So what happens when an entrepreneur or business owner is considering moving a company to a new location?

How do they make the next step toward relocation?

For a new marketing group, the answer may be on the Web, with personal stories and targeted information at their fingertips.

"The main point of the site is to make an emotional connection with people," said Marti Staprans Barlow, one of the site's promoters.

Barlow said the site will feature video of local CEOs explaining why they pick Corvallis, links to amenities, demographic data and business services.

The marketing group is known as "team Corvallis" and is comprised of members of the Business Enterprise Center, the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition, Corvallis Mayor Charlie Tomlinson and the Benton County Board of Commissioners.

Brian Weldon, president of the Corvallis chapter of the Software Association of Oregon, said the hope is to attract companies that rely on creative employees who want the outdoor and small-city amenities Corvallis offers.

"Typically, economic development is based on tax incentives, and we haven't been able to compete with that," Weldon said. "But we do have the lifestyle."

Besides information and testimonials, the group hopes business people take advantage of what they're calling "experience Corvallis," expense-paid weekend trips to town designed to close the deal.

Those visits will also include a guide, chosen to correspond with the particular industry of the prospective business, to demonstrate how they might fit in the city.

ON THE WEB

The "Business is good here" Web site will be available online starting this week at businessisgoodhere.com