How can metropoliss utilize modern information engineerings to pull foreign and domestic investing? One tool is a proper web site that can construct the metropolis ‘s image as a desirable location for investing. The usage of cyberspace is so prevailing in concern that a metropolis can non afford to be without a dynamic and attractive web site. In pulling investings, a web site might do the difference in the first phase of the investing determination procedure, when prospective investors are looking for basic information and surfing through assorted web sites. The Municipal Investment Promotion Website must be a portal that provides personalized information about the municipality, and a tract to other content. In this paper included what is a good web site, the web site content, practical application guidelines: how to put up an investing publicity Website, The ideal conditions for puting up a Municipal Investment Promotion Website, Complementarities with Other Tools and the terminal Conclusions.

Introduction

The demand for an investing publicity website comes from a assortment of grounds, all of them doing this tool of import no affair the geographical, economic and societal conditions of the metropolis. Key grounds asking a good web site are the undermentioned:

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  • The high competition worldwide in Foreign Direct Investment ( FDI ) attractive force requires a specific location image, which should be in line with what targeted investors are looking for.
  • Foreign investors have specific enlightening demands ( e.g. , information related to the state legal system, economic environment, political stableness, investing inducement ) and an investing publicity website should be designed in order to supply the necessary information. A web site may offer an synergistic environment in which services tailored to the investors ‘ demands are offered.
  • The web site increases the effectivity of the aiming scheme, assisting so to pull the sort of investings most good to the country.

The web site content

In recent old ages, thanks to technological development and faster cyberspace connexions, web sites have been invariably enriched with images, digital assets and on-line applications available to visitants, who have been able to bask the practical environment. Municipalities and local investing publicity bureaus, in their attempts to pull FDI, must take as much advantage as possible from this Internet revolution.

First of wholly, the content provided on the web site must be accurate, informational, relevant, good written and to the point. It should hold a friendly layout so that visitants can easy happen what their object of involvement is.

Apart from the general information about a location ‘s economic state of affairs and environment, the web site should besides be focused on positive facets, associating them to the investor ‘s demands. This might be possible merely if a specific analysis of location ‘s strengths, failings, chances and menaces is conducted, parallel to a elaborate analysis of the enlightening demands of targeted investors.

The content should be provided in an synergistic manner, coherent with the thought of bipartisan communicating. Both parties should be able to convey information. Practically, it means that the web site should include dynamic undertaking databases, response signifiers, customization, etc. Good illustrations of this interaction can be found on the Copenhagen Capacity web site, the web page of the investing bureau of Copenhagen. Here it is possible to run a hunt on all the companies located in the country, harmonizing to a assortment of parametric quantities ( company name, figure of employees, line of concern, female parent company name, etc. ) , leting a possible investor to detect spouse chances. Another interesting synergistic tool made available at the Copenhagen Capacity web site is one that allows benchmarking for Copenhagen and Denmark with other states on a really long list of standards ( bureaucratism, cost of life, e-Government, labour productiveness, quality of life, salary degrees and many more ) . This 2nd tool allows prospective investors non merely to roll up information about Copenhagen, but besides to compare those informations with other locations, which they might besides be sing for investing. The investing determination procedure is a really long one, where investors may hold 100s of possible locations to take from. It is due to the analysis of informations and information available from the web site that from the 100s of possible locations they could specify a top list.

Another illustration of synergistic investing publicity websites is the Virginia web site, literally a usher to the U.S. province. This site keeps users engaged and replies inquiries from the investor ‘s position. This web site is translated into 6 different linguistic communications ( Gallic, Nipponese, German, Korean, Italian and Spanish ) offering, apart from locational “competitive advantages” , a site choice hunt that offers investors a speedy and complete overview on belongingss ( industrial edifices, office edifices and lands ) available in the State. Each belongings is so described in a really elaborate manner, offering on-line maps, exposures, studies and so forth.In is of import to present success narratives of companies that have already located in your metropolis and recommendations for future investors, emphasizing the location ‘s strengths and investing chances.

Practical application guidelines: how to put up an investing publicity web site

When puting up a web site for investing publicity, it is of import to hold a chiseled cyberspace scheme that is consistent with a wider IT scheme. In other words, it would be unpointed be aftering a ace technological web site when there would non be adequate proficient ( hardware and package ) every bit good as human resources available for such a undertaking.

An Internet scheme has to get down from a proper definition of aims the municipality wants to accomplish with such a web site. Harmonizing to its design and the information placed on it, a web site could work as a simple information centre ( a individual point of mention for foreign and domestic investors and whoever may be interested in this location ) , or as a tool to keep already established contacts ( a portal where merely established investors could entree and happen specific information and /or paperss ) , or as a gateway to make out to new investors, offering services and information specifically targeted to them.

The Internet scheme should clearly province what the website audience will be. This will hold a strong impact on the information and services ( that is the content ) that will be offered on-line, every bit good as the website expression, feel and proficient capablenesss. The content available online has to be decently selected in order to be in line with investors ‘ outlooks and demands. Postpone A summarizes the content investors normally look for in a web site.

Postpone A – Elementss to be taken into history when specifying an investing promotionWebsite

  • Basic facts about the metropolis, its political state of affairs, degree of development, committedness to reforms, regional cooperation understandings, general economic overview, concern environment, demographics, competitory advantages, sector profiles, links, etc.
  • Access to information about metropolis ‘s strategic programs, market conditions, sectoral tendencies, etc.
  • Business contacts, including investing publicity and other metropolis authorities bureau contacts and contacts for the private concern community.
  • Datas on possible investing chances, including land handiness.
  • Research resources on possible spouses.
  • The nature and extent of client serving provided by the metropolis or private concern associations in charge of pulling investings.

A manner to maintain in touch ( e.g. , studies, electronic newssheets ) .

