a particular sector is 'not a priority'. But, again, <i>it needs to be done.</i></div>
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To cite a realistic example, a small industrial town may be home to a limited 'creative' sector serving the local market - without the scale, distinctiveness, workforce strengths or lifestyle offer needed to atttract other, highly mobile companies in this sector. Meanwhile, the same location may benefit from the people, land availability and low costs required to attract companies in the manufacturing or logistics sectors. If so, those should be the areas to prioritise.<br />
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Problem 3: Following the Crowd...</h3>
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The third problem is a widespread tendency to conform to standard or popular industry sector categorisations, for example those promoted by the national Investment Promotion Agency (UKTI in the UK).<br />
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Aligning with the national agency might make sense - after all, it may be an important source of investment enquiries. But the fact is that any regional inward investment agency that does marketing, especially online, is in the middle of a complex network of multiple businesses, influencers and intermediaries - not at the end of a rigid, linear pipeline with one source.<br />
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In this context, the right thing to do is to identify areas of strength and promote sectors on the basis of <i>what make most sense to the people and business you're targeting </i>(i.e. <i>talking their language</i>), not to align with any standard classifications or intermediaries, however important they might be.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><i><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: learn more about developing your winning Inward Investment Marketing Strategy.</a></i></span></b><br />
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So what's the lesson from all of this?</h3>
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The lesson is that the same, sound marketing principles apply in Inward Investment Promotion as in any other area of business-to-business marketing. Region's need to identify their distinctive, niche areas of strength and align them with the identified needs of expanding businesses in the same niche areas. Don't be tempted to 'pitch for everything', 'please everyone' or focus on anything other than satisfying the needs of your target audience. To do so will simply lead to 'me too' propositions that fail to stand out from the competiton, get noticed or appeal to businesses that could, realistically, make your location their new home.<br />
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Author:<br />
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Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.<br />
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicksmillie1" target="_blank">Connect with Nick on LinkedIn</a>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-60150706020972239822016-03-09T13:00:00.003+00:002023-12-11T15:55:37.127+00:00Inward Investment Marketing: How Location Brands Can Really Add Value for Investing Businesses <b>Alarm bells always start to ring when I hear inward investment professionals talking the language of <i>brands</i> (usually with reference to their investment promotion agency or location).</b><br />
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It's not that brands aren't important in marketing locations to businesses - they are. It's just that a preoccupation with brands is usually a sign of a misdirected inward investment marketing strategy.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>What's the problem with brands in inward investment marketing?</h3>
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The problem is this. In the world of <b>consumer marketing</b>, brands are promoted <i>to persuade <b>individuals </b>to make buying decisions without researching them first</i> - often by appealing to their emotions rather than their rationality. You see the beautiful people on bicycles, you read the strapline about health benefits, you buy the yogurt. The basic message is this:</div>
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<b>'Don't ask questions, just believe and buy!'</b></div>
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But <b>business-to-business marketing (B2B)</b> is fundamentally different, especially when it comes to major procurement decisions like new locations, sites and properties. Only a negligent executive would consider a new location based on consumer-style brand communications (an advert offering 'the best location for his business', for example). That's why B2B companies are far more focused on selling 'solutions' and tangible 'benefits' to their customers (e.g. reduced 'whole life costs', based on reliable data) than on building their brands in the way consumer marketers do.<br />
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And yet, we still see plenty of consumer-style, brand-focused marketing in the field of inward investment promotion, effectively saying to businesses: 'trust us (just don't ask for the data)'. It hardly needs pointing out that <b>investing businesses don't buy it</b>.<br />
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When your <i>location solutions</i> are your <i>location brand</i>...</h3>
Compare that with the best B2B location marketers, which we often find in the commercial world (e.g. some site developers). Yes, they'll use a professionally developed <b>brand identity</b> (name, logo etc), but solutions for businesses will be front and centre of their marketing campaigns (e.g. how their site can reduce a company's costs and increase its profits). Today, most marketers would agree that your brand is <i>everything your customers believe about you and your product</i> (that's your <b>brand image</b>, not just you brand identity). And if cost-focused businesses <i>believe</i> your location's going to increase their profits by reducing their costs, that's your brand!<br />
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Effective Location Brands: Solutions, Stories and Satisfied Investors...</h3>
