U.S. Site selectors

Delivered June 15th, 2019. Contributors: Estel M., Josh T., Rishavh S. and

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Site Selectors - Top Online Tools and Services

The top resources for site selectors are site magazines (82%) such as Area Development; B2B industry related magazines for specific industries (37%),; and general business/financial papers such as IndustryWeek and The Wall Street Journal (74%). When searching online for economic data on specific sites and locations, site selectors also used listings/directories such as FastFacility (78%) while others used specific state economic development agencies' websites (50%). 
2017 SITE SELECTOR CONSULTANTS SURVEY (Area Development) Area Development Magazine, the leading online magazine for corporate site selection and relocation, released the results of its 31st Annual Corporate Survey and the 13th Annual Consultants Survey in 2017.
Only 38 percent of surveyed corporate respondents said they used third-party or consulting site selectors when needing to make business decisions about location. Majority therefore act as in-house / corporate site selectors.
According to the survey, over 80 percent use site magazines such as Area Development as their primary source of site selection information. 
The secondary source of information was general business and financial papers such as IndustryWeek and The Wall Street Journal, used by 74 percent of site selector respondents. 
The last source of information mentioned was B2B industry related magazines for specific industries, used by 37 percent of respondents. 
Site selectors who searched online for specific locations also leveraged online listings and directories such as FastFacility, according to 78 percent of respondents. 
Others went to specific state economic development agencies' websites, used by 50 percent of respondents. 
SITE SELECTOR DIGITAL HABITSThe Area Development 2017 survey also gave the top types of information searched by site selectors online.
Majority searched for economic data on specific areas (78%)
The second top online information searched was listings of available locations and infrastructure (68%)
More than half searched for specific economic development agencies' (EDA) websites (51%)
Site selectors also searched for planning strategy and information (49%)
Lastly, site selectors searched for contact information for consultants and real estate professionals (42%)
AREA DEVELOPMENT TOP COMPETITORSThe top competitors of online magazine Area Development according to Spyfu are: Business Facilities.com, TradeandIndustryDev.com, JAstreet.com and MandyRockefeller.com
Area Development is the leader among these with 36,000 clicks per month compared to just over 2,000 clicks per month for its closest competitor BusinessFacilities.com.
FASTFACILITY TOP COMPETITORSThe top competitors of online listing/directory FastFacility.com according to Spyfu are: FastGIS.biz, Technoltelephone, HoorHoorseNo, Pyromeeef, and Ppeiadpopypodyz.
There is little information regarding competitor data, however FastFacility seems to hold the lead followed by Techno. 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTORIESHere is the Economic Development Directory with regional and state office contacts by the Economic Development Administration. 
Here is the Economic Development Directory with a brief overview of each state's ED agency as well as county offices. 
RESEARCH STRATEGYWe looked for surveys and industry reports for site selectors and found Area Development's Annual Corporate Survey and Annual Consultants Survey which are conducted among in-house/corporate and consulting site selectors respectively. The most recent surveys (2018, 2019) did not contain any information about online tools used by site selectors, so we backtracked and researched the next most recent report (2017). This issue contained the information we're looking for, but only for in-house/corporate site selectors. However, as majority of companies used in-house site selectors, we considered this as qualified for majority of site selectors. These tools are also targeted towards site selectors in general, whether in-house or consultants, so we considered these. We then researched the type of online tools mentioned, specifically the two resources: online magazine Area Development and online listing/directory FastFacility. We ran these through Spyfu which gave website analytics including top competitors. These have been included above in our outline. 

In summary, the top resources used by site selectors are site magazines ex. Area Development, general business and financial papers ex. IndustryWeek, and B2B industry-related magazines. When searching for economic data on specific locations, site selectors also used listing and directories ex. FastFacility as well as state economic development agencies' websites. 

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Site Selectors - Top Magazines and Newsletters

