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Using your Economic Development Website to Generate Productive Leads //Derek Pillie

Using your Economic Development Website to Generate Productive Leads // Derek Pillie

LEDOsuite.comtwitter.com/dpilliefacebook.com/dpillielinkedin.com/in/dpilliejust search for “derek pillie” or “dpillie”Project Manager – LEDO Suite

Website Leads // Why are You Here?

• You know that the success of your economic development organization means attracting new businesses and supporting existing business

• You know attracting new investors means going where they are

• You know that you know these investors are online• Tremendous growth in use of Internet,

social media, etc.• You want to know if your website has

what it takes to win leads!

• Your stakeholders want to know that they are getting a solid return on their investment in your marketing program

Website Leads // What Will You Learn?

• What critical elements need to be on any economic development website

• What information you need on your website to assist lead conversion

• What steps you need to take to figure out how your organization will achieve these critical objectives

• How to engage visitors to your site to maximize your opportunity to market your community

• How to determine if what your doing is having the desired result

Website Leads // About Cirrus ABS

• 15 Years Experience in Online Marketing and Website Development

• Hybrid company that offers the best of marketing and technology firms

• 25+ employees

• Full staff of technical & creative personnel

• Clients ranging from Fortune 500 to small local businesses

Website Leads // About Cirrus ABS

Cirrus ABS Core Competencies• Corporate Marketing Solutions - Strategic

Consulting, Website Development, Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Platform Solution Development• Vertical Market Solutions• Economic Development,

Education, Insurance…• Corporate Solutions for

Distributor/Dealer Networks• Franchise Solutions

Website Leads// Cirrus ABS ED Clients

Website Leads // Other Cirrus ABS Clients

Website Leads // Why Websites?

What makes websites so darn special?

There are lots of ways you can spend your marketing budget…

There are reasons why economic development organizations have been flocking to the web!

Website Leads // Where is the Intent?

• Television• Direct Mail• Radio• Newspaper• Print• Email Marketing• Social Media• SEO• Search Marketing• Trade Shows• Sponsorships• Yellow Pages

Website Leads // From Intent to Lead

Cirrus advocates a Net-Centered Marketing Plan

NetCentered Marketing is our proprietary strategy for tying all your marketing efforts together – Internet-based and traditional – to best achieve your business goals.

With NetCentered Marketing, you can target ideal prospects and measure prospect-to-customer conversions with unprecedented accuracy.

Failing to plan is planning to fail!

Website Leads // Website as the Hub

Your website needs to be the “home base” for your marketing activities because…

1. It’s easy to find2. You have the most content

flexibility3. It’s your design/brand4. It’s safe5. They have to choose to visit

Website Leads // Not JUST Your Website!

Your website can’t do it alone… every element of your plan is a tool you use for a specific purpose

1. Social media channels2. Email3. Print media4. Broadcast media5. Direct mail

Website Leads // How to Use Your Tools

“(Since 2000) the dynamics of the site selection industry have changed more than the previous 40 years combined. What’s driving such change? …(The) availability of information through the Internet… If a community doesn’t have a website, (it) cannot easily be found, or it doesn’t have the right information, the consultant moves on to other communities.” – “The Internet Has Changed the Dynamics of Site Selection” by Bob Ady, May 2006

“We wanted to know which media work best if you’re trying to get site selectors’ attention. The general consensus: A good website.” – Economic Development Now. January 15, 2002. Volume 2, Issue 1

Nearly 90% of site selection searches begin on the Internet – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

85% of expansion and relation decisions are made without the help of a professional consultant – Dennis Donovan of WDG Consulting

Website Leads // How to Use Your ToolsThe editors of Area Development magazine

conducted a “flash survey” of a select group of highly respected consultants who work with a nationwide client base. Their top site selection criteria when considering a “top ten state” for Economic Development:

1. Lowest business costs2. Most business friendly3. Corporate tax environment4. Overall labor climate5. Work force development programs6. Fast-track permitting7. Rail and highway accessibility8. Shovel-ready sites

Website Leads // How to Use Your ToolsThe 2010 IEDC Conference “What Would Google

Do” highlighted the following criteria when evaluating communities websites as “must haves”

“A Map That Shows Your Location in the Context of Surrounding States.” - Kathy Mussio of Atlas Insight LLC

“Comprehensive list of major private sector employers with headcount” – Dennis Donovan of WDG Consulting

“Contact information (direct telephone line and email) or senior economic developers” - Jason Hickey of Hickey & Associates, LLC

“List of Four-Year and Two-Year Colleges with Enrollment Stats” - Joe Lacy Biggins, Lacy & Shapiro

“A Concise List of Economic Development Incentives” - All Consultants

Website Leads // What Makes it Work?

