You’ve made it to the final stretch of the marketing funnel. Site selectors and prospects are interested in and considering your community. You’ve driven awareness and interest; created a strong, recognizable brand; and put that brand out there to your audience through a range of strategic marketing efforts. This has helped you find your qualified leads and build a relationship with them: you’ve answered their questions, made a strong case for your community, and provided solutions to their pain points —and those efforts have paid off.
Now, in the last stages of their buyer’s journey, they are taking a discerning look at your community to determine if your community will help them succeed. Here are a few tools and strategies you can use to show them that you are the right choice and effectively convert them from prospects into buyers.
Create Engaging, Comprehensive Presentations & Pitch Decks
Presentations and pitch decks are essential for any economic development organization looking to attract new businesses. Not only do they tell potential customers your unique story, but they also provide a quick, easy way for them to get to know your community’s offerings. Make sure your presentation or pitch deck is engaging, comprehensive, and visually appealing so that prospects can quickly get up-to-speed on who you are, what your team does, and why they should work with you.
Dive Deep Into Your Data
Data is key when it comes to convincing prospects that they should consider locating in your community. Make sure that you are diving deep into relevant data points such as available sites, population demographics, local businesses, workforce availability, wages, and more, so you have metrics available – tailored to their needs – when meeting with prospects. This will give site selectors a clear picture of what they could expect if they choose to lease or purchase in your community.
Connect With Site Selectors & Provide Personalized Tours
When it comes time for site selectors to visit your community for a more thorough evaluation of potential sites for their business operations, it’s time to pull out all the stops. Schedule personalized tours for site selectors so they can visit available properties and provide them with concierge service with a list of nearby amenities that might be necessary for their operations, such as hotels and restaurants. This will provide them with a smooth, successful visit to your community and help them make an informed decision about whether they want to move forward with locating in your area.
Follow Up Individually & Schedule Face-to-Face Meetings
Once you have connected with prospective businesses and site selectors, whether online or in person, it’s important to personally follow up. Schedule face-to-face meetings whenever possible, as this allows both parties to build stronger connections and avoid miscommunications. Calling interested prospects can help you gain conversions and renew interest in your community. It’s also a great opportunity to get in touch with any prospect that has moved onto another location after initial contact was made yet still maintains interest in your community.
Staying in the forefront of your prospects’ minds is key in this stage. Creating a range of tools to equip your buyers with the information they need to simplify their buying process and help them make their final purchase decisions requires a large investment of time and resources for your EDO, but the impacts can be tremendous in giving you the edge over your competition.
Do you need some help smoothing out the final touches of your strategy? Or would you like to revamp your communications materials? EDSuite provides a full range of marketing services including pitch-deck design and strategy consultation to help you refine your offerings and win new businesses.