Six notable magazines/newsletters that target site selectors in the U.S. are Site Selection Magazine, SiteNet Dispatch, Area Development Magazine, Site & Facility Planning This Week, Business Facilities, and Trade & Industry Development. 
findings1. site selection magazineSite Selection Magazine has a net readership of 44,000 professionals. 
 This magazine was the most oft-mentioned publication we found specifically pertaining to the site selection industry.
 This magazine is published by Conway, Inc.
2. sitenet dispatch (newsletter)The SiteNet Dispatch newsletter has a reach that extends to over 41,000 professionals. 
This newsletter is published by Conway, Inc.
3. Area Development magazineArea Development Magazine has a long-standing reputation within the industry, as it has been in circulation since 1965.
Area Development describes itself as "the most powerful, trusted, recognized and influential brand among site location publications in the world."
4. site & facility planning this week (newsletter) This newsletter covers site selection, workforce development, and facility planning topics. 
 This newsletter is published by Area Development Magazine. 
5. Business Facilities (magazine & newsletter)Business Facilities describes itself as "a leading full-service media brand specializing in the site selection marketplace." 
Its magazine is published once every two months and is available in both print and digital format. 
Business Facilities publishes three newsletters titled (1) "Business Facilities Headline Newsletter;" (2) "Business Facilities eLocation Newsletter;" and (3) "Business Facilities Location Spotlight." 
6. Trade & Industry Development (Magazine & newsletter)Trade & Industry Development offers print magazines, digital magazines, and 10 newsletters. 
 The publications pertain to site selection as well as facility planning topics across multiple industries and have a target market that includes site selectors. 
 Trade & Industry Development's publications are the products of Due North Consulting, Inc., which has been in operation since 2001. 
YOUR RESEARCH TEAM APPLIED THE FOLLOWING STRATEGY:We determined the above publications to be notable/top publications that target site selectors because they were the only publications we found about such. Thus, our logic was that if these were the only/main publications that we found about such, they can reasonably be deemed notable/top publications. As a proxy, we included information about the publications' history/standing/prominence when available. While other publications do mention site selection topics, we only included publications that have a main focus on site selection, which we determined by the content categories listed. Thus, there was no way for us to determine top publications by greatest reach or subscribers, as these were the only publications we could find that satisfied what we were looking for. 

We did, however, look for information about each of the above publications' reach/subscribers to see if we could organize these publications by such. However, we only found that information for two of the publications (which we listed first and second in order). We found the above publications by conducting many wide-ranging searches for magazines, newsletters, and publications about site selection and for site selectors. We never found any type of list or ranking of publications about such, which is why we instead relied on our wide-ranging searches to find the publications. Lastly, the information that we included about these publications came from the publications' websites. 

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Site Selectors - Thought Leaders

Some notable thought leaders in the field of site selection in the United States are King R. White, James Blair, Amy Gerber, Joseph Vranich, Paige Webster, Jim Beatty, and Jay Garner.
KING R. WHITEKing R. White is an established thought leader in the field of site selection in the United States. 
He has over 20 years of global experience in site selection, corporate real estate, and economic incentives and has completed over 1,000 projects in this field. 
King R White has been extensively cited as a thought leader by a number of global publications. He has written more than 100 blogs on global location trends and received many awards from several organizations. 
Some of his involvements and awards include: 
"Exis Global, Chairman, Board Member & Executive Committee"
"Member, CORENET"
"Member, Vistage CEO Network
" 
"Dallas Business Journal — Top 40 Under 40"
"CoStar Power Broker — Multiple Years"
CONTACT INFORMATION
 LinkedIn Profile 
Email: kwhite@siteselectiongroup.com 
Contact Number: (214) 271-0582 
JAMES BLAIRJames Blair is an established thought leader with over 30 years of experience in site selection. 
Some of his most prestigious achievements include the “Officer of the National Order of Merit” medal awarded in 2012 by the French government and being named as a “US Expert in Site Selection services" by Swiss Global Enterprise in 2017. 
He has served as the Director of the "State of Georgia’s European Office" for 18 years. In addition to that, he has also served as the Director of the site selection program under the German-American Chamber of Commerce for 2 years. 
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: blair@navigatorconsulting.us 
Contact Number: 678-640-4344 
AMY GERBERAmy Gerber is an established thought leader in the US with more than 21 years of experience in the field of site selection. 
She has tremendous expertise in location analysis and has worked with the "State and Local Tax Practice/Strategic Relocation and Expansion Services Division" of KPMG, LLP.
Amy holds a membership of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers apart from a Board Membership with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. In addition to that, she is on Area Development Magazine's editorial advisory board. 
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: amy.gerber@cushwake.com 
Contact Numbers: +1 404-460-8668 and 404-984-1679 
JOSEPH VRANICHJoseph Vranich is an established and popular thought leader in the US owing to his 25+ years of experience in the field of site selection and his various achievements. 
He was once introduced as “Joe Vranich is a coach committed to you and your success” on a popular TV show, “Your World With Neil Cavuto.”
He has been featured on several TV shows including BBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, NBC, Fox News, and NPR among several others. 
His research work on company migrations has been extensively cited by many publications and organizations including but not limited to California Business Roundtable, American Enterprise Institute, and California Manufacturers & Technology Association. 
On business location issues, he has been numerously quoted by The Economist, Arizona Republic, Chicago Tribune, The Atlantic, CNNMoney, Business Xpansion Journal, Barron’s, CFO Magazine, Austin American-Statesman, and many others. 
CONTACT INFORMATION
 LinkedIn Profile 
Email: joe@spectrumlocationsolutions.com 
PAIGE WEBSTERPaige Webster is an established thought leader in the US with a solid reputation and over 20 years of experience in site selection. 
He has extensive experience in economic development and has served at the "Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation" as the Economic Development Director. 
He has also served as a "Rural Representative at the Arizona Department of Commerce" where he worked with communities across Arizona and assisted them with their strategic planning initiatives and economic development marketing priorities.
He has also contributed to the development of a Rural Certified Site program in Arizona and Tennessee states. 
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: paige.webster@gmail.com 
Contact Number: 602-621-0576 
JIM BEATTYJim Beatty is an established thought leader in the US well-known for his leadership experience in corporate site selection and economic and business development. 
He has completed over 300 projects and delivered keynote presentations and speeches to organizations across the globe. 
Consultant Connect has named him among the top 50 Site Consultants in North America. 
Jim is quoted in several reputed publications on business and economic development and he was also featured in the Wall Street Journal. 
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: Jbeatty@ncsinternational.net 
Contact Numbers: 402-415-9615, 855-776-9811 
JAY GARNERJay Garner is an established and well-reputed thought leader in the field of site selection and economic development in the US.
He is also a member of Site Selectors Guild, the only association of the top site selection consultants around the world.
The Southern Business & Development magazine featured Jay in its list of "Ten people who made a difference” in economic development. In addition to that, the Site Selection magazine also listed him among the 10 outstanding leaders in the US in the field of economic development. 
Recognizing his nine years of exceptional services as a Chief Economic Development Officer in the city/county of Mobile, Mobile's mayor and city council declared July 29, 1994, as "Jay Garner Day."
CONTACT INFORMATION
 LinkedIn Profile 
Email: jay@garnereconomics.com 
Contact Number: 770-716-9544 

