2009 Prospectus - Missouri Partnership

Product, People and ProcessIn looking at how the Missouri Partnership willcontinue to market the state for new businessrecruitment, there are three critical elementsnecessary for success: Product, People, andProcess. The challenges that lay before ourorganization can all be expressed in terms ofthese three broad principles.“Product” refers to the quality of Missourias a location for business investment,and is comprised of, among other factors:the availability, quality, and cost of humancapital; the accessibility of multiple modes oftransportation for the movement of goods andpeople; the supply of developable land andbuildings; the business climate as reflected intaxes, regulation, and other legislation affectingprivate-sector companies; and the “quality oflife” that individuals – both inside and outsideMissouri – perceive within the state.Looking ahead, our Product challenge in futureyears is two-fold: continuously improving theProduct, while also increasing awareness ofthe Product among the target audience. Aconcerted marketing effort that combines“image advertising,” earned media, and targetedindustry events will help to promote the newbusiness brand and raise visibility of Missourias a location for doing business. On the otherhand, improvement of the Product is moredifficult to control from the perspective ofthe Missouri Partnership’s activities, since theMissouri Partnership is fundamentally a salesand marketing organization tasked with “selling”– and not “developing” or “engineering” – theProduct. However, as the Missouri Partnershipcontinues to interact with more businessesconsidering the state for new investment, theorganization will learn about how decisionmakersand decision-influencers perceiveMissouri’s relative advantages and disadvantagesas a place to do business. This importantfeedback from businesses during these salesactivities can be provided to policymakers,legislators, and others who can then developthe tools to further improve the Product.“People” refers to the quality of the staffthat are hired by the Missouri Partnership tobuild and develop strong relationships withcorporate executives and other decisionmakersor decision-influencers in the businessinvestment world. The ability of the MissouriPartnership staff to establish and maintaincredibility with this target audience will directlyaffect the Missouri Partnership’s ability to marketMissouri as a top global business location.Additionally, by hiring People with a strong,positive reputation among audiences like thesite selection consulting profession – whichcollectively advises many companies onwhere to locate new investment projects – theMissouri Partnership can increase its salesopportunities for new investment projects.Economic development is fundamentally a salesprocess, and like any other sales effort, businessrecruitment is one that driven by relationships.Ultimately, site selection consultants may beinclined to include Missouri because theyhave had a positive working relationship withthe economic development professionalsrepresenting the Missouri Partnership.Looking ahead to the future, the MissouriPartnership must continue to hire, retain, andcultivate a team of economic developmentprofessionals and support staff with theability, integrity and passion for performingthe important work of promoting Missouri fornew business investment. Most importantly,the Partnership must depend on its team ofprofessionals to forge and take advantage ofrelationships with key decision-makers andinfluencers outside the state. These relationshipswill be pivotal to creating and fulfilling theperception that Missouri is a business investmentlocation represented by high-caliber Peoplewho understand and can deliver on the needs ofcompanies seeking to locate in the state.MARKETING AFFORDABILIT YMissouri ranks 6 th lowest forenergy costs and 4 th lowest forthe cost of doing business.vii