False

There was a time when economic developers actually believed this, but the jury has come in and there is no question that effective economic developers must have exceptional web sites.

"Our research has shown that 80% of the initial site selection process is now being done on the internet. Therefore, allocating significant resources to your economic development website is essential in today's competitive marketplace. This dramatic shift has lead to a significantly compressed site selection process." - David T. Ginn, President & CEO, Charleston Regional Development Alliance

"If your [economic development] web-site isn't easy to find, easy to navigate, full of current facts and figures, strong on case histories and comparable data, you might as well go into some other form of business" - Ted M. Levine, Founder and Chairman of Development Counsellors International, in The IEDC Economic Development Journal

True

A growing and consistent trend is that site selection consultants and corporate real estate professionals are going to the Internet as their first source of site selection analysis. Businesses that do not provide comprehensive, dynamic and updated information risk being eliminated from consideration. This screening phase often does not include a call to an economic development professional, so if you want to survive the screening process and get to the second phase where you do get a call you must have your information and data on your web site.

"With the growth of the Internet as a site selection tool, today’s prospects often conduct the early stages of a search without contacting the communities they are considering. While that makes the process more efficient for both site seekers and economic development organizations, it also means that communities with lower-quality web offerings may be missing opportunities without even realizing it."
- Steve Stackhouse, Area Development

"We see an increasing reliance by companies and consultants to do the initial gathering of a wide range of communities and regions early in the process. Rather than having contact with ED professionals, companies and consultants are gathering this information exclusively from Web sites and databases available on [third-party] Web sites."
- Mark Waterhouse, CEcD, president of Garnet Consulting Services Inc.

"Companies will create a shortlist of potential sites using information obtained from the Internet. On the other hand, companies won't even consider a site if the information is not there."
- Kate McEnroe, president of Kate McEnroe Consulting

False

A letter, phone call, advertisement, fax, radio, television and web page are ALL means of communication. Each one has its own benefits. Sometimes, people are resistant to new means of communication and do not even think it is communication at all. For example:

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." - Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

The Web is the radio and phone of today. In fact, it already has the capability to be a phone, radio, fax, television and other means of communication. We do not recommend that you choose the Web over all of your other means of communication, but that you supplement your other marketing tools with a great Web Site.

As for your personal ability to attract businesses based on your special ability to make a pitch - keep doing it. Your personal touch combined with quality information will help businesses decide whether they can succeed in your city.

False

While it is true that an important part of getting a business to consider your community is by not being eliminated, businesses may go through a number of different levels of analysis before they talk to anyone about locating in your city. Because so much of the business relocation and expansion research begins on the Internet, not providing the immediate information the company needs can get you eliminated. Businesses have limited time and it will take them more time to get the information directly from you. And you are not going to stay on the list by not-providing the information they need. You can personalize the information on your web site.

"Some of you [Economic Development professionals] think 'I should hold back the information [on the web site] so they will come talk to me.' That would be a mistake because that can get you eliminated."
- Dean F. Whittaker, President, Whittaker Associates. CALED 2001 Annual Conference

"If they can't find good information on your web site - forget about it - you're eliminated. You have to have a stand-alone web site and not hide information hoping they [site selectors] will call you because they don't have the time."
- Dennis Donovan, Senior Managing Partner of The Wadley-Donovan Group, Ltd. at the UEDA Summer Forum 2001, August 3, 2001

False

The Internet is a starting place for businesses to begin to understand your community and identify potential locations for their new business. As Internet commercial real estate expert Dennis DeAndre says, "Real estate deals don't get done on the Internet, but they can get started." Economic Developers (and real estate owners/brokers) are needed to help close the deals with the specific information and knowledge they have. Remember the Internet is a tool for economic development, just like a computer, phone or brochure. The Internet is NOT an economic developer.

The web has been around for years now and we still have economic developers. If it was going to put the economic development profession out of business it would have happened already. This myth is absurd.

True

Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping analysis has emerged as perhaps the most important economic development website technology for business attraction and site selection. Although at one time this technology was only available to and used by Fortune 500 companies and national site selection consultants it is now an industry standard for economic development web sites targeting expanding and relocating businesses. Site selection is more sophisticated than just having available land to develop or commercial property. GIS is more than a searchable database of properties. It allows for site selection analysis of the influential elements of location decisions such as demographics, market analysis, workforce quality, and business clustering.

"Communities that develop their [economic development website] experience with GIS will be ahead of the game."
- Ed Morrison, Founder of EDPro News

"EDAs have engaged in revolutionary initiatives to augment the quality of information, such as the hosting of real-time, online databases derived from a GIS mapping of current real estate inventories. "
- Howard R. Silverman President & CEO, CAI Corporate Affairs International

"Our Internet GIS Web site has revolutionized the way we do business. Staff can more effectively respond to site search requests and develop custom reports with the click of the mouse."
- Cathy Wahlstrom, City of Rancho Cucamonga INside Rancho Project Manager

False

Site selection magazine advertising is becoming less influential to site selection consultants and is often ignored. A Development Counsellors International 2002 survey of site selection practitioners indicated that advertising was only the second lowest effective technique of marketing to site selectors coming after Direct Mail, Hosting Special Events, Internet/Website, Planned Visits to Corp. Executives, Public Relations/Publicity, and Trade Shows.

Traditional approaches to marketing may be more familiar and comfortable but that doesn't mean they work anymore.

"For me, the value of the advertisements in site selection magazines is zero. I don't even look at them."
- Don Schjeldahl, Facilities Group, The Austin Company. IEDC 2003 Professional Development Training

False

Real estate owners and agents want to make money. They still receive their commission when they do a deal. The web site helps to direct more businesses to them. This extra marketing can only help them because more leads can put more money in their pockets.

“SacSites is a great opportunity for the Brokerage Community and the public sector to work together to promote business development in Sacramento. CB Richard Ellis - Sacramento looks forward to working with the SacSites Team, providing a cost effective means to disseminate real estate information about Sacramento through the Internet.”
- Al Gianini, Managing Director of CB Richard Ellis - Sacramento

“The infrastructure component of the site is a valuable tool for researching sites. Within the first two weeks of listing properties on the site (referring to Tucson's Commercial Properties Online), I received a call about one of my listings.”
- Tim Healy, Senior Associate, CB Richard Ellis, Inc. Brokerage Services Industrial Properties