Ed Sol Medc 06 04 09

Marketing Place Through Technology By Mark J James, CEcD ED Solutions, Inc. mark.james@solutionsED.com 1

Learning Objectives • Precepts • Web-Based Marketing • Marketing Strategy 101 – Define • ED Websites – Develop – Communication – Execute – SEO • Targeted Marketing – Social Media • The Brand • If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it • Examples © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2

Precepts • Now is the time to plan • Think about local marketing- e.g., are you confident your existing businesses know about your services? • There is a lot of pent up demand for projects. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 4

Precepts • Regionalism continues to be a beautiful thing! • And lastly… Web 2.0 has changed the game, probably forever. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 5

Marketing Strategy 101 • What are my communication objectives? • Who is my target audience(s)? • What are my distribution channels? • How does this particular project relate to other campaign materials and applications? Is it consistent? • What is my timeline? • How will I establish my budget? © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 6

The Prospect Funnel What’s your conversion rate? © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 7

Audiences • Internal- • External – Board members – Biz targets – Stakeholders – Media – Investors – Site selection – Elected officials consultants – Existing Businesses Two different campaigns? More? © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 8

Some IEDC Award Winners © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 9

Fairfax County EDA Ad Campaign © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 10

Broad ‘horizontal’ Marketing Best left to states, large metros © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 15

Opinion! Unless you have a huge budget… All of these are best done for targets © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 16

Benefits of Selecting Target Markets • Maximizes the effectiveness of local economic development resources (money, time, professionals) by focusing on smaller, compatible economic segments • Results in the identification of productive target and the recruitment of economic sectors that have maximum positive impact on the local economy © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 17

The Origins of Targeted Marketing • The Struggle to Meet Demand Era – Agriculture • The Mass Production Era – Ford • The Mass Market Era – Procter & Gamble • The Target Market Era – Cable TV • The Death of the Focus Group- Web 2.0 © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 18

Market Segmentation and Industry Studies • Considerations in Selecting Target Markets – Existing Economic Base – Regional Targets – Available Local Resources – Workforce/Labor Market Capacity & Capabilities • Understanding the Dynamics of Market Segments – The Importance of Labor Market Analysis – Critical Information Requirements – Sources of Industry-Specific Information • Strategies for Target Marketing – Identifying Key Messages – Determining Channels for Communication • Planning Target Marketing Materials © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 19

Considerations for Selecting Target Markets Existing Economic Base: Types of Existing Businesses & Industries • Economic Clusters • Existing • Potential • Support Services • Suppliers • Sub-Contractors © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 20

Considerations for Selecting Target Markets Available Local Resource: Funding • For recruitment • For financial projects • Location • Proximity to markets • Proximity to suppliers/materials • Infrastructure • Land • Utilities • Communications networks © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 21

Considerations for Selecting Target Markets Available Local Resource: • Environment • Solid Waste • Air Quality • Water • Distributor Networks • Transportation Alternatives • Knowledge & Innovation Resources • Research centers • Colleges & Universities • Technical Centers © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 22

Potential Impacts of Targeted Marketing • Job Creation • Number of jobs • Types of jobs • Indirect/support jobs • Wages & Benefits • Comparison to local averages • Compatibility with Existing Industries • Does not create direct competition for existing businesses • Utilizes products or services of existing businesses © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 23

Once you have a target market- whatdayado? • Three main (traditional) vehicles- – Advertising – Direct mail – Personal Contact All these are Outbound… © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 24

Target Materials on Web • Research Sources- www.manta.com www.Hoovers.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 25

Fee Based Internet Resources • http://www.hoovers.com - excellent source of company information. • http://www.insitepro2.com – source of company lists searchable by events • www.onesource.com – broad multiple sources of news and company information • www.Nexis.com/ - news sources for events © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 26

Internet Resources (cont.) • http://www.insite2pro.gale.com - premium content from trade publications, industry newsletters, current news, analyst reports. • http://www.onesource.com - comprehensive company and industry information. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 27

A discussion we need to have Push Pull Connect Podcasts RSS Facebook Email I-Tunes LinkedIn Websites Forums Blogs Direct mail You Tube © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 28

Effective Targeted Marketing Via Web • It is not what you want, it is what they need to know. • Desirability vs. Feasibility • Communicate a differentiated advantage • Really think through the materials © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 31

MD and CRP Targeted marketing www.choosemaryland.com www.CharlotteUSA.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 32

Idea: Direct Email www.exacttarget.com www.constantcontact.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 33

Massecon newsletter © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 34

Place Branding Is it possible? Is it desirable? Is it expensive? George Allen- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4143/is_200704/ai_n19432350/ © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 35

www.treoaz.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 36

Idea: Conduct Prospect Tours Online! https://www1.gotomeeting.com/en_US/pre/quickTour.tmpl © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 38

