Marketing recipients of territory
Referring to objectives in the context of territorial marketing, this concept is relatively rarely encountered in the relevant literature. This is due to the fact that territorial marketing is primarily handled by local government representatives, namely political groups and their departments. These groups do not have tangible benefits for themselves from conducting a campaign from start to finish. Moreover, these activities are long-term and by the time the outcomes of such actions can be assessed, the authorities may have changed. Another argument that discourages decision-makers from setting clearly defined marketing goals is the fact that if these goals are not met (and marketing actions are difficult to measure, making it often tough to determine whether the specific funds allocated for marketing purposes yield directly defined objectives), they may become targets for media attacks or political opponents and residents. Nonetheless, it is worth setting objectives at the beginning of marketing activities and attempting to describe the cost-effectiveness indicators of the expenses incurred (for example, the tax revenue-to-marketing expenditure ratio or the total number of students in a given academic center relative to the costs of marketing actions directed at potential students over a multi-year perspective) – from this, one can discern the translation of marketing objectives in relation to the appropriate target group – the objectives of the undertaken actions in the realm of territorial marketing determine their audience.
Among the recipients of territorial marketing actions, we can distinguish:
- residents of the promoted area – residents express their opinions about their place, including how they are perceived themselves – they also become part of the evaluation of the image of a given region (often various characteristics are attributed to the residents of a specific territory – for example, hospitality, openness to others, or stinginess). The residents of the promoted territory become beneficiaries of all actions aimed at improving the image, therefore all such actions are in their interest.
- potential investors – investors are a fundamental target of the marketing actions of a region – it can be said that they serve as a kind of litmus test – if they appear, it means that actions are being taken in the right direction and are yielding the expected results. The arrival of new investors confirms the quality of the given place – it signifies not only acceptance of the land for building a factory but also overall satisfaction with the region – broadly understood infrastructure, favorable policies from the authorities, and a vision of development opportunities within that region. Therefore, it is not surprising that city managers compete intensely to attract investors by enticing them with tax exemptions, creating special economic zones, or additional incentives and privileges. For the region, new investments primarily mean the creation of new jobs, an increase in local budget revenues, improved image and attractiveness of the place, and for the authorities, it signifies success and validation of marketing efforts as well as the culmination of other endeavors and efforts.
- future students (in the case of academic centers) – current academic centers are competing to attract new students (similarly to towns seeking new investors) – in the face of demographic decline, every student is important for a university. Competition among higher education institutions is already significant and is systematically increasing – in new locations (mostly smaller towns), new private colleges or branches of state universities are being established. Access to higher education is becoming greater – there is an opportunity for part-time and e-learning study modes, meaning that most students spend time at home in front of a computer at their convenience.
The incoming students are also very significant for the academic city – they utilize local services and products, and often later decide to remain in the city where they studied, starting families and settling down – these actions drive the local economy.
- tourists – they are an important but very unstable group of recipients of local marketing efforts. It should be noted that every place has "something" (a building, site, lake, swimming area, nature protection site, etc.) to offer in order to entice people from outside the region to visit. However, tourists often visit a specific site only once, although subsequently, new visitors tend to appear. Of course, there are regions (mountainous, spa towns, or coastal) that have already established a strong brand and enjoy a steady influx of tourists each season, but it is also important to promote even lesser-known, niche locations, as every single tourist potentially constitutes a significant benefit for that place.
- residents of nearby areas (as an incentive to relocate to the promoted place) – in many cases, larger cities and metropolitan areas attract residents of nearby smaller towns for work or study. Recently, suburban towns are often "absorbed" by larger cities. All these situations present a great opportunity for municipalities to gain benefits, primarily in direct financial terms.
- companies and enterprises and others – all the smaller players in the local market are also significant for the locality and positively impact its budget. Every single transaction, even basic buying and selling, benefits not only both parties involved but also the budget of the municipality. The examples mentioned indicate that it is worthwhile to build a positive image of one's own place.
