Targeting
The active pursuit of target industries that are misaligned with a community’s assets can prove more harmful than inactivity. For this reason, Greyhill provides additional levels of insight during the targeting process that uncover areas of true competitive advantage and therefore identify industries for the region with the highest probability of successful development.
Greyhill’s target selection process follows an iterative and collaborative process that combines our strong experience with a distinctly analytical approach. Each step of target selection involves both internal research and analysis coupled with extensive input from area stakeholders. The broader list of potential industry targets is systematically narrowed through a series of filers until a final set of industry targets that ideally suit the community is reached.
Our process answers the following key questions:
- What industry sectors are present that can be built upon?
- What are primary areas of industry strength or specialization in the community?
- Which industries are currently absent or under-represented in the community?
- Where does the greatest potential exist for future regional impact - job growth, tax base, economic impact, regional wealth creation?
Once target industries are selected, Greyhill combines a distinctly analytical approach with strong experience crafting target industry profiles. Having a list of target industries is of little use to local economic developers if it is not accompanied by a detailed understanding of the industry. What it boils down to is simple: successful regions have a good understanding of what they have that sets them apart and continually strive to maintain a leadership position in these areas.
Greyhill concludes the targeting phase with the creation of detailed target industry profiles. We customize these profiles based on the requirements of the community and the unique aspects of the industry, areas of focus include:
- Detailed industry definition including description of the industry and niche sectors within the industry
- Industry trends, historical growth, and forecasted growth
- Economic Impact of the industry in the region – jobs supported, tax revenues generated, output
- Workforce profile for the industry – workforce requirements, analysis of regional workforce representation
- Real estate and site requirements for companies in the industry
- Effective marketing and messaging for decision makers in the target industry
- Competitive benchmarking of the region versus peer communities with a strong presence in the target industry
New industry development does not typically occur in a region by chance or by an ad hoc approach. To spur growth and develop true industry clusters takes proper planning and a good deal of hard work. Greyhill will work diligently to provide you with the tools to be successful in your targeting efforts.