You know what they say: "You can’t judge a book by its cover."

Let’s get real. Of course you can’t really judge a book by its cover, but we all do it. How a book’s cover strikes us has a definite impact on whether we peer at the pages inside. We are swayed by the cover image, the author’s name, how the book initially makes us feel.

In fact, if you think about it, we judge a lot of things by their "covers." People. Products. Pretty much everything.

It’s no different in the world of business. The way a city is perceived by the masses can be an important factor when a company isdiscussing where to relocate, expand or build a manufacturing plant. It could be the difference between making — or not making — the short list of sites.

In other words, a city’s outward image has a direct impact on whether city leaders can get you, the manufacturer, to buy into their community.

Granted, businesses certainly don’t make decisions based upon perception alone, but a compelling outward image can position a city on the inside track from the get-go when it comes to site selection.

In our fifth annual quest for the cities that are doing the best job of presenting themselves as prime locations for growing manufacturing companies — and then delivering on that claim — we polled more than 75 site selection consultants to get their take on the Hottest Cities scene.

As traditionally done, we provided the consultants with a complete listing of all 331 metro areas, and asked them to rank the MSAs, considering such things as business environment, work force quality, operating costs, incentive programs, worker training programs and ease of working with local officials.

As in the past, we must stress a couple things about our survey:

*The identity of the consultants will always remain confidential;

*This survey is truly one of perception, based on the consultants’ project experiences during the past year.

Without further ado, we present an inside look at the Hottest 50 Cities for 2003.

The Reality of Perception

Sure, a city’s image is important. It’s a topic that’s been visited often in Expansion Management. However, the city of Jacksonville, Fla., which came in at No. 1 on this year’s ranking for the third time in five years, knows the other ingredient to success in the compelling image formula.

"Image is important," said Jerry Mallot, executive vice president of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce. "It gets us on the list for consideration. And ours is getting better all the time.

"But the reality has to match the image," he added. "Our best opportunity occurs when executives come here to scout out sites. They see for themselves that our reality is even better than our image for business growth and expansion."

That’s the secret. For true success, upon closer examination, a city’s reality must match the image it’s putting forth.

You can bet that with all of the cities on this year’s list, that’s the case. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t rank so highly in the eyes of site selection consultants who stake their livelihoods and reputations on finding the best locations for growing businesses.

Because no matter how perfect a city seems, if its work force, real estate, operating costs and a host of other issues don’t come together into a total package, then that city’s appeal to a site-shopping company could ultimately collapse like a house of cards.

A Clear Vision

All good things — at least the vast majority — evolve from a well-thought-out plan. Cities that have a clear vision of what types of industry they are seeking, how they can cater to those industries, and how to prepare for future labor, infrastructure and property challenges will always be in the upper tier of choice locations for growing firms.

For Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley (No. 26), a newcomer to our Hottest Cities list, a forward-thinking plan of action has catapulted the region beyond the challenges left behind by a departing steel era.

"In 1940, a group of executives formed the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park System to diversify the business base," said Ray Suhocki, president and COO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. "This foundation, and their foresight, helped to absorb the loss of Bethlehem Steel many years later."

Today, the Lehigh Valley is a vibrant center for commerce thanks to progressive urban redevelopment, corporate and community commitment to the downtown area and a six-business-park system, among many other things.

"To keep pace with our growth, we are working to ensure that our infrastructure will meet future development needs," Suhocki said.

A clear vision of where a city is going and where it wants to go (and more importantly, how to get there) is invaluable in the overall scheme of a city’s future success.

Positioned for Success

Even cities with best vision for the future can’t help but benefit from some built-in advantages, such as logistical assets and market access.

For companies looking to grow their market share, the ability to tap into a wealth of markets can mean everything when it comes to the bottom line.

A noteworthy location paired with enviable market access is one common thread shared by many of the locations in our Hottest Cities list.

Locations like Atlanta (No. 3), Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. (No. 6), Nashville (No. 7), Dallas (No. 15) and Chicago (No. 22) benefit from strategic locations that offer the best of major metro advantages, such as proximity to promising markets and an efficient network of road, rail and air transport systems.

Kansas City’s central location was a plus for Germany-based Baader North America Corp. when it recently selected Kansas City, Kan., for its North American headquarters.

"From Kansas City we are close to the poultry, red meat and dairy industries, and can effectively serve the Pacific- and Atlantic-based seafood industry, as well as the growing catfish industry," said Andy Miller, president of Baader North America Corp. and Baader-Johnson.

With a neighbor as large and encouraging as Mexico, San Antonio, Texas (No. 31), offers businesses a unique market opportunity.

"San Antonio has a lot of pluses that combine into an attractive package, including its central location for distribution throughout the United States and Latin America, its pro-business atmosphere and some of the lowest cost of living figures in the U.S.," said Mario Hernandez, president of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. "Our positioning at the crossroads of Mexico/United States trade places San Antonio in a position to fully leverage business relationships between the two countries. In that respect, San Antonio, with its historical relationship with Mexico, is on the leading edge of the Hispanic market."

When What You See is What You Get

It’s no secret that in today’s world, business moves at a steady clip. And anything to help speed up the whole site selection process will be sure to turn heads.

That’s why the importance of available greenfield sites and office, warehousing and manufacturing real estate and spec buildings cannot be underestimated.

In Jacksonville, the redevelopment of Cecil Field, a former naval facility, is catching the interest of companies like Boeing.