Portrayal of Geography

Easy to Find Contact Info

News /Events

Newsletter Signup

Real Time Social Networking Integration and Sharing Tools

Calls to Action

Featured Property Highlights

Easy Navigation and Well Defined Site Paths

Homepage Welcome Message

Website Leads // Other Website FeaturesSites and Buildings Databases / On-site or

Off-site Pros and Cons• Off-site Pros – your properties compete at

state/national level• Off-site Cons - your properties compete at

state/national levelo No onsite Search Engine indexing, IF the search engines

even see the data the state/national site gets the “Google Juice”

o No ability to use site-wide report building toolso No Google Analytics for tracking

• On-site Pros – it’s yourso You get Search Engine value for Your properties (“Google

Juice”)o Ability to compile with report builders and other tools to

brand resultso Add related content to complete your “value proposition”o Google Analytics tracking of property visits

• On-site Cons o Can you push/pull data or are you static? (Multiple data

entry)o Can be expensive (depending on vendor)

Website Leads // Other Website Features

Report Builders / Data Carts• Can a website user add any content they

choose to report(s)?• Does the report reflect your organization’s

brand?• Time saver for staff responding to inbound

leads• Some (like LEDO Suite) can capture lead data

Widgets• Related content (documents, images, videos,

maps, links, more)• Social Media content

Website Leads // Compare and ContrastBut does it REALLY make a

difference?

Compare the Fort Wayne / Allen County webpage with Akron, Ohio…• Similar sized communities

• One has better access to infrastructure

• One is located in a major industrial corridor spanning several MSAs

Can you tell which based on the two websites?

Website Leads // Compare and ContrastWhat about for smaller

communities?

Here are samples of work we produced for two of our clients• Neither community has more than 50K population

• Both communities are largely rural areas

What does their website tell YOU about their communities?

Website Leads // How Does it Translate?Some Statistics about this effective website

since its launch in June ‘10:

Direct Website leads up 400%

1:3 converted to projects

50% of projects have closed!!

Latest win took only 90 days from 1st contact to open for business

Came in through search engine inquiry not State or Region

Website Leads // Intent Matters After All!

• Television• Direct Mail• Radio• Newspaper• Print• Email Marketing• Social Media• SEO• Search Marketing• Trade Shows• Sponsorships• Yellow Pages

Website Leads // So Who Is Visiting You?

What do these terms mean?Why should I be worried

about my bounce rate?Is it good or bad that I have

lots of new visitors?Why is there such a big gap

between my page views and the number of visitors?

Website Leads // What are They Viewing?

Website Leads // How Do I Use This Data?To Better Respond to Leads!• When you know what people are looking at

you can be better prepared to respond to requests from potential investors

• You’ll get a good sense for the kinds of investors considering your community

• Your most up-to-date information is available with a few keystrokes!

To Make Adjustments to Your Integrated Marketing Plan!

• Are website visitors behaving as you anticipated?

• Are members of your community engaging you through your channels?

• Are you hitting the benchmarks you established for your plan?

Website Leads // Now What?!?!

It wouldn’t be much use to go through all this information and not give you a roadmap of sorts to follow!

Next steps1. Plan2. Evaluate3. Implement4. Assess

Website Leads // Now What?!?!

1. Plana) Remember: Failing to plan is planning to

fail!b) Use tools like Mind Mapping to help you

prioritize what you NEED to do.c) Don’t lose sight of the overall goal!

2. Evaluatea) What are you trying to say about your

community?b) Do you have the tools you need to

effectively share your story?c) If I tell the story well, do I have the tools I

need to convert a lead?

Website Leads // Now What?!?!

3. Implementa) Can you do everything you want to do?b) What do you need to cut back to make

your plan work?c) Can you enlist help to get the work done?

4. Evaluated) What kind of results did you see?e) Do you need to make significant

adjustments to your strategy?f) This is not a one-time exercise… it is an

ongoing process!

We'll Help You Master Internet Marketing!

These days it’s more important than ever for you to reach new investors, satisfy existing businesses, find new efficiencies, and improve your local business climate. The Web is the way to do it. We can help!

Call Derek Pillie at 1.877.817.4442 to find out how we can improve your online visibility.

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