So, in the (B2B) world of inward investment marketing, your solutions for expanding businesses have to be at the heart of your marketing activities, and your brand. The good news is that modern <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/interactive-location-maps.html" target="_blank">content marketing strategies</a> make it easier than ever before to project your location solutions to targeted investing businesses, thereby continually developing your brand image as a <i>profitable business location</i>.<br />
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But your location <b>solutions</b> aren't everything, either. Relevant <b>stories</b> about (e.g.) successful business expansions and case studies of <b>satisfied investors</b> all work together to build your brand image (as long as you <i>never</i> forget the fundamental importance of your location solutions!).<br />
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As an <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/about.html" target="_blank">inward investment marketing consultancy</a>, we like to start by identifying a location's solutions for investing businesses (i.e. the <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/strategy-development.html" target="_blank">Inward Investment Value Proposition</a>) before we develop the brand identity. In that way, the brand identity can encapsulate the value proposition, functioning as a 'container' for detailed, valuable location solutions, as well as informative stories and case studies. That really adds value for investing businesses, because the focus is on using the brand to deliver information that <i>helps them</i> - rather than just saying, 'trust me, I'm an inward investment marketer'.<br />
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.<br />
2016Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-45610337721745631702016-02-18T12:54:00.000+00:002017-01-11T12:42:56.315+00:00The Inward Investment Marketing Funnel - Strategies for More Effective Investor Targeting...<b>Today, investment promotion agencies have an unprecedented range of tools and techniques at their disposal to communicate their location advantages to expanding businesses. Online, content formats ranging from video to interactive data visualisations can help them to address the needs of prospective inward investors.</b><br />
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But, as always, a carefully considered strategy is essential; the starting point must be a clear understanding of which formats to use, and which messages to project, where and when.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The Inward Investment Marketing Funnel</span></h3>
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This is where the well-known model of the 'marketing funnel' can help - or our variation of it - the Inward Investment Marketing Funnel. The funnel represents the various stages of the inward investment marketing and sales process, and it can help us to select our content formats, and target our messages more effectively, to businesses at the various stages in their location research and selection exercises.<br />
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It's a funnel (wider at the top than at the bottom) because were trying to attract as many investment prospects as possible, not all of which will become 'landed' inward investments.<br />
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1. Awareness Level Content (Investor 'Attraction')</span></h3>
Marketing activities at the 'top of the funnel' are all about creating <b>awareness</b> of our location amongst businesses that we don't yet know, and <b>attracting</b> them to us.<br />
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At this level, messages must address the 'location choice drivers' of expanding companies but will inevitably be generic (because we don't yet know the specific companies we're talking to). Suitable content formats at this level can include highly optimised website pages (SEO), overview 'blog' articles with attention-grabbing headlines (more SEO), video blogs and slide shows. (Projecting content via social media networks is, of course, essential!).<br />
<br />
<u style="color: #0000ee; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: advanced marketing strategies for inward investment attraction.</a></u><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">2. Consideration Level Content (Investor 'Engagement')</span></h3>
Creating awareness of your location amongst expanding businesses and intermediaries is all well and good, but businesses can't make location decisions based on general, 'awareness level' content.<br />
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At the 'consideration' level, content must be more in depth and <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/11/data-driven-inward-investment-marketing_22.html" target="_blank">data-focused</a> (and <i>always</i> reliable), providing companies with the high-quality material they need to develop location business cases (and to develop trust in you as a potential 'business partner'). Suitable content formats at this level can include <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2015/09/inward-investment-marketing-are-your.html" target="_blank">interactive data visualisations</a>, data sheets, location cost comparisons and interactive location maps.<br />
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With an effective 'inbound marketing' website, high-value 'consideration' content can be offered in return for contact details, as downloads. And when we know who we're dealing with, it becomes possible to target content based on their specific requirements (e.g. via email marketing). <br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">3. Decision Level Content <span style="font-weight: normal;">(Investor 'Conversion')</span></span></h3>
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Towards the bottom of the Inward Investment Marketing Funnel we arrive at the point of direct 'sales' contact (which is far easier when business relationships have been 'nurtured' through high-value content further up the funnel).<br />