In San Antonio, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney are among the corporate giants that are turning their business investments toward KellyUSA, the former Kelly Air Force Base. Kelly is the largest Air Force base to transition into the private sector.

The right real estate options at the right time can make all the difference in a business deal, especially if they are also offered at the right price.

Additionally, a logistical, telecommunications and utility infrastructure make a strong case for how well a city has positioned itself to meet business’ needs.

Labor: It is What it is

Essentially, when everything else is stripped away, it is the people that are key to a business’ success.

Jacksonville city officials hear time and again that it is the region’s people that firms are especially enamored with.

"The work force here is topnotch," said Mallot of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber. "Because our quality of life is so good, people are moving here from all over the country, building our work force. Plus, our proximity to universities and the fact that thousands of Navy retirees choose to live in Jacksonville every year means that companies can find the skills they need in our work force."

The Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz. (No. 2) region’s sunny quality of life is greatly enhanced by the people it helps to draw.

"Great labor attracts great companies," said Rick Weddle, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. "The Greater Phoenix area has an artesian labor supply for incoming companies. With 90,000 new workers with an average age of 25 to 44 migrating into the area each year, rapidly expanding companies can’t help but take notice."

Of course, while people make up most of the work force picture, they don’t make up all of it.

A solid K-12, vo-tech, college and university-level educational system and the availability of efficient, responsive and practical state and local work force training opportunities complete a city’s work force picture.

One of Atlanta’s (No. 3) most notable benefits stems from Georgia’s acclaimed QuickStart program, which has assisted in training workers in operations ranging from auto plants to information technology businesses to manufacturing firms, free-of-charge.

Between Thought and Things

Outside of all of a city’s black-and-white physical characteristics that can be defined by numbers or maps — i.e. physical location, market access, real estate, infrastructure, operating costs — there are a host of more abstract, gray areas that are just as vital to the total package a city offers.

These include the softer things like quality of life (which is very subjective), the business climate, how well local leaders work with resident industries and outside prospects, incentives and relationships between public and private sectors.

To fully understand a city’s soul, companies must really look at the people: the residents, the local leaders and the businesses already operating there. This should help companies looking to glean information about the type of business climate they are likely to encounter in that location. The attitudes of local community leaders can be very telling.

In Jacksonville, local officials had a measurable impact on Kaman Aerospace Corp. when it decided in August 2002 to substantially increase its aerospace manufacturing operations and employment in the area.

"The quality of the local work force and the support of state and local officials were key elements in our decision to expand operations and increase our employment in northeast Florida," said Joseph H. Lubenstein, president of Kaman Aerospace.

Not surprisingly, Jacksonville leaders consistently strive at building and maintaining good relationships when it comes to business.

"We’ve been a consistent favorite with site selection consultants and growing companies because we have a great city and region, and because we work hard at building relationships with them," Mallot said. "By delivering the information they need, when they need it, by matching their client needs with our assets and by helping them navigate the process to support their projects, we send a clear message that we want them here. They respond to that favorably."

A history in finding out what companies want and need, and then answering that call, has helped position Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C. (No. 4), in the top echelon of cities chosen by growing businesses.

"We have a can-do attitude to do ‘whatever it takes’ to assist a project that is looking at our community," said Bob Leak Jr., president of Winston-Salem Business Inc.

What Do You See?

When all is said and done, rankings are nice but they are not the end-all, be-all. They cannot dictate what city is best for your company. (If it were only that easy!)

They can, however, point you toward the cities where other companies — similar to yours — have successfully gone before.

Ultimately, a city must offer a total package deal that fits the unique needs of your business.

Perceptions can be tricky. And sometimes what you see in life isn’t always what you get. But, as our Hottest Cities 2003 list shows, sometimes it is.

Rachael Hedgcoth is senior editor of Expansion

Management magazine. She can be reached at rhedgcoth@penton.com.

America’s 50 Hottest Cities

Rank METRO

1 Jacksonville, Fla.

2 Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.

3 Atlanta, Ga.

4 Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, N.C.

5 Colorado Springs, Colo.

6 Kansas City, Mo.-Kan.

7 Nashville, Tenn.

8 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, Va.-N.C.

9 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.

10 Tulsa, Okla.

11 Las Vegas, Nev.-Ariz.

12 Charleston-North Charleston, S.C

13 Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas

14 Indianapolis, Ind.

15 Dallas, Texas

16 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, Wash.

17 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.

18 Savannah, Ga.

19 Pittsburgh, Pa.

20 Florence, Ala.

21 El Paso, Texas

22 Chicago, Ill.

23 Jonesboro, Ark.

24 Pensacola, Fla.

25 Great Falls, Mont.

26 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.

27 Albuquerque, N.M.

28 Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah

29 Roanoke, Va.

30 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, S.C.

31 San Antonio, Texas

32 Richmond-Petersburg, Va.

33 Oklahoma City, Okla.

34 Topeka, Kan.

35 Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, Miss.

36 Augusta-Aiken, Ga.-S.C.

37 Columbia, S.C.

38 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.

39 Jackson, Miss.

40 Baltimore, Md.

41 Laredo, Texas

42 Huntsville, Ala.

43 Louisville, Ky.-Ind.

44 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C.

45 Little Rock-North Little Rock, Ark.

46 Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, Pa.

47 Birmingham, Ala.

48 Montgomery, Ala.

49 Sacramento, Calif.

50 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, N.C.

Reno, Nev.