General beginning: The IPAworks web Sites

The web site needs to hold appropriate information architecture. Website interior decorators should form information resources into a construction ( architecture ) that helps the user navigate the site and easy turn up the coveted information. Table B presents some cardinal stairss in the architecture planing procedure.

Table B – How to make an efficient information architecture

  • Create an stock list of all your bing information resources and those you know should be included on your investing publicity web site.
  • Assign apprehensible degrees of importance to each information resource as you go along ( e.g. , A=very of import ; B=adequate ; C=up for treatment ) .
  • Group the concluding stock list heap into several wide subject classs. Make certain that the label for each group is appropriate and makes sense.
  • Analyze the waies peculiar users will take on the web site to entree the information resources they require, and guarantee that there are efficient paths to all finishs. Efficient pilotage waies are critical to shoping and successful retrieval of information
  • Position pilotage bars so they are clearly seeable and unlittered. Navigation bars, Sons, legal disclaimers and rational belongings notices should hold consistent positioning throughout the web site.

Another of import thing to maintain in head is the demand for updating and keeping the web site particularly if it is aimed at supplying information to foreign investors. This should be decided from the beginning, as a website scheme is being conceived. Resources will necessitate to be committed to this critical undertaking. For case, reacting to possible investors ‘ electronic mails in timely manner shows the earnestness of the metropolis ‘s committedness, and its ability to cover with the issues raised. Keeping links currents, updating intelligence subdivisions and uploading the latest version of the files available improves the utility of the web site as a portal for investors.

A farther measure in specifying an Internet scheme is to carefully analyse web sites offered by other municipalities ( particularly 1s that compete for FDI ) . This helps in understanding the best patterns but besides defines what sort of website investors are already familiar with when nearing FDI. Looking at best patterns does n’t intend merely “copying” them, but understanding where the excellence in this field prevarication s and seeking to better it and/or construe it in a different manner.

The ideal conditions for puting up a Promotion Website

Puting up an investing publicity website requires proficient cognition assorted with a specific cognition of foreign investing desired every bit good as of marketing techniques. In an ideal state of affairs, all those resources could be found internally and could collaborate jointly for web site development, affecting staff members from the municipality. Table C includes the multidisciplinary accomplishments required.

Table C – The necessary occupation maps for developing a proper Investment PromotionWebsite

  • Technical Director brings both proficient expertness and goal-oriented direction to the venture. Should be able to plan, construct, develop or supervise the development of a web site.
  • Marketing Director is the individual who will unite the Internet and traditional marketingexperience. Should be able to remain abreast of tendencies in on-line selling and develop marketingand advertisement stuffs. Must be focused on specific ends and mensurable consequences.
  • Partnership Director establishes and manages cardinal relationships. Presentation skills must becoupled with cognition of clients and project direction experience. Must be a concern mindedindividual, comfy working with organisations in both the populace and private sectors.
  • Content Manager/ Web Site Editor plans and either updates or coordinates the update of newcontent on the Web site. Should be familiar with the investing publicity procedure andconversant on issues related to the investing publicity precedence sectors. Must be detail-orientedand able to put and implement column criterions and high degree of quality confidence. Mustunderstand engineering plenty to utilize the web site ‘s content direction system.
  • Creative Director/Graphic Designer helps determine the individuality of the metropolis ‘s FDI trade name byimplementing a consistent design throughout all investing publicity publications, marketinginstruments, and Web site pages. Must be familiar with Web planing package or be able tocommunicate with outside sellers.

Fiscal resources available will of class besides have an impact on the concluding result ofwebsite development. The greater are the available resources, the more possible is forincreasing the technological solutions and more people can be dedicated to the undertaking. Acity should make all it can to develop a web site which can positively impact investmentattraction. At a lower limit, the web site should be synergistic, as a one-way inactive websitethat is non updated could hold either no consequence or a negative consequence on the image of the cityand hence on investing attraction.

Complementarities with Other Tools

A strong complementary relationship can be found between the web site and the usage ofemail for pass oning with investors. The more electronic mail is chosen as a communicationinstrument, the easier it is for the investing professionals in the municipality to suggestthe links to happen information or specific informations required.

Furthermore, what gives value added to the web site is a specific entity to back up it, keep it, and supply feedback to all investors that get in touch with the municipalitythrough the web site. This entity might be an Investment Promotion Agency or adepartment of the municipality, where all the necessary accomplishments for back uping prospectiveinvestors are concentrated. The better this entity is organized and staffed, the morepositive is the consequence on investing publicity.

Finally, municipalities must do usage of and organize closely with the nationalinvestment bureau. That bureau will wish to direct foreign investors to the best municipallocations. If the municipality can supply information rapidly to the national bureau, andcan respond in a professional manner to investors that the national bureau sends to it, thepartnership between the municipality and the national investing bureau will be a strongand productive.

Decisions

In pulling investings, a web site might do the difference in the first phase of theinvestment determination procedure, when prospective investors are looking for basic informationand surfing through assorted web sites. The Municipal Investment Promotion Website mustbe a portal that provides personalized information about the municipality, and a tract toother content. In this portal, foreign investors must happen all the information that fit theirpersonal demands, but besides should be able to happen updated intelligence sing the municipality’seconomic clime, economic programs for development, a list of services and staff dedicated to attractive force of foreign direct and other investings, and contact information. The websiteshould be a “dynamic flyer” invariably updated with the latest information, available indifferent linguistic communications, and holding a user-friendly layout. Without such a tool, the municipalitymight non be even considered in the first long list of topographic points where investing could takeplace.

It is of import to maintain in head the planning activity, resources and work that must travel intothe development of every good investing attractive force web site. This attempt is necessary inorder to make a tool that conforms to the municipality ‘s investing publicity scheme.