Indecon Consulting

Indecon Advisory Network: Economic Development

Mission

We provide services to enable cities, regions and countries to hone their public profile, enhancing their visibility in Germany and in other key European markets and enabling them to attract investors and experts to their location.

For these clients, we focus on three core issues: public image, dialogue with the right target groups, and long-term visibility.

We design the appropriate strategies and concretely implement the requisite measures.

Expertise

In our consulting, we leverage expertise and experience from over 50 projects covering a wide spectrum of services to strengthen regional development and economic growth. Depending on the specific case, the core consultancy services we offer include:

Strategy development: Designing analyses and plans for all principal areas in economic development

Investor acquisition: Drafting strategies for and establishing corporate contacts, in particular in German-speaking countries as well as other countries in Europe

Regional promotion: Developing strategies and campaigns, implementing marketing measures

Networks: Designing and developing corporate and sector networks, establishing permanent communication structures

Sales promotion: Planning strategies and implementing activities to promote corporate sales

Organisational development: SWOT analysis, organisation analysis, organisational development projects, coaching, process support and facilitation

Basic Module

We offer a structured approach with two basic modules for international clients seeking to expand their presence in Germany and other key European markets. These modules build on one another, but can also be booked individually. The first module focuses on designing strategies, the second on putting those strategies into practice.

 

Module 1: Designing Strategies

  • SWOT analysis clients: What are the strengths and weaknesses/opportunities and risks for the region, which investors would find the region interesting, what level of visibility does it have, and what is the present image?
  • Developing the overall strategic idea: Target sectors, target groups and the key messages for communication (brand essence)
  • Drafting a marketing and sales plan: How to reach target groups (marketing, PR, sales, internet, media, social media, trade fairs, conventions and congresses), specific content (content strategy), programme of measures with milestones and costs, proposals for implementation (resources client, services), goals and results-based monitoring
  • Developing an organisational plan: Which structures are needed in the target regions, how are support and implantation of activities planned
  • Presenting strategy, arranging initial discussions and contacts

Module 1 - Duration: 3-6 months

Results: Understanding what the city, region, country needs to do in the target markets to attract investors; strategy and concrete plan of measures (with milestones and budget planning) to implement the strategy

 

Module 2: Acquisition and Marketing

  • Producing marketing and sales materials for the target regions (presentation, website, brochures, advertisements, press releases) on the basis of the communication and sales plan
  • Implementing the communication plan (press relations, advertising placement, mailings, social media activities, discussions with decision-makers/multipliers)
  • Implementing the sales plan (trade fair presence, corporate contacts, developing contacts to potential investors, agreements in discussions with investors)
  • Implementing the organisational plan (setting up processes, contacts)
  • Results-base evaluation, optimisation

Module 2 – Duration: 12-36 months

Results: Enhanced visibility and improved image for target groups, direct contact to companies with concrete projects to attract businesses, on-site appointments with site viewing and subsequent location of businesses, establishing sustainable processes

Indecon Advisory Network Economic Development

The Indecon Advisory Network Economic Development combines strategy consulting with putting in place the marketing and sales measures necessary to realise its clients’ goals and objectives.

Clients profit from our international experience as well as our in-depth knowledge of structures in Germany.

The network’s local base is an office in the heart of Berlin, close to Germany’s political decision-makers.

References

In our work, we can leverage our experience from well over 50 projects realised during the course of our careers. Our clients come from Central Asia, south-east Asia, Europe and the USA.

The following contains a brief overview of our experience. On request, we will be glad to provide you with comprehensive references.

Strategy development

  • Designing a strategy including a plan for the requisite measures to establish an organisation for business promotion in the Rhineland-Palatinate region.
  • Developing a communication and marketing strategy for a German metropolis to establish the city as a leading European centre of innovation.
  • Developing a communication strategy for a German metropolis with the goal of profiling the location internationally as a hotspot for the digital economy.
  • Advising the government of Montenegro on restructuring and modernising the port sector, preparing a development strategy for the main Adriatic port in Montenegro (the port of Bar) taking into account cross-border logistics traffic from the hinterland and a marketing strategy to attract companies to the free port.
  • Advising the government of Vietnam on portfolio management, corporate governance and privatising companies under state ownership, promoting the private sector, dismantling barriers to investment, evaluating free trade agreements and liberalising the sectors of rail, energy and the extraction of natural resources.
  • Advising the government of Uzbekistan on portfolio management, corporate governance and privatising companies under state ownership, promoting the private sector, dismantling barriers to investment, and public procurement.

Investor acquisition

  • Implementing investor acquisition projects for locations in Germany, France and Belgium, the Baltic States and south-eastern Europe.
  • Working on investor acquisition in the following industrial and service sectors: Paper and packing industry, chemical sector, food and allied industries, service industries, wood processing industries, logistics, automotive industry, IT, plastics, mechanical and plant engineering, security and lock industries, energy, aviation, rail, ports, construction and other areas.
  • Basis: Actively managed corporate database with over 25,000 businesses from the requisite sectors.

Regional promotion

  • Preparing communication and marketing plans for numerous cities and regions.
  • Drafting, implementing and steering marketing campaigns, optimising resources and results-based evaluation for many cities and regions.
  • Analysing the framework conditions for profiling a service sector location, preparing the regional promotion plan with a campaign strategy, implementing and steering a multi-annual campaign for location marketing and attracting businesses to the region.

Networks

  • Designing and establishing corporate and sector networks, partner models, ambassador marketing, establishing effective communication structures.

Sales promotion

  • Establishing contacts for producers from non-EU countries to purchasers in EU countries.
  • Supporting marketing and sales for international companies with the target market of the DACH region.

Organisational development

  • Designing corporate strategies.
  • Skills workshops for business promotion associations on the topics of location marketing and attracting businesses to the region.

Project Team

Franziska Berge

  • Background: Second State Exam German/French
  • Career: Editor in the IT industry, marketing and e-publishing for publishers, partner and managing director for many years of a communication agency for location marketing, corporate communication and marketing specialist staff
  • Areas of expertise: Strategy and implementing location marketing, establishing and activating networks, innovative business promotion, marketing specialist staff
  • Over 20 years’ experience in providing consulting to German and international companies and public-sector clients as well as in businesses promotion
  • Working languages: German, English, French

franziska.berge@indecon-network.de

Cell +49 172 900 23 69

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Gert Wichitill

  • Background: Geography graduate
  • Career: Managing partner of IT companies, project manager, company founder
  • Areas of expertise: Business development, location marketing, real estate acquisition by directly addressing companies proactively
  • Over 15 years’ experience as a consultant in business promotion
  • Working languages: German, English

gert.wichitill@indecon-network.de

Cell +49 160 5320984

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Mathias Nehm

  • Background: Economics graduate
  • Career: Senior Consultant Eastern Europe, founder and managing director of Indecon Consulting
  • Areas of expertise: Consulting on policies and strategies, economic cooperation and investment projects
  • 24 years of experience as a consultant in Germany and abroad
  • Working languages: German, English, Spanish

mathias.nehm@indecon-network.de

Cell +49 173 2923945

References

Provided on request

Contact

For more details, you can also contact info@indecon-network.de.