Geographic Marketing Missions – Best Practices for Strategic Business Attraction

In today’s increasingly competitive landscape for business investment, geographic marketing missions have emerged as one of the most effective tools economic development organizations (EDOs) can deploy to proactively engage corporate decision-makers, showcase regional strengths, and build sustained pipelines of capital investment and job creation. This webinar will provide a practical framework for executing high-impact geographic marketing missions—from industry targeting and stakeholder alignment to post-mission data synthesis and strategy refinement. Built on the foundation of real-world case studies and best practices, this session is ideal for economic developers looking to move beyond trade show booths and into direct-market prospecting with measurable ROI.

Attendees will learn how to conduct regional competitiveness assessments that inform outreach strategy, identify high-potential industries and peer-market benchmarks, and craft personalized messaging that resonates with site selectors and C-suite executives. The session will also walk through step-by-step guidance for pre-mission research, on-site engagement, and post-mission performance tracking, ensuring that EDOs not only generate strong leads—but also convert those leads into long-term business investments. Featuring success stories from Upstate SC Alliance, Virginia’s Coalfield region, and others, this session will equip participants with the tools, insights, and confidence to plan and execute geographic marketing missions that deliver lasting economic impact.