Benchmarking FAQ

It provides invaluable insight into your agency’s competitiveness. What you are doing well and should enhance. What is not up to standard and how you should aim to improve it. The majority of IPAs have participated two or more times, as they find it useful to measure their improvements and to keep in touch with new techniques and approaches to investment promotion.

Standard benchmarking starts at just GBP 1,615 + VAT, so any agency can afford to take part. See the cost options in the registration form. Developing countries and LDCs may be eligible for subsidised participation.

Good! Custom benchmarking lets you choose which sectors/business areas, regional teams and websites you want to benchmark. Choose the sectors, the teams and the approximate timing for the test enquiries to be submitted.

A test investor or location consultant will review your website for key investment information. Then they will contact your agency directly, and will assess the level of support given by the agency team.

Very! The programme will asses any combination of over 30 industry sectors and sub sectors, and up to 20 different business function/activity. Furthermore enquiries can be submitted and managed in English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese.

IPA Performance Benchmarking gives you a substantial independent analysis of your agency’s performance with typical investment enquiries. Custom benchmarking agencies, as part of the fee, also receive a dedicated half day training workshop for their staff, held at their offices.

The programme will run through to the end of 2017 and early 2018. The exact time of a benchmarking assessment will be unknown to the participating agency. However the benchmarking period will end by 31 May 2018. That gives most agencies plenty of scope to time the testing to suit both the budget and also the development activities in teams, on sector programmes and, of course, new website developments.

Our results will be compared to previous year’s results obtained from more than 700 assessments since 2001.

The GDP Global expert consulting team will thoroughly assess your website and provide a 12-point analytical report of its effectiveness and any areas for improvement.

Our global benchmarking team will submit a typical investment enquiry to your agency team(s). The 13-point analytical report informs you on every step of the process: telephone enquiry handling, email effectiveness, team work, quality of proposal information, levels of service etc.

We complete our analysis, and then submit to you the confidential draft and final reports, together with the results of the entire benchmarking programme. Our report to you covers operational, organisation and strategy related observations and recommendations.
For custom benchmarking clients, we will present your agency’s results, findings, analysis and recommendations at a half day workshop, held in London or at your agency, for all of your staff.