WHY FOCUS ON
BUSINESS RETENTION & EXPANSION
?
There are a number of compelling reasons why you and your organization should make
business retention and expansion
the cornerstone of your community’s economic or workforce development
strategy. - Up to 80% of net new jobs and capital investment in any economy are generated by existing firms. Generally, existing firms provide even more return on investment in smaller, rural market areas where entrepreneurial and recruitment opportunities are limited.
- While customer attrition is a fact of life in both the private and public sector, it’s ten times more cost effective to work with existing customers than to continually cultivate new ones.
- In
economic development
, the only time you are interacting with actual customers is through business retention and expansion
. Entrepreneurs represent the companies of tomorrow. Recruitment prospects are unrealized opportunities-neither have actual experience as a customer in your market area. - The insights and intelligence gained through systematic
business retention and expansion
efforts will provide impetus for future strategic entrepreneurial development and business recruitment. This is not a chicken and egg scenario. Business retention and expansion
is the prerequisite first step for all economic and workforce development
initiatives in your market area. Business retention and expansion
provides the customer-the existing private sector firm in your market area-with a seamless customer contact and service experience.- Strong
business retention and expansion
is multifaceted and team-based. It provides a sustainable framework for success by harnessing various stakeholder organizations and agencies for a common purpose. Strong, functional business retention and expansion
teams are able to seamlessly tackle future entrepreneurial and recruitment needs. Everyone understands their role and responsibility and how they fit into a larger team context. - Regardless of the media hype and fanfare associated with recruitment wins,
business retention and expansion programs
tell your existing firms that they are the primary concern and focus of your organization and market area. Business retention and expansion
raises the bar for a market area by making companies agile, adaptive and able to compete globally. This is especially true when emphasis is placed on strategic clusters or industry sectors.
Business retention and expansion
should not be viewed as an optional exercise in economic development
or the second or third leg in the stool. Business retention and expansion
is the underpinning for all other successful and sustainable economic development
initiatives in any market area.