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At this level we're in the realms of tailored proposals and location/site solutions in response to known specific business needs. And, of course, dedicated account managment from the Inward Investment Manager, addressing key issues including planning, funding and recruitment.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0000ee; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><u><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: advanced marketing strategies for inward investment attraction.</a></u></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">4. Ongoing Support <span style="font-weight: normal;">(Creating 'Advocates')</span></span></h3>
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Modern iterations of the Marketing Funnel recognise that the 'sales' job isn't over when the business is won (or, in our case, the investment is 'landed'). With consumer goods (say, Apple phones), the objective at this stage is to create brand loyalty, advocacy (<i>'my iPhone 6s is fantastic!'</i>) and repeat business. With inward investors, it's all about understanding and addressing their ongoing concerns (handling of issues like planning can make or break relationships between businesses and local authorities), creating advocates within local management teams (<i>'we've had a great experience - the company should expand here!'</i>) and encouraging 'reinvestment'.<br />
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An important point to note is that, with modern internet marketing, we don't control the customer's journey though the marketing funnel - they do. An effective <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/2016/07/why-inward-investment-agencies-need.html" target="_blank">content marketing strategy</a> will result in lots of 'awareness' and 'consideration' level content about your location being available to investing businesses online. But they are in control of where they enter your Inward Investment Marketing Funnel, and their journey through it.<br />
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The challenge for the inward investment marketer is to provide excellent content that targets businesses at specific stages in the expansion process, and make them <i>want to</i> engage with you - because you've successfully addressed their location selection needs.<br />
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</div>
<br />
<span style="color: #0000ee; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><u><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/#e-book" target="_blank">Download Clarity's E-Book, The Inward Investment Marketing System: advanced marketing strategies for inward investment attraction.</a></u></span><br />
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.<br />
February 2016Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-20598969851622229722016-01-20T16:43:00.001+00:002023-12-11T15:56:09.075+00:00Inward Investment and Economic Development: It's all About Cities Now...Isn't It?Within the last three decades, our cities have gone from being decrepit centres of industrial decline to recognised engines of economic growth. Through their works on clustering, agglomeration and the 'New Economic Geography', academics like Michael Porter and Paul Krugman explained why. According to Bruce Katz,* <i>'Cities are the locus of the forces and assets that power trade: innovative firms, talented workers, supportive public and private institutions, and modern infrastructure.'</i><br />
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And now cities are at the heart of government strategy...</h3>
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In the UK, this re-focusing on cities has been reflected in government strategy. Since 2010, Regions have been 'out' (along with their Regional Development Agencies) and City Regions have been 'in'. In the north of England, the Northern Powerhouse project emphasises improved connectivity between <i>cities</i> to create the agglomeration effects of a much larger <i>city</i> economy. Today, it's cities, cities, cities.<br />
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The loneliness of the (non-city) Inward Investment professional...</h3>
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It's hardly surprising, therefore, that some inward investment professionals outside the cities are feeling a bit left out. In the north of England, representatives of towns and counties that we speak to worry about their locations being overlooked. And what about those high-value, high-technology <i>corridors</i> strung along the motorways of southern England? On the basis of column inches, you could be forgiven for thinking that the UK's high-tech story is <i>all</i> about cities too.<br />
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End of Story.</h3>
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So there you have it. The cities have won the economic development argument. They're destined to drive growth, attract investment and win government support and funding in the process. End of story.<br />
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Except it isn't, is it?</h3>
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No. Because the challenges facing <i>city</i> economic development and inward investment teams are just as frustrating as those facing their 'non-city' counterparts. Yes, their famous city names, leading universities, education infrastructure and large labour forces can be huge assets in attracting the interest of expanding companies. But city locations can then be faced with a host of barriers to actually <i>landing</i> inward investments: limited land supply, high land costs, congested roads and planning departments that prioritise housing over industrial development.<br />
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There are, of course, lots of companies that want, or even need, to be <i>in the city</i> (many, for example, in the creative, financial or professional services sectors). But there are just as many that want to combine access to all that the city has to offer (people, knowledge, services...) with the lower costs and improved connectivity of out-of-city locations. Large-scale industrial operations want big, easily developable, motorway-linked greenfield sites. Logistics businesses want access to freight terminals. High-technology companies may be attracted to (out-of-city) Science and Technology Parks.<br />
