How do you retain foreign companies? The key lies with key account management

Alarm bells are ringing when it comes to the business climate in (Northern) Holland. Full electricity grid, too few plots of land, insufficiently qualified personnel ... just to list the top three negative influences. How do governments and semi-governments deal with these signals and, more importantly, how do we prevent companies from leaving our region? This was the key question at NOM's theme meeting with business contacts from various municipalities and provinces in NOM territory on a drizzly November day in 2024.

We'll give away the answer right away: strategic key account management. More later.

There are brief summaries of the contributions of the first three at the bottom of this article. The report below describes the teachings of number four: Nico Smit.

Both regionally and nationally, this list emerges of positive and negative influences that determine the business climate in the Netherlands. First the negative ones:

By the way, we in the Netherlands are not the only ones in the EU with such problems. Positive influences are:

Largely, these negative and positive factors apply nationally and you have little influence on them regionally. The factors you do have influence over are clearly identifiable as local. For example, nuisance in a business park, parking problems or poor access due to open bridges.

Nico Smit is an entrepreneur, a teacher, a commissioner at Waterbedrijf Groningen and an independent consultant in the field of strategic relationship management. Whenever he is in contact with a company, he invariably asks himself the question: how can I be valuable? If a company complains bitterly in a conversation about grid congestion, it is of no use to you if you take on that problem. Because you can hardly do anything about it locally. So focus on where you can be of value, is his message. Ask yourself what your role is. And what is not. Frame your purpose.

What is also important is to focus on companies that add value. Those are your key accounts. Don't worry that the rest won't feel seen; take care of that too. Know that the rest are also reaping the benefits that you manage to reap with your key accounts. A brainstorm about what is added value for your region will quickly provide a grip:

You can do something with that as a key account manager!

Nico implores the audience to teach themselves techniques to figure out what the question is behind the question. For example: does that company really need that extra square footage for storage? Or does better accessibility help, making the supply and removal more efficient and eliminating the need for storage? What helps here: focus on the end result, not on the means requested. To zoom in on the main problem of grid congestion, for example: extra power is a means to an end; what is the goal the company wants to achieve with it? By asking that question you can end up with very different solutions.

Nico knows that companies generally need a full discussion partner to whom they can tell their story. Businesses are happy to cooperate with governments, provided it goes smoothly. They expect the government to facilitate. And they want business support and a network from the government. Knowing that, you can fine-tune how you can be of value. By advising, inspiring and offering practical support.

By working in the above ways, you develop into a good interlocutor for your key account. You engage in dialogue and together you devise and develop solutions. To be a good discussion partner, you will have to invest time in the company. You collect data, about the company's field of activity and the company itself. You get to know the company through and through, not just by talking to the CEO, but by establishing and maintaining contacts at all possible levels. By yourself and by colleagues. Make sure you have a good system to keep track of the data.

Don't think you can solve all business climate problems regionally or locally; know your limitations. Focus on what you can do: build valuable relationships with companies that have added value and thus prevent them from leaving. By thinking along, advising; by entering into dialogue as an equal partner. Strategic key account management by governments is the key to retaining key companies.

More information on this topic, this meeting and its outcomes can be obtained from Jesmer Dijkstra, NOM's Internationalization business analyst.

NOM had invited the following speakers for this meeting:

Below is a brief review of the presentations by the first three speakers. These provided valuable input and inspiration for answering the key question of this meeting. The fourth speaker headlined this keynote; this is described above.

The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) is an implementing organization and part of the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO). NFIA works with regional development agencies, major cities and NDL in the Invest in Holland network on strategic acquisition and retention of foreign companies. The Investor Relations (IR) program is a visit program by Invest in Holland to foreign companies in the Netherlands (current investors) and their parent companies abroad. Mariëlle Balk outlined the importance of this program. Long story short: they build long-term and valuable relationships with foreign companies in the Netherlands and abroad with the IR program. This contributes to anchoring the foreign companies in the ecosystems of the Netherlands. The visits regularly lead to new projects and moreover, current investors in the Netherlands can win over new investors. Finally, NFIA collects valuable signals about the Dutch establishment and business climate through the talks and shares these with policymakers and administrators.

Wibo van Wier, account manager at NOM, then explained that Trade & Innovate NL (TINL) does important work with export companies in the Netherlands. There is a lot of manufacturing industry in the northern Netherlands that depends on exports. TINL advises, organizes activities, opens routes to funding and subsidies, helps in the search for trading partners worldwide and provides customized training. As a result of many visits, TINL also has extensive knowledge about export companies.

Wubbo Everts is project manager for Internationalization at NOM. He explained that an NOM survey of companies in parts of Groningen and Drenthe also revealed the categories listed in this article. There were also some negative factors that you can influence regionally, namely:

Companies appeared to be in particular need of support in the sustainability transition. Here you can do something regionally by improving the cooperation mentioned.