"Mass-market investment promotion" is making a comeback.

This once-popular buzzword in investment promotion had faded from the view of investment promoters amid a series of criticisms that its "downsides outweighed the benefits."

However, in the face of repeated waves of the pandemic, many regions have revived the concept of “mass-based investment promotion” as they work to restore and develop their economies, resolutely treating investment attraction as their “top priority” with the utmost effort.

Nevertheless, after years of development, the mindset and approach to "mass-based investment promotion" have changed completely from what they were back then.

From “Total Mobilization” to “Community Collaboration”

The "mass-based investment promotion" that was once widely criticized involved a "mass campaign" style of mobilizing everyone, with even departments such as education, women’s federations, and health and wellness being required to share quotas, compete for rankings, and implement reward and punishment systems.

In 2018, municipal-level units in a certain city made over 3,000 business outreach visits within two months, yet reported only 179 leads for potential projects, with only six entering formal negotiations. Notably, more than 20 units reported zero leads.

The practice of assigning quotas and having each unit operate in isolation—this lack of coordination and individualistic approach—often results in investment promotion efforts remaining superficial, trapped in a routine of “visits—group photos—records,” yielding few tangible results.

Requiring all departments to shoulder investment promotion tasks undoubtedly places an additional burden on non-investment promotion departments, hindering the performance of their regular functions.

Today’s “whole-of-government” investment promotion refers to a scientific mechanism characterized by “shared goals across all levels and coordinated efforts across all sectors.” It aims to mobilize the enthusiasm of personnel in all departments and foster a sense of collective participation and a supportive atmosphere.

Similar to the traditional AIDA sales model, local governments and industrial parks must go through four stages to successfully attract enterprises:

Attention — Capture attention

Interest —— Generate interest

Desire —— Stimulate desire

Action —— Facilitate the decision

As an investment promotion department, we certainly have both the capability and the willingness to drive all these stages forward until a project is successfully established.

However, most non-investment promotion departments lack industry knowledge and analytical capabilities; it is unrealistic to expect them to take the lead on the front lines of investment promotion, driving the process step by step from project identification to successful establishment.

However, this does not mean they are outsiders.

For example, many staff members in non-investment promotion departments possess extensive knowledge in specific vertical fields, where professional barriers are very high.

For instance, the Drug Administration has deep insights into the biopharmaceutical industry and can provide significant assistance to investment promotion efforts. In the past, the approach was to directly assign investment promotion tasks to the Drug Administration, but the results were less than ideal.

Now, many localities invite them to serve as consultants, thereby maximizing the role of these experts.

First, they can provide professional training to investment promotion departments; second, they can participate in company visits and project evaluations when necessary, offering sound advice from perspectives that investment promoters might overlook.

This is not merely about attracting one or two projects; it is closely tied to the development of the entire industrial chain.

Here’s another example: do the cleaning and security staff at the industrial park contribute to investment promotion efforts?

Of course they do.

Entrepreneurs will certainly have a better impression of a clean and tidy park than one that is filthy and cluttered, because the long-term development of a business is closely tied to the park’s overall management standards.

Investment promotion is a systematic endeavor that requires collaboration and division of labor among multiple departments. "Whole-community investment promotion" does not mean everyone should neglect their primary duties; rather, it means performing one’s primary duties well to support investment promotion.

Does the infrastructure meet the general needs of target enterprises?

Is the business onboarding process customer-centric?

Is property management up to standard?

Is the public service platform being established in a timely manner?

While these tasks may seem unrelated to attracting businesses, they actually influence entrepreneurs’ final decisions to varying degrees.

Furthermore, in recent years, many regions have begun leveraging ties of hometown affection and nostalgia to attract support from people across the board for local development, utilizing the influence of distinguished hometown figures to advance investment promotion efforts.

These distinguished local figures not only actively return to invest in their hometowns but also proactively promote the region’s advantages to businesses across the industrial chain, attracting projects to settle there.

In Shangyu, Zhejiang, 69 return projects have been introduced over the past three years, bringing in 8.02 billion yuan in investment. Additionally, there are now more than 190 public welfare funds funded by new local elites, with a principal exceeding 2 billion yuan.

Returning to the AIDA model mentioned earlier—

Although the cases mentioned above cannot directly facilitate the establishment of businesses, they can subtly influence the three stages of Attention, Interest, and Desire, and are closely related to the final stage of Action.

Therefore, today’s “nationwide investment promotion” is no longer about “mobilizing everyone,” but rather about stimulating public participation and enthusiasm for economic development, thereby positively influencing entrepreneurs’ decision-making at every stage.

From “Rushing Headlong” to “Strategic Planning”

Now, let’s turn our attention to the main force behind investment promotion efforts: investment promotion agencies at all levels.

Bidding farewell to the “extensive” approach of the past, investment promotion units have begun to grasp the essence of “targeted investment promotion,” treating the study and research of industrial knowledge as a priority.