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In summary, what these businesses want is to <i><b>Locate in Hinterland</b></i> - where the benefits of <i>city</i> and <i>out-of-city</i> come together.<br />
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End of Story (Version 2).</h3>
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The conclusions to draw from all this should be clear. The agglomeration advantages of cities are proven, and there's a powerful case for featuring high-profile city brands in inward investment marketing campaigns. But metropolitan ('city') economies comprise both the dynamic urban core and lower cost, well-connected 'hinterlands' - city fringes, satellite towns and transport corridors. Both are essential, inter-connected parts of the thriving 'city' economy, providing diverse location solutions for businesses with different needs. And it's only a problem for inward investment and economic development teams - city or 'hinterland' - when this essential inter-connectedness isn't acknowledged and accepted.</div>
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<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.</div>
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*<a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2011/10/20-global-cities-katz" target="_blank">Brookings Institution, 2011</a></div>
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<tr><td><button class="btn-large btn-success">Contact</button></td><td><b>Is Your Location's Inward Investment Value Proposition Up To Date for 2016? Speak to Clarity for Expert Assistance. </b></td></tr>
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</div>Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-90294657926227045662015-11-18T14:32:00.003+00:002023-12-11T15:56:33.903+00:00Why Effective Inward Investment Marketing Must be Driven by Data...<h3 style="text-align: left;">Data and analytics are driving business location decisions...</h3>
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More than ever before, data and business intelligence are driving strategic corporate decision making, as businesses seek to minimise costs and risks and maximise performance and profits. Today, large businesses are utilising sophisticated 'analytics' - information resulting from the systematic analysis of data - to develop their strategies, and the potential to apply analytics in the area of site and location selection is increasingly being recognised. According to a recent <a href="http://www.jll.com/research/116/beyond-data-for-real-estate">report</a> by Jones Lang Lasalle, 'there is a significant opportunity to apply analytics in portfolio and location strategy.' (<i>Beyond Data: the opportunity for analytics in CRE</i>, JLL, Sept 2014).</div>
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But even businesses without access to sophisticated analytics tools want reliable property and location data and intelligence, addressing key site selection criteria such as building rental costs, workforce demographics and transport connectivity. Their analyses may be less in-depth, but the same needs and principles apply.</div>
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...and the internet has empowered investing businesses...</h3>
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The rise of the internet has, of course, made it far easier for businesses to access location and site data from an almost limitless number of sources. And - as with all buyer-seller relationships - it has transformed the relationship between investing businesses and the investment promotion and property agencies that are trying to sell them locations and properties.</div>
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Put simply, it has empowered the businesses - the buyers - because if they don't trust the data the location and site sellers are offering, they'll just find more trustworthy data elsewhere, at the click of a mouse. They'll be gone, along with their inward investment projects.</div>
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The data opportunity for Investment Promotion Agencies</h3>
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But the rise of the internet, and the data it makes available to investing businesses, can present big opportunities for investment promotion agencies too. It's just that the rules of 'selling' have changed completely. The old sales techniques of spinning data to produce the best possible (albeit fake!) numbers simply don't work anymore. But if agencies <i>help</i> businesses by providing the reliable, accessible data they're looking for to make informed location decisions, businesses are more likely to trust them, utilise their data, and shortlist their locations.</div>
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What Investment Promotion Agencies need to do...</h3>
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In practice, this means that investment promotion agencies need to identify the high-quality data that respond directly to the needs of investing businesses, and present them online in formats that make them accessible and useful. These could be <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/interactive-location-maps.html" target="_blank">location data sheets, comparison tables or interactive data visualisations</a>. Then they need to develop a targeted <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/interactive-location-maps.html" target="_blank">content marketing strategy</a>, to <i>project</i> their data to expanding businesses and intermediaries online in a structured way.<br />
