Investment-generating techniques
Typical investment-generating techniques are
Engaging in direct mail or telemarketing campaigns
Conducting industry- or sector-specific investment missions from source country to host country or vice versa
Conducting industry- or sector-specific information seminars
Engaging in firm-specific research followed by "sales" presentations
Such techniques can be directed at either potential investors or at consultancy firms specialized in locational advice.
Unlike image-building techniques, which are something like a scattershot, investment-generating techniques involve intense research which tries to match the locational advantages of ones own place with the criteria applied by certain companies or industries. If a company or an industry which might find one’s location attractive has been identified, investment-generating techniques try to address them directly. Research has shown that the result of investment-generation is, not surprisingly, directly linked to the quality of the research. If the research fails in identifying not just companies but key decision-makers in those companies, investment-generation will only have a limited effect.
In particular with respect to foreign investment, it is important to note that there is a broad variation in terms of the number of potential investors between sectors. There are sectors such as the garments industry where the number of potential investors is relatively large. But in many industries, such as food processing or pulp and paper, the number of potential investors is limited, sometimes less than a dozen, rarely more than a few dozen. Analyzing such companies internationalization strategies, based on their websites and published material, is viable and permits the identification of individual companies which might be attracted to one’s own location.
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