Community Systems CEO Ben Wright and Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission Director of Business Intelligence Neil Hamilton discuss how "How Economic Development Pros Use Data to Compete."

1. 1
Smarter Software for Communities
June 4, 2014
HOW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROS
ARE LEVERAGING COMMUNITY DATA
TO COMPETE FOR PROSPECTS

2. 2
Your hosts
Ben Wright
CEO,
Community Systems
Atlas Advertising
benw@communitysys.com
www.twitter.com/communitysys
Neil Hamilton
Director of Business Intelligence
Metro Orlando Economic
Development Commission
Neil.Hamilton@OrlandoEDC.com
Guillermo Mazier
Business Development,
Community Systems
guillermom@atlas-advertising.com
www.twitter.com/atlasad

3. 3
Atlas Advertising’s Software Development Group is
Now Community Systems

4. 4
Our mission: To power
intelligent location decisions.

5. 5
By powering the world’s best economic development
websites, GIS, and prospect response systems.

6. 6
Community Systems’ Atlas One Software Suite

7. 7
Community Systems serves over 4,000 communities in 43 states
Who we work with:

8. 8
This includes:

9. 9
Data, technology, and agency
partners this requires:

10. 10
• Continue the Conversation:
– Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CommunitySys
• View and share the video with your colleagues: http://communitysys.com/News-
Media/Webinars-(1).aspx
Download the slides, listen to the
video, continue the dialogue

11. 11
Get a free comprehensive assessment from Community Systems. This
assessment will include:
• If you currently have a GIS System, we will:
– Review of your current GIS system relative to the benchmarks presented in this
webinar
– Provide suggestions to improve performance and overall system value
• If you don’t currently have a GIS system, we will:
– Review your website relative to content and features site selectors commonly
use
– Recommend ways to improve your website using various elements of GIS
technology.
To receive an assessment, please chat “Assessment Please” into your chat
window at any time in the presentation. We will follow up with you after the
presentation.
Offer to webinar attendees:

12. 12
1. What are the different ways prospects consume information online?
2. What can we learn from Community System’s network of ED websites about the
information prospects consume?
3. Who is Neil Hamilton, and why does he sound like a young Sean Connery?
4. How does Neil spend his time each day?
5. What does he produce in house?
6. What is Neil’s role in online publishing?
7. What tools for publishing and presenting data does Neil use?
8. How can using Community Systems software help your team publish the data that
prospects need faster and more easily?
Questions we will answer:

13. 13
What is the single most valuable piece of information your
organization produces for prospects?
(Enter answers in chat window)
Question

14. 14
How do you know it is valuable?
(Enter answers in chat window)
Question

15. 15
Question
(Enter answers in chat window)
And how do you distribute it?

16. 16
1. Based in Chicago, IL
2. Former economic developer
3. Specializes in renewable energy and data centers
Midwest Practice Leader – Biggins, Lacy and Shapiro
What One Site Selector Needs:
Tracy Hyatt Bosman

17. 17
What We Need
• Contact information
• Incentive programs
• Tax rates
• Recent announcements
• Industry-targeted info
• Map of your territory
• Largest employers
• Area colleges and universities
What We Don’t
• General labor statistics
• Secondary source wage information
• Real estate listings
• Rankings
• Distance to other major cities
Most valuable sources of information,
according to site selectors

18. 18
Introducing the traffic on the
Community Systems Network of Websites
2 million user sessions

19. 19
Basic usage data for
Economic development websites

20. 20
Most consumed content on our websites this
week, longest engagement on content this
week
Most used pages
this week
1. Find Properties
2. Find Companies
3. About Us
4. Contact Us
5. News
6. Relocate and
Expand
7. Data and
Information
8. Maps of the Area
Longest engagement
this week
1. Data downloads
(Workforce,
demographics)
2. Report builder/My
favorites
3. Property search/
Property details
4. Live and work

21. 21
• Director of Business Intelligence, Metro Orlando EDC
• Graduate and undergraduate degrees in economics
• 8 years in economic development; 2-year detour into
commercial real estate
• Specializes in impact analysis, regional economics
About Neil Hamilton

22. 22
1. What’s changing
• The rise of the site – location-specific vs. community research
• The impact of technology – time, quality and capabilities
2. What’s not changing
• Local knowledge > remote research
• Opportunity to be a value center and organizational differentiator
Trends in the research job
at Metro Orlando EDC

23. 23
1. Predicting the future (1/3)
2. Reacting to the present (1/3)
3. Narrating and presenting the recent past (1/3 and growing)
How I spend my time each day

24. 24
1. High Value-Add Content
• Major Employers
• Market Activity
2. Custom, Targeted Industry Content
• Talent Pipelines
• Cost Simulations / Comparisons
• GIS Mapping
3. Economic Analysis
What data I produce myself

25. 25
What data I outsource

26. 26
1. Website
2. Email
3. Events
4. Social Media
How I publish data to the market

27. 27
1. Why?
• External reputation among site selectors
• Internal positioning in local community
2. How?
• Identify, fill a void
• Differentiate, be credible, be GOOD
• Push it out – every channel available
Building a research BRAND

28. 28
What recommendations do you have for what how
other research teams should use their website?
Question
(Enter answers in chat window)

29. 29
Community Systems makes a difference powering the
world’s best economic development websites, GIS,
and prospect response systems

30. 30
Community Systems’ Atlas One software suite
enables EDO’s to publish more information in less
time, and all in one system.

31. 31
“We chose to work with Community Systems
for a variety of reasons. First, they are the
most innovative GIS company in the
economic development space and they were
willing to customize their technology to best
meet our needs and those of our regional
partners. Second, they flat out won a
competitive selection process over our
vendor of 10 years and other vendors due to
their ability to understand our goals and
provide the technology and the framework to
not only meet, but exceed them. Third, their
customer service is miles ahead of anything
that we have ever experienced. In fact, we are
flying out to Denver this month for a product
visioning session to see how we can make our
tool even better.”
-Heidi Smith, General Manager of
Global Business for The
Tennessee Valley Authority
What our customers say about us:
Innovation. Customization. Service.
Results.

32. 32
Q+A

33. 33
Schedule an online demo today
Would you like to experience the Community Systems Difference?
• Generate Superior Engagement: Community Systems websites
receive more than twice the visits of average community websites, and
our customers generate 42% more conversations than average EDO’s.
• Single System Means Time Savings: Community Systems provides
only integrated solution for all content types (web pages, property
records, downloadable files, and prospect records) that are needed for
real relationships, all in one system.
• National Reach: More than 2 million page views on 200+ websites,
more than 10,000 registered users, in 4,000 communities in 43 states.
• The Largest Staff and Most Partners: 25 staff, 36 data and
technology partners, and a platform that enables local agencies and our
customers to innovate faster and farther.
(Enter “demo” in chat window)

34. 34
1128 Grant Street
Denver, CO 80203
Contact: Ben Wright
t: 720.420.3800 x 210
benw@communitysys.com
www.Communitysys.com
Contact: Neil Hamilton
Neil.Hamilton@OrlandoEDC.com
www.OrlandoEDC.com
Thank you and stay in touch!
Smarter Software for Communities