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And if investment promotion agencies find that the <i>genuine</i> data suggests businesses would be better off investing elsewhere, it means reviewing their <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/strategy-development.html" target="_blank">priority industry sectors</a> and their <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/strategy-development.html" target="_blank">location value propositions</a>. Because, one thing's for sure, every location has the potential to present a powerful inward investment proposition to businesses without faking the data. It just requires communicating the right <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/strategy-development.html" target="_blank">location solutions</a> to the right types of companies.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/contact.html">Contact Clarity to Discuss Your Data-Driven Inward Investment Content Marketing Strategy</a></b></div>
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<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity Business Strategies Ltd.<br />
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<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6080615734359780251.post-60252182488774994712015-11-03T12:50:00.001+00:002023-12-11T15:57:04.329+00:00Inward Investment Managers: the Benefits of Blogging - for Your Location, Your Agency, and YOU<b>In recent months, it's been really good to see more Inward Investment Managers producing original blog posts - about their locations, and the advantages they offer to businesses. So, we thought it would be timely to highlight how 'Inward Investment Blogging' can deliver<i> real value</i> for locations and the inward investment agencies that promote them. </b><br />
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<b>But there's something else besides: blogging offers <i>real benefits</i> for Inward Investment Managers as individual professionals, and we'll explain why.</b><br />
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Why Blogging's Good for Your Location, and Your Investment Promotion Agency...</h3>
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Lots of us know by now that blogging can be good for business - including the business of inward investment attraction. Done correctly (notably by <i>informing, not 'selling</i>') it can project your location's <i>solutions</i> for expanding businesses, establish you and your agency as trusted sources of knowledge and expertise, and boost your location's online profile massively. Search engines reward regular content publishers with higher search rankings; business social media thrives on high-quality, original, informative content.</div>
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In summary, blogging can be a highly effective, and cost-effective, means of attracting and engaging more expanding businesses online, as a basis for<i> landing more inward investments.</i><br />
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The Value of <i>Strategic</i> 'Content Marketing'...</h3>
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For the best results attracting investing businesses online, Investment Promotion Agencies really need an over-arching <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/interactive-location-maps.html" target="_blank">Content Marketing Strategy</a> - a structured approach to creating, publishing and sharing 'blog' content that's valuable and relevant to businesses searching for their optimal locations. The strategy should include a publishing and distribution plan, and utilise <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/interactive-location-maps.html" target="_blank">multiple 'content formats' (e.g. video, text, data visualisations or infographics)</a> that target businesses at different stages in the location evaluation process.<br />
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...the Value of <i>Improvised</i> Inward Investment Manager's Blogs... </h3>
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But an Inward Investment Manager's personal blogs can be hugely valuable additions to an Investment Promotion Agency's strategic <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/interactive-location-maps.html" target="_blank">Content Marketing</a> campaign. They can be bang up to date (for example, highlighting new data demonstrating specific advantages of your location). And they can demonstrate the Inward Investment Manager's personal knowledge of, and passion for, their location - establishing them as the go-to person for the<i> <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/strategy-development.html" target="_blank">location solutions</a></i> businesses are searching for.<br />
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...and Why Blogging Is Good for You - the Inward Investment Manager...</h3>
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But there's something else that happens when an Inward Investment Manager writes a high-quality blog post (as some are now doing). To write a post that you can publish with confidence, you need to research your subject and analyse information and data - inevitably developing your 'product knowledge' - of your location, your priority industry sectors, or the international business environment - in the process.</div>
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Blogging is, as such, an incredibly effective way of staying on top of your game, continually updating your professional knowledge, and building your <i>value</i> as an inward investment and economic development professional. It offers the potential to establish <i>you</i> as an expert in your field, with all the potential that implies for your career development.</div>
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So, thanks to all the Inward Investment Bloggers out there for their research, insights and high-quality posts. And to those who haven't yet published: why not have a go? You may be surprised just how much blogging can benefit your location, your Investment Promotion Agency, and you...</div>
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<b>Work with Clarity to develop your winning <a href="http://www.clarity-strategies.com/p/interactive-location-maps.html">Inward Investment Content Marketing Strategy </a></b>
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Author:<br />
Nick Smillie<br />
MD, Clarity-Inward Investment Marketing<br />
<br />Nick Smilliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03561983827018033822noreply@blogger.com