PDF: 21st Annual Corporate Survey Complete Results - Area ...

FIGURE 30
Importance of an available building in the location decision:
FIGURE 31
FIGURE 32
Of those who use the Internet to make site and facility
planning decisions, sources of website addresses:
From search engines, e.g., Google, Yahoo, etc. — 85%
From ads in magazines like Area Development — 71%
From TV/Radio ads — 4%
Other (e.g., trade shows) — 7%
More important in your decision than
other factors — 28%
Less important than other factors — 32%
Equally important — 40%
Sources of site selection information used during the past year:
Internet — 59%
CD-Roms/other software — 18%
Site magazines (Area Development, etc.) — 57%
Vertical industry magazines (Modern Plastics, etc.) — 18%
General business magazines (Business Week, etc.) — 19%
Financial publications (The Wall Street Journal, etc.) — 26%
Response to direct mail/e-mail — 18%
Response to telemarketing — 7%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
0 20 40 60 80 100
on magazines like Area Development for information
when making location decisions (Figure 31).
Of those who use the Internet, 85 percent obtain
website addresses of the locations they are considering
from search engines like Google or Yahoo. It follows
that more than 70 percent get the addresses from magazines
like ours (Figure 32).
Nearly 70 percent of the survey respondents find
economic development websites to be most useful;
nearly 60 percent also find site magazines like Area
Development most useful; and 45 percent rely on real
estate or location directories as well (Figure 33).
Importantly, two-thirds of the 2006 Corporate Survey
respondents do not use outside consultants when site
selecting (Figure 34). When we look at the results of our
Third Annual Consultants Survey that follow, this will help
to explain the incongruities between the consultants’
responses and those of our corporate survey-takers.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The 2006 Corporate Survey respondents’ plans and
concerns seem to reflect the moderating growth of the
U.S. economy. As previously stated, the softening in the
housing market and rising energy prices have led to a
blip in general business confidence.
One bright spot on the horizon, however, is interest
rate stabilization. Increases in the prime rate had put a
damper on borrowing, but if the Fed begins to lower
interest rates — now that concerns about inflation have
abated — there may be a rise in business confidence