5 Site Selection Insights from the Mid-America EDC Competitiveness Conference for Wyoming EDAs

Education is one of the key tenets of the Wyoming Economic Development Association (WEDA). The organization strives to provide information and resources to economic development professionals across the Cowboy State. In December 2024, two WEDA team members – Executive Director Brett Kahler and WEDA Support Specialist Zach Valero – attended the Mid-America EDC Competitiveness Conference to learn, network, and grow. Their goal was to highlight all the great things about Wyoming while coming back with valuable insights to support WEDA’s members.

“Many of the challenges facing Wyoming economic development professionals aren’t unique to this state,” says Kahler. “This conference created space to discuss trends and opportunities facing most of America.”

There were countless insights and ideas discussed across the field of economic development, but here are a few key highlights that showcase trends in site selection. Use these facts to guide your economic development efforts and make them stronger so Wyoming communities can continue to grow as one. 

1. Define Your Target Audience in Your Eco Dev Efforts

Research is essential when it comes to appealing to site selectors. Wyoming communities need to identify who they are trying to reach and what they need to know. Too often, economic development teams try to appeal to everyone and all industries, rather than a few core audiences. If your community is targeting data center developers, know what those site selectors need. If you are appealing to energy companies, offer them a targeted pitch.  

Honing your target audience also applies to workforce development. If your town is trying to recruit talent and bring in new residents, develop a marketing strategy that reflects that.

“One of our big takeaways from the Mid-America EDC was to set your priorities for 2025,” says Kahler. “It’s more effective to have a few key audiences in mind and to focus your efforts to achieve your goals.” 

2. Assess and Prioritize Your Location Advantages

Once you have a target audience (or a few ideal audiences), you can start crafting a message that showcases your community's uniqueness. Consider how your town or city stands out and makes people want to live there – and makes businesses want to operate out of there. 

“You know your communities better than anyone,” says Dave Parsell, CEO and co-founder at LocalIntel. “You don’t have to be the best, but you can still find positives to talk about in your pitch.”  

Parsell adds that if you’ve done the work on what matters to your target audience, then you can craft a pitch that matters to them. You already know who you want to reach, not you can create a message that excites them.   

3. Site Selectors Continue to Prioritize People in Their Search

Marketing focused around people will become increasingly common in 2025 and beyond. Highlighting your residents and workforce will allow economic development to make their communities more appealing to site selectors looking for standard projects and mega-projects alike.

Parsell shared a graphic showing the criteria that matter to site selectors and how their values have changed over time. The three top priorities currently are:

• Labor Costs
• Quality of Life
• Availability of Skilled Labor

This was a trend in other discussions as well. In a presentation on how to attract a mega-project, multiple panelists – made up of investors and site selectors – highlighted how important people are when exploring potential communities. One of the common questions is “Where are the people?”  

4. Your Online Presence is More Important Than Ever

Parsell emphasizes that economic development communities need effective websites that convey valuable information to site selectors and other decision-makers. He says that site selectors spend two minutes on average on a website, and they need quality information that is easy to find.  

“Ninety percent of site selectors will visit your website without your knowing,” says Parsell. “You don’t want to make them work for it. Give them the information they need immediately.”

Parsell advised against long videos that fight against receding attention spans and pages with lots of text where the key messages could get lost. “You don’t need your staff members and meeting agendas on your homepage,” says Parsell. “You need a captivating sell instead.”  

5. Highlight Your Resilience 

Economic development is driven by problem-solving. Even the most seamless projects face roadblocks and issues that require new and unique solutions. As you evaluate your location advantages, target audiences, and goals for the future, don’t forget to celebrate your resilience and show site selectors how you can face any challenges head-on. 

“Wyoming has always been a resilient state,” says Kahler. “We have ranchers who have passed down their land for more than 100 years and new energy industries that are launching in a few years. Residents prove time again that they can overcome any obstacle that comes their way.”  

WEDA Will Use Lessons from the Mid-America EDC in its 2025 Education Efforts 

WEDA provides education opportunities to its members throughout the year, from semi-annual conferences to prosperity calls and mentoring. The insights gleaned from the Mid-America EDC Competitiveness Conference will help Kahler and Valerio develop education programs in 2025 and beyond. They will take the ideas discussed above – from prioritizing people to improving website content – and turn them into actional sessions that can help your EDA grow.

Your economic development corporation can grow alongside the state of Wyoming. Consider becoming a member of WEDA and enjoying the educational benefits that it provides. The networking, community support, and information shared are invaluable to all communities and industries in this great state.