The results obtained from representatives of businesses across Klaipėda FEZ revealed high levels of satisfaction in terms of cooperation with the FEZ management company. Enthusiastic recommendations (9 and 10 points forming the so-called Net Promoter Score (NPS)) made up 79% of the score with no businesses indicating their reluctance to recommend the FEZ.
The survey confirmed that companies operating in Klaipėda FEZ were most satisfied with prompt response to emerging problems, excellent communication, good infrastructure and maintenance, the overall image of the FEZ and the sales process, provision of utility services as well as the client-oriented approach. Transport links to the city were mentioned amongst the improvements required. Respondents also indicated that services such as a medical centre, an ATM, various stores, a gym, a car wash or a petrol station, as well as expansion of parking spaces, would also be welcome.
Overall, practically all of the surveyed areas received a score of eight and above. The only exceptions were potential to attract staff due to the location of the FEZ and provision of heating – these areas received a little over seven points each.
Eglė Songailienė, head of Klaipėda ID, the city’s economic development agency, applauded the positive responses of the FEZ’s clients. Songailienė said that while this study was mostly focusing on certain internal aspects of the FEZ, they are also directly or indirectly related to the activities of the municipal and state institutions.
“The combined experience of the investors depends on both the internal and external factors. It is difficult to expect happy clients if they have to deal with excessive bureaucratic obstacles which are slowing their businesses down. So together with the city municipality, we are constantly working to ensure that all processes of establishing and developing business in the city are as simple as possible. The excellent results of the Klaipėda FEZ client survey prompt us to strengthen two areas – spreading the message about Klaipėda in Lithuania and globally as well as continuing to improve on processes in the public sector. Regarding the latter, last year we launched the “green corridor for major investors” initiative in cooperation with over 20 organisations in Klaipėda. This will cut the time for issuing building permits by four times. We started the new year with a comprehensive study of the needs of investors already in Klaipėda, which will help us represent the investors’ needs in the city even better,” comments E. Songailienė.
Gediminas Koryzna, director of business development at Invest Lithuania, agrees and says that satisfaction of the existing clients is very important for the development of direct foreign investment in the entire country.
“From our experience, one of the most important factors affecting the decision of new investors to settle in our country is a positive response from existing companies. We, therefore, welcome the initiative by Klaipėda FEZ to closely study the satisfaction of their existing clients and are happy to see these overwhelmingly positive results. There is a lack of such data in the region as well as the world so this will become a good qualitative and quantitative instrument in inviting new companies to invest,” says G. Koryzna.
Klaipėda FEZ is the first and longest-operating free economic zone in Lithuania. Spanning across the territory of 412 hectares, the Zone is home to 44 companies-investors with the combined 2019 turnover of 1.2 billion euro and export worth 550 million euro. This equals around 3% of the national GDP and export of Lithuania. The business community of Klaipėda FEZ includes around 100 companies employing nearly 6,000 people.
