Advancements in networking technology are changing the way people communicate on the Internet. For example, more people are finding themselves using social networks such as Facebook to gather information and communicate with friends, family and colleagues. The larger these networks become, the more important it is for people to be there or risk being invisible. These same tools are changing the way businesses locate new sites.

New Tools

More than a decade ago, San Francisco-based GIS Planning, Inc., invented the first Web-based geographic information systems (GIS) for the economic development industry. These systems are database Web sites that operate on national networks and provide detailed property information.

The company recently launched www.ZoomProspector.com, a site selection Web portal that brings together the information found on individual community Web sites into one network. It uses an online mapping technology to search a national network linking all the cities and counties in the United States. It objectively identifies the optimal communities for the business to locate based on unbiased, third-party data.

It contains information for every city and county, including demographic, business, geographic, transportation and infrastructure data. For the communities that subscribe to the service, deeper information is offered, such as location specific demographics, industry mapping, property information and local geographic data layers.

Perks For Business

When economic development organizations incorporate GIS technologies into Web sites, and use tools such as ZoomProspector.com, businesses are able to make better location decisions. These tools offer deeper information and allow businesses to consider communities that would otherwise be overlooked using older methods. Businesses also benefit because they can gather the information they need quickly, which is located in one place.

“ZoomProspector.com provides a competitive advantage to businesses and communities,” says Anatalio Ubalde, co-CEO and co-founder, GIS Planning, Inc. Every business decides where to locate and those who take the time to look strategically at the best locations are at a financial advantage over their competitors.”

Selecting the right location can make the difference between the financial success or failure of a business.

“In a good economy a business may be able to get away with being in the wrong location but in an economic downturn it can put them out of business,” Ubalde says. “We help companies succeed by placing them in the right location for their business.” 

Improving The Site Location Process

With GIS Web tools, what used to be the time consuming process of requesting information from economic development organizations in regard to their communities and waiting for it to arrive, has moved to a much quicker process. What's more, businesses are armed with more layers of data before an economic development staff ever spends time with you.

“ZoomProspector.com is a matchmaking service for business and locations,” Ubalde says. “It connects businesses with the communities that are the right fit based on the parameters the business is looking for.”

JoAnn Crary, president and CEO, Saginaw Future Inc. in Michigan, says the organization's GIS Web site, www.SaginawValleySites.com, helps reduce the time to assemble proposals from days to hours. This is mainly due to how the information is organized.

Brenda Workman, vice president of business development, Enterprise Florida, www.FloridaProspector.com, says knowledge-based Web sites could not be more important to businesses today. She notes that 85 percent of site selection searches begin on the Internet. “The top medium for site selectors are today's knowledge-based Web sites that provide a way for businesses, consultants and business people to get site information about every community,” Workman says.

Businesses also benefit from GIS Web capabilities when researching potential locations because economic developers are able to combine “several different key data sources in one unified tool,” says Bill Popp, president and CEO, Anchorage Economic Development Corp. The organization's GIS-powered Web site is found at www.AnchorageProspector.com.

Moving south along the West Coast, the city of Corona, Calif., recently launched TeamCorona.com, which also features extensive GIS mapping capabilities and information.

“Because it's important for the city to be open for business 24/7, we developed a Web site that allows out-of-area site selectors and brokers to research property in the city anytime, day or night,” says Judi Staats, senior economic development project coordinator for the city. “Being responsive and anticipating the needs of businesses has been a key factor in helping us attract investment to Corona.”

At TeamCorona.com, users can view aerial site photos and research utilities and infrastructure to evaluate the true costs of the location. For certain parcels, users can run reports displaying the landscape district, lighting district and water district information, which will help determine assessments for the property.

“During the process of building our site, we surveyed developers, site selectors, brokers and business owners to determine their needs,” says Daniel Rittatore, economic development project coordinator for the city. “We found that our audience wanted more information about utilities, so we added this feature to our site.”

In Siskiyou County, located at the northern border of California, the county's economic development related Web site, www.siskiyoucounty.org/gis.aspx, incorporates a number of business attraction features, including the ability to search for available properties and buildings using a GIS database.

“We have seen a 70 percent increase in our site's usage since we launched the GIS mapping function,” says Tonya Dowse, executive director, Siskiyou County. “We are working with several companies right now evaluating locations in our county after using the site.”

Moving south in California, the county of San Bernardino is in the process of implementing a GIS mapping function at its Web site.

“We will layer information about industry clusters, available workforce, logistics, infrastructure, land, costs of living and nearby competitors so that interested companies can be armed with information about our county,” says Paul Herrera, director of marketing and communications for the county's economic development agency.

“If we demonstrate our responsiveness from the initial contact, people will be more inclined to work with our location, especially if we are competing with other areas to attract a business.”

As more economic development related Web sites continue to implement GIS capabilities and join networks, businesses will find the right locations for their success.

Jessica McLeish is the CEO for Desmond McLeish, Inc., which is a public relations agency with offices in Sacramento, Corona and Costa Mesa, Calif. To learn more, visit www.dmpublicrelations.com.