2008—5th ANNUAL
CONSULTANTS
SURVEY
TO SEE THE FULL REPORTS GO ONLINE TO
http://WWW.AREADEVELOPMENT.COM/SURVEY
For the fifth year in a row, Area Development’s editors
have asked the consultants who work with industrial companies, as well as with economic development agencies, to take
a survey similar to the one administered to our corporate
executive readers. As was expected, the consultants rated the
site selection factors differently than our corporate readers
did, and the consultants’ clients’ plans differ from those of
the corporate readership as well. Considering the fact that
only slightly more than half of our Corporate Survey
respondents ( 52 percent) said they use consultants’ services
when site selecting, these disparities come as no surprise.
What Types of Companies Are Consultants Serving?
First let’s look at the types of companies that the
responding consultants are serving (Chart A). Forty-seven
percent of the responding consultants said their clients
include warehouse/distribution firms; only 14 percent of
those executives responding to our Corporate Survey were
from this sector. A quarter of those responding to our
Consultants Survey said they work with financial services
firms, another group with little representation (just 3 percent) among our Corporate Survey respondents. To recap,
64 percent of the respondents to our 2008 Corporate Survey were with manufacturing firms; fewer than 40 percent
of those responding to our 2008 Consultants Survey noted
they have worked on a location or expansion project in
one or more manufacturing sector.
Only 37 percent of the responding consultants have performed location studies for their clients, and 31 percent
have engaged in incentives negotiations on their clients’
behalf. Yet, the responding consultants seem to be the deal
“closers,” with more than half of them claiming they have
ultimately been responsible for their clients’ final site selection decisions (Chart B).
