Our Site Selection Journey: Website Information, But Not Always Substance

We revealed in part I of our own site selection journey that perceptions drove the formation of our short list of locations for C Studios, and in part II wrote about how we were surprised IPAs didn’t show up more in search results. Nevertheless, because we’re in this industry, we still found our way to many investment promotion websites during our research journey. While some were right on, many lacked the type of information we could’ve used to make a more informed decision.

How Good Is Your Story?

Storytelling is part science, part art in our industry. We know there are topics that business executives are interested in knowing about based on our report Winning Strategies in Investment Promotion Marketing. But so much of what is on investment promotion websites is outdated or too broad to be useful.

A recent executive told us if an investment promotion agency can’t provide the pinpoint data he’s seeking (most notably detailed information on job skills for talent in the region), he’s numb to the rest of the pitch.

One challenge we find is that many websites are produced by external marketing firms with little industry expertise, so the messaging comes across as if the IPA is the only IPA in the world. As we all know, there are hundreds (thousands?) and they start to say the same thing, in part because it’s hard to grasp the specificity and nuances of this subject matter for someone that doesn’t have the expertise.

Taking the time to craft a strong value proposition and then highlight it through good data, relevant facts that reflect a company’s needs during the exploration process and quality success stories is crucial to providing the right information.

Withhold Information At Your Peril

A common concern we hear from investment promotion agencies is that they don’t want to share too much information because companies will make their own decisions and never reach out. To be candid, our team always cringes when we hear this.  

The first reason is because we have had companies tell us directly that, in this case when they can’t find the information they need, they are likely to move on and eliminate the location from consideration. This is where an over-commitment to marketing attribution leads to attrition.  

Second, as we noted in part I of our series about the importance of brand marketing, if people are coming to your website with pre-conceived notions about your city or country, this is your chance to either change or reinforce your value proposition in a deep, meaningful (and data-driven) way. Otherwise, if they end up leaving without that information, their perceptions will only be reinforced.

Lastly, most marketing experts today will tell you the best way to increase your credibility is to give away information for free. This connects your customers with the information they need, so they will learn to trust you and want to connect with you directly. Does it always work? No, but you’re more likely to drive a larger number of interested prospects away by withholding information than you are by giving it away.

In the end, if you are losing people after giving away your information, there are two reasons – the product is bad (which is more than a marketing problem) or the messaging isn’t right.

Read the final part of the series on making the final decision.