Whether through independent research or by “bringing in outside expertise” to broaden their perspectives, localities are applying targeted efforts to drive investment promotion toward professionalization.

▲Recently, the GuChuan Industrial Research Institute, a subsidiary of GuChuan United, provided comprehensive industrial consulting services to the Medical Device Industrial Park in the Bengbu Economic Development Zone.

Flipping through a certain city’s *Guide to Investment Promotion for Key Industries*, one finds that more than a dozen priority sectors have been systematically organized into detailed sections. The development trends, industrial chain structures, and key target enterprises for each sector are clearly presented through text and charts.

It is indeed clear at a glance which businesses to target, where to conduct investment promotion, which enterprises are priorities, and what methods to employ.

So, does this mean that investment promotion professionals, armed with this guide, can target specific areas with precision and attract high-quality projects with unstoppable momentum?

Yes and no.

Being able to communicate with entrepreneurs on the same wavelength is certainly important.

But what’s even more crucial is that while investment promotion officers are “charging” on the front lines, the necessary resources and policies must also “back them up” on the front lines. Only then can a powerful synergy be formed to win over entrepreneurs’ hearts.

When investment promotion teams visit potential investors, entrepreneurs inevitably ask questions about resources and policies.

Imagine if entrepreneurs were told “I need to check with my superiors” every time—they would inevitably feel dissatisfied and might even lose confidence in the local business environment.

Too many “case-by-case” decisions may lead entrepreneurs to feel that local policy support is unfair. If a business is located in such a place, can it truly survive through fair market competition?

Regions with outstanding investment promotion records typically meticulously organize various business-friendly policies into a comprehensive “toolkit.”

At the negotiating table, investment promotion staff can draw on these tools—including industrial guidance funds, talent residency programs, and financial incentives—to address entrepreneurs’ specific needs.

This policy “toolkit” not only boosts the success rate of project negotiations but also provides frontline investment promotion staff with a clear “bottom line,” eliminating from the outset the practice of competing solely on funding, resources, land, or preferential policies.

Behind the introduction of these policies lie countless unsung heroes.

Although they do not “charge” to the front lines of investment promotion, they have long, unconsciously, become integral members of the city’s collective investment promotion effort.

From “Going It Alone” to “Bringing in Outside Help”

The concept of “citywide investment promotion” has evolved from the narrow definition of “assigning investment targets to all departments” to the broader approach of “expanding investment channels through every possible means.” This necessitates the introduction of a new model—

delegated investment promotion.

Strictly speaking, delegated investment promotion is nothing new.

In early 2020, the Ministry of Commerce officially issued a notice supporting localities in actively pursuing delegated investment promotion. Over the years, Guchuan United has successfully facilitated over 6,100 projects through in-depth collaboration with hundreds of government agencies and investment promotion organizations.

However, some regions remain reluctant to bring in “external assistance” to support their investment promotion efforts and have not yet fully embraced this model.

Perhaps they are hesitant about the “upfront payment + intermediary commission” cooperation model, or perhaps they have had negative experiences with unreliable investment promotion service providers, or perhaps their traditional mindset regarding investment promotion has not yet shifted…

Regardless, all investment promotion professionals must take note:

In recent years, an increasing number of industrial parks have begun to deepen reforms in their management systems and mechanisms, fully implementing the “Management Committee + Company” model to further clarify the roles of government and the market, thereby achieving “government-market” co-governance.

This new model places greater emphasis on leveraging the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, facilitating a shift from government-led to market-led development.

By designating a company as the market-oriented entity responsible for financing, investment, construction, and operations, this model is expected to truly resolve the systemic, financing, operational, and talent issues that have long hindered the development of industrial parks.

This also signals that investment promotion efforts are moving ever deeper toward marketization and professionalization.

Funds and manpower are the most valuable resources for local governments.

How to allocate these resources—both funds and manpower—to maximize their effectiveness is a question worthy of deep consideration.

As the principle of “letting professionals handle professional tasks” becomes widely accepted, partnering with high-quality investment promotion service providers like GuChuan LianXing will become an inevitable choice for governments and industrial parks to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

By leveraging the professional expertise of investment promotion agencies, governments can focus their limited resources on strategic planning and enterprise services, coordinating efforts from a high-level perspective and fostering efficient collaboration to mobilize resources from all sectors in support of economic development.

Perhaps this is the true meaning of "nationwide investment promotion."

Faced with the impact of the Omicron variant, many regions have revived the concept of “nationwide investment promotion” as they work to restore and develop their economies.

However, when implementing "nationwide investment promotion," we must avoid narrowing our approach.

Going it alone without coordination is no longer viable; establishing a scientific mechanism characterized by “unity of purpose from top to bottom and coordination across all sectors,” and fostering an atmosphere of “public participation to boost economic development,” is of paramount importance.

To ensure effectiveness, reform and innovation must never cease.