Research StrategyWe commenced our research by first looking for any precompiled lists of notable thought leaders in the field of site selection. We scoured through magazines, newsletters, and other news and media sources that target site selection including the Site Selection Magazine, Area Development Magazine, Site & Facility Planning This Week, and Site Link Forum, among others. Most of these resources didn't contain any such precompiled lists, however, the Site Link Forum resource was helpful in findings most of the notable thought leaders in site selection. However, some of the site selectors on this list were not very popular so we shortlisted only those that were highly experienced in the field of site selection and widely recognized by different site selection magazines and news publications. We identified five notable site selectors who are considered thought leaders in their field using this approach. 

We then expanded our research to different site selection databases including Site Selectors Guild, Sites Selections Group, and NCS International among others to identify two more thought leaders in this field. We were able to identify two more thought leaders with a solid reputation and high popularity in the field of site selection. 

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Site Selectors - Industry Analysis

The top critical site selection factors include labor, energy, availability of buildings, and corporate tax rates. We were unable to find the number of people that work as site selectors in the US and a breakdown of this industry by service type. However, we've presented other helpful findings in the research below.
HELPFUL FINDINGSCRITICAL SITE SELECTION FACTORSOne of the top critical site selection factor, as determined by the majority of the site selectors, is the availability and cost of energy. It has become essential to find an energy partner that uses renewable energy sources to generate power. 
As companies now have multiple choices internationally to choose the location of their business, corporate tax rates are one of the most important factors to be considered. 
The expense of labor is constantly one of the biggest percentages of the total cost for any company’s operations, which is why labor cost is among the top site selection factors. Further, the availability of skilled labors is ranked as the number one important site selection factor. 
One of the important factors in the site selection process is to find vacant buildings for the business.
SITE SELECTION FOR WAREHOUSE USERSSite selection has become an important process for the companies who require warehouses as it helps in finding prime locations to meet store and customer demand. Moreover, it becomes essential to find enough employees for the site operations. 
According to Ferdinand Seefried, the Executive Chairman of Seefried Industrial Properties, the site selection process not only includes tangible factors such as land costs and access to main roads but also other factors such as the available number of labors.
TOP INSIGHTS FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS ON SITE SELECTION IN THE US:-The Site Selectors Guild (SSG), the world’s largest site location experts association, surveyed its 43 members and released a full report containing the collective thoughts on the current state of site selection in the US. 
According to 85% of SSG members, the number of manufacturing projects in the United States will rise in the next three years.
According to 76% of SSG members, "the decision to not participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership will impact corporate site selection projects in the US".
Around 72% of SSG members predict that distribution projects are likely to increase in international locations. 
According to 90% of SSG members, higher restrictions on immigration may "impact projects considering the US".

