Location Marketing

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location marketing is the generic term for the terms street, district , city (inner city) and regional marketing , which are often used in an undefined manner in literature and practice, and which are used depending on geographical delimitation. Location marketing is the alignment of a city or region - as a location provider - with regional, national and international location markets. The aim is to influence the location decisions of companies. The marketing is aimed at securing existing business premises and attracting new companies willing to settle. In addition to the procurement and marketing of land, location marketing also includes influencing urban development , infrastructure, traffic and the environment in order to make the city's location conditions more attractive for the target group of companies as part of a product policy. In addition, the operators of the location marketing would like to achieve more awareness and a better image with the primary target group companies as well as attract tourists , investors , qualified workers, families and bring additional purchasing power to the location.

Location marketing as a task

Location marketing is the central task in the competition between locations, which is why 90% of German locations also operate it. But marketing shows great differences between these locations in terms of the scope and application of the instruments ( marketing mix ) and ultimately also in practical professionalism.

Location Marketing Process

The basis of all good marketing, also for locations, is a planning process. It includes the steps of market research, formulation of goals and strategies, design of the marketing mix (4 Ps: product policy, price policy, communication policy and distribution policy ), operational implementation and control.

Market research

For the operators of location marketing, planning begins with the analysis of the “markets”: These markets are determined by the target groups, ie investors or companies, tourists, residents and workers who want or should change locally, but also politicians and the general public and media. The analysis of the corresponding markets includes - in the sense of a situation analysis - the recording and evaluation of the target groups in terms of scope and needs, the competitors with their strengths, weaknesses and activities (also in comparison to themselves) as well as the framework conditions of the markets, given from politics and social developments. In practice, the image of a location is repeatedly raised.

Formulation of goals and strategies

Marketing goals are formulated from these results: Which markets and target groups would like and which can realistically be reached? Who do I want to settle? Who should visit our location? What should the ULP (Unique Local Proposition) of the location - the central argument for the choice of location by investors, tourists, etc. be? Which corporate identity , which mission statement , which target image and which position and thus which profile should the location take in the ranks of the other locations? This step is usually highly political and requires a lot of coordination and preparation work.

Marketing mix

The marketing mix for the location must be determined based on these specifications: Via which channels (media) should I communicate which arguments and which tone? Which tangible properties do I have to change at my location (e.g. a new promenade, service points for tourists, hotel guides, parks, bike paths, parties at the location)? Can I change the living, tourism and investments at the location (e.g. through subsidized land for business settlers, low or no tourist tax, loans for house construction)? How do I get to the target groups (direct contact, through medium-sized companies, travel events in the region)? How do the target groups get to the location (“location reception” for interested parties such as a tourist office or for interested investors)? All of these questions can be found in specific activities.

implementation

In the implementation phase, there is usually the greatest financial need as well as the need to cooperate with the important actors at the location (companies, politics & administration, sponsors , sports and cultural associations, but also the population) or to provide their practical support to catch up. New buildings and conversions, festivals, sports and cultural events, advertising campaigns, the establishment of a contact point and the relaxation of administrative regulations (e.g. for building land) are just a few examples of activities that are only possible with willingness to cooperate and / or money.

control

Have the location marketing activities - in terms of the goals set - been successful? To what extent have they been achieved? Has the wrong been achieved? Is there an appropriate relationship between success and the use of money and work? Success control can take place once at the end of a project within the ongoing marketing or continuously accompanying marketing. Here, too, the differences in practice are great. A well thought-out control can only be found in a few operators in Germany, and even controlling - i.e. the feedback from the results of the control back to the goals and planning of marketing - is practically impossible to find. However, this will be more and more necessary in the future, because sponsors want to see and get proven success over the long term, and the competing locations in the world do not sleep.

literature

  • Ingo Balderjahn (2014): Location marketing , 2nd edition, UVK / Lucius: Munich, ISBN 978-3-8252-4195-7
  • Bittermann, Daniel (2006): Possibilities and limits of the design of 'soft' location factors through economic development in medium-sized municipalities . Diplomica Verlag, Hamburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-8324-9929-7 P
  • Dallmann, Nicolas (2005): Success control in location marketing - results of a survey, in: Meyer, Jörn-Axel and Dallmann, Nicolas (ed.): Success control in location and regional marketing, pp. 5–31.
  • Gubler, Robert E. / Möller Salis, Christian (2006): Location marketing - conception, organization and implementation, Haupt Verlag, ISBN 978-3-258-07142-8
  • Meyer, Jörn-Axel / Dallmann, Nicolas (2005) (Eds.): Success control in location and regional marketing, Eul-Verlag, Lohmar.