Blount IDB Webinar Target SSC's 30 minutes Content around Pellissippi Place Lunch © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 39

Other Cool Tools…DL YouTube http://www.wideanglesoftware.com/quivic/ © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 40

Other Cool Tools…jazz emails http://www.goldmail.com/ © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 41

Other Cool Tools…Social Networking © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 http://twitter.com 42

How else do we communicate/collaborate? • Wiki’s • Blogs • RSS © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 43

Viral Marketing Wikipedia= The buzzwords viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self- replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet[1]. Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or even text messages. The basic form of viral marketing is not infinitely sustainable. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 44

• Blogger • “If there’s important news I need to hear, it’ll find me” • No more control of message, of media, etc. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 45

Do a Blog • www.Technorati.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 46

Add Your Organization to Google Maps © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 47

Try one yourself… © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 48

Google Mash-ups http://www.gaiagi.com/3d-driving-simulator/index.html © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 49

Self Directed • Finalist Dennis Donovan- ED organizations are (nearly) only involved In the Last 20% of a project © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 50

What do the Site selectors Use? (many thanks to Dennis Donovan- http://www.wadley-donovan.com) • Demographics- – Appliedgeographic.com – Anysite.com – Claritas • Employment- – County Business Patterns (Census) – Compusearch (http://www.polk.ca.com) – Info USA © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 51

What do the Site selectors Use? (many thanks to Dennis Donovan- http://www.wadley-donovan.com) • Salaries by occupation – ERI- http://wwwerieri.com – Salary.com – Salarysource.com – Wageweb.com • Taxes – State Taxes • Cch.com • Taxadmin.org – Local • Vertexinc.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 52

What do the Site selectors Use? (many thanks to Dennis Donovan- http://www.wadley-donovan.com) • Quality of Life – Citysearch.com – Coldwellbanker.com – Milkeninstitute.com – Places Rated Almanac (mcp.com) • Sites and Buildings – Loopnet.com – Costargroup.com – Utilities, larger ED organizations © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 53

What do the Site selectors Use? (many thanks to Dennis Donovan- http://www.wadley-donovan.com) • Quality of Life – Citysearch.com – Coldwellbanker.com – Milkeninstitute.com – Places Rated Almanac (mcp.com) • Sites and Buildings – Loopnet.com – Costargroup.com – Utilities, larger ED organizations © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 54

Should all our information be placed on our web sites? © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 55

How site selectors rate the importance of various media Top 2 Box (Very and Somewhat Communications Vehicle Important) Existing relationships with economic development officials 85.92% Internet 85.92% Site visits (familiarization tours) 85.92% Past experience with other deals 81.69% Existing relationships with the real estate community 59.15% Word of mouth from your peers 54.93% Calls from local officials 46.48% National conferences 39.44% © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 Source: Ccintellect survey 2008 56

Consultant Led Vs. Company Led Location Projects •Should recognize the difference in how they work •Direct Mail generally works better for the end user Consultant Led •Solid internet content for the SSC Company Led •Customized content for both © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 Source: Conway Data Scoreboard 57

Idea: Do Some Primary Research • Online Survey- – Survey Monkey – Zoomerang – I-op • Ask the Audience- What else do they want to see? • Existing businesses as source for leads © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 58

Mantra…. Web sites are about COMMUNICATION, not marketing © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 60

Some Recent Research Chabin Concepts & Austin Consulting http://www.chabinconcepts.com/ © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 61

Findings • Users Scan not Read • Top 4 frustrations – Out of date content – Lack of Contact Info. – Incomplete Information – Navigational issue • Web site was preferred method of contact even in late stage except for project- specific tax incentive details © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 62

Findings • Users Scan not Read • 80% said they were • Top 4 frustrations somewhat or very – Out of date content likely to use an incentives calculator. – Lack of Contact Info. • Less than a third found property listings – Incomplete “complete” or “up-to- Information date.” – Navigational issue • 70% had viewed a website from a handheld device © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 63

Findings Web site was preferred method of contact even in late stage except for project-specific tax incentive details © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 64

Home Page • Must communicate- www.NashvilleAreaInfo.com – Geography – Purpose of site/audience served – Drive to contact © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 65

Geography sells! m ily e fa e ar W Regionalism Team New England British Midlands NE Indiana © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 66

DevelopmentResults.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 67

What pages do they actually use? Q2 2008 1. About Us (about the organization) 2. Programs (that the organization offers) 3. Data Center or Facts and Figures (lots of info and data on the region) 4. News 5. Relocate and Expand (a pitch to move people and companies to the region) 6. Find Property 7. Site Selection Services 8. Workforce data and Information (within data center) 9. Database of Companies or Largest Employers 10. Maps of the Area © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 Source: Development Results, 2008 68