RESEARCH STRATEGY:We were unable to find the number of people that work as site selectors in the US and a breakdown of this industry by service type. We applied the following strategies to find this information:

1. We commenced our research by looking for the number of people that work as site selectors in the US. We first reviewed the US Government Census' website in a hope to get some pre-recorded statistics regarding the number of site selectors in the US. Unfortunately, the US government databases did not have any information related to the number of site selectors in the US. The website only covered information about the site selection methodology. We then searched through notable magazines/newsletters that target site selectors in the US such as Site Selection Magazines, Area Development Magazine, Site & Facility Planning This Week, Business Facilities, and Trade & Industry Development. We also consulted American industrial and professional site selectors association including AEPED and Site Selectors Guild. However, most of the above information portals mainly focused on information related to site selection factors and site selectors surveys on Amazon.

2. We had to change our strategy by scouring through research publications, surveys, and case studies with the hope to find any information about site selection services in the US to get any direct or indirect data related to the number of people that work as site selectors. We searched through research databases including Research Gate, Research Guides, Pew Research Center Gallup FedStats, however, none of these sources contained any relevant information. It is possible that any research or case studies would not have been conducted on this topic. And hence, none of these databases yielded any positive results.

3. Our third strategy was to find statistics and/or facts related to the site selection services in the US so that we could triangulate the number of people that work as site selectors in the US as well as the breakdown of the industry by service type. We searched through news journals and magazine articles such as US News, Science Mag, and The Economist. And, we also looked at private company databases such as Statista, Forrester, Forbes, Investopedia, IDC, and Gartner. However, majority of the above databases and news websites did not cover any information on this topic while other websites yielded information related to the concerns of site selection and factors affecting the selection of a good location.

4. We applied our fourth strategy by looking for the site selection market information globally as well as the number or percentage of in-house and local or national third-party contractors in a hope to get any correlating percentage or number in the US. We searched through market information providers such as Market Watch and Deloitte, and also consulted international news websites such as Reuters, Dow Jones, and Bloomberg. However, the majority of the above data portals only covered information about mistakes to avoid on a site selection and location strategy services.

5. Our fifth strategy was to look for the number of site selectors in the US in the last 10 years with a hope to get the growth rate percentage for the site selectors. The aim was to triangulate the current number of site selectors in the US by multiplying the growth rate with the old figure. We searched through websites such as Statista, Forrester, Forbes, Investopedia, The Economist, Pew Research. Unfortunately, the information was either the same as we encountered previously or were totally non-relevant.

We concluded that there was a lack of availability of information related to the number of people that work as site selectors in the US as well as the breakdown of the site selection industry by service type. However, after extensively searching through all the information portals mentioned above, we were able to gather some helpful insights.

Sources

From Part 01

Area Development’s 31st Annual Corporate Survey & 13th Annual Consultants Survey

issuu.com

Publication Year: 2017

Quotes

"(p.17 on Issuu) Only 38 percent of the respondents to our 31st annual Corporate Survey utilize the services of site selection or business consultants when making location decisions."
"(p.18 on Issuu) More than 80 percent of the respondents utilize site magazines like Area Development as a source of site selection information, and three-quarters also use general business magazines and financial newspapers."
"(p.18 on Issuu) When searching online, 78 percent claim to be looking for economic data on specific locations, two thirds are looking at listings of available sites and buildings (e.g. FastFacility), and half hone in on specific economic development agencies' websites. "
"(p.19 on Issuu) Sources of site selection information used during the past 24 months: - Site magazines (e.g. Area Development) 82% - B2B industry-related magazines (food, plastics, etc.) 37% - General business magazines and financial papers (e.g. IndustryWeek, The Wall Street Journal, etc.) 74%"
"(p.20 on Issuu) Area Development also asked the consultants who help our corporate executive readers make their facility location and expansion decisions to tell us about their clients' plans and priorities."
"(p.20 on Issuu)Nearly all (91 percent) say they provide their clients with location studies/comparative analyses, as well as incentives negotiation/management (89 percent make that claim)."