| Rocketing
Out of the Twilight Zone: Gaining Strategic Insights from Business Retention
Eric P. Canada © Blane, Canada Ltd. Published in: "Economic Development Review" - Strategic Planning Issue, Fall 1999 As Blane, Canada Ltd. has dug deeper into the practice of business retention, applicable training materials, and literature, it became apparent that developers have directed their efforts to improve business retention solely at the process level. Apparently the assumption was "if the process works better, the result will be more successful." The thesis outlined in our award winning article, Locked in the Twilight Zone: Business Retention Fails the Strategic Value Test!, suggests fixing the woes of business retention when it is seldom centered on a strategic information approach. The evidence was clear and ample that the questions in use contributed little to policy decisions, program design, resource allocation, or marketing. Development professionals' frustrations with business retention flow from two critical issues the profession has failed to act on: the value of questions and analysis. Rocketing looks at the on-going research Blane, Canada Ltd. and a small group of development pioneers have conducted to prove the concept valid and workable, but more importantly valuable to a development organization. Rocketing lays out critical steps to building a results-driven existing business program. Editor's Note: The Synchronist Business Information System¨, business retention software built on the concepts described in this article was awarded "Best Economic Development Software" with a Best of Class and Special Judge's Award at the AEDC Annual Conference, June 1999.
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