What data do they actually take with them? Q2 2008 1. Economic Profile/ Area Overview 2. List of Largest Employers 3. Overview of the ED Organization 4. Property Listings/Info 5. Maps 6. Detailed Demographics 7. Incentives 8. Regional Rankings 9. Organization’s Strategic Plan 10. Costs of Living/Costs of Housing Source: Development Results, 2008 © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 69

How do they actually communicate with us online? Q2 2008 1. They search for information on Google, or through proprietary databases 2. They take information with them anonymously 3. One percent of visits yield a search for our phone number 4. .001 yield a form submission Source: Development Results, 2008 © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 70

What is the profession up to? • In terms of marketing: – Reliance on states – More training on the issues impacting success – Really trying to drive personal contact © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 71

OK, so how are ED web sites found? • Geography • Keywords?? • Direct Navigation to the URL • Reputation © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 72

Just some of the innovative stuff happening out there… BlountIndustry.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 74

Top 10 Search Phrases for ED 1. Your organizational name 2. Your city/region name “economic development” 3. Incentive type offered in your region (depends on community) 4. Resident company name (i.e. Boeing) 5. Region name (if different from city) 6. Organizational url (without .com/.net.org) 7. Campaign name (initiative or fundraising) 8. City/region name “maps” 9. City/region name “counties” 10. City/region name “industries” Source: Development Results, LLC © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 75

Search Engine Optimization • SEO versus SEM • Tactics for SEO and SEM • SEO on-page – easiest to affect – Title Tags – Meta data (description, keywords) – H1 tags, Alt tags – Content = KING (keyword density) © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 76

Search Engine Optimization • SEO off page – takes longer, but more long term results – Age of Domain, – Inbound links, – Directory submissions – Social Bookmarking – Press releases – Blog © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 77

Search Engine Optimization • Submit to Google and Yahoo! – https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit – http://www.google.com/webmasters/tour/tour1 .html • Submit DMOZ and Yahoo! directory © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 78

Social Media • All the buzz about social media! What tool(s) is right for you and your organization? – Facebook – Twitter – Community Building - Ning – LinkedIn – YouTube © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 79

Social Media • www.facebook.com • About • Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. • Why • Facebook is made up of many networks, each based around a company, region, or school. Join the networks that reflect your real-life communities to learn more about the people who work, live, or study around you. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 80

Social Media • www.twitter.com • About • Twitter is a community of friends and strangers from around the world sending updates about moments in their lives in 140 characters or less. • Why • You can connect with your customers, follow your competitors and find out what others are saying about you. Bloggers can use it as a mini-blogging tool to promote full posts. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 81

Social Media • www.ning.com • About • Ning is a hosting service and a set of tools that let any individual or organization create its own social network • Ning powers over 46,000 social networks and counting • Why • Diversity of social networks • Personalize network by adding videos or a photo gallery • Standard tools of social networking: discussion forums, blogs, and lists of \"popular members\" © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 82

Social Media • www.linkedin.com • About • LinkedIn is an online network of more than 10 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 130 industries • Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 83

Social Media • Why LinkedIn • Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners • Through your network you can – Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended – Be found for business opportunities – Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals – Post and distribute job listings – Find high-quality passive candidates – Get introduced to other professionals through the people you know © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 84

Social Media • www.youtube.com • About • YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. • YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email. © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 2009 © ED Solutions, Inc. 85

PDF to Flash • Turns presentations into ‘web sites’ • Flash becoming more ubiquitous • Can record audio on it for guided tour • Have free version © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 86

Create a group… • Business Retention • ED Allies • Manufacturer’s Council • YP’s • Board/investors • ED network © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 91

RSS-Really Simple Syndication http://www.whatisrss.com http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/feeddemon © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 94

And These… • http://www.copyblogger.com/grow- business-twitter/ • http://123socialmedia.com/business-blog/ • http://www.scribd.com/doc/3283966/The- Essential-Guide-to-Social- Media#document_metadata • http://www.scribd.com/doc/3483043/So cial-Media-A-Simple-Visual-Story © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 97

Evaluate your Site • Functionality • Performance • Navigation • Content • Interactivity • Ease of Use © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 98

www.netmechanic.com & Check your site www.Hubspot.com How’s it rank? www.trafficzap.com How many linked www.altavista.com to you? SEO www.searchenginewatch.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 99

Success Can be measured in terms of- • Contacts • Locations • Saved data • Links • Downloaded reports • Testimonials • Repeat visits • “atta boys” • Not showing up on www.webpagesthatsuck.com © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 100

Most important Formula for Success • Do the research to prove the ‘WHY’ • Develop multiple vehicles • Design with the audience in mind • Optimize, customize, advertise © ED Solutions, Inc. 2009 101

Ed Sol Medc 06 04 09

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