Designing Buildings - User contributions [en]

Digital Giants focus on Construction

2017-06-15T10:44:16Z

Philip Collard: Created page with "Digitalisation to reduce costs by 3.4% New tech offers solutions for the industry The global digital revolution is here. A swathe of reports from the big consultancy firms, inc..."

Digitalisation to reduce costs by 3.4%

New tech offers solutions for the industry

The global digital revolution is here. A swathe of reports from the big consultancy firms, including PwC and McKinsey, mark out the business winners as those implementing a digital strategy.

Now these management consultants are turning the digital spotlight onto the construction and transportation industry. They make it clear that new technology is a powerful tool that can turn around the current picture of low margins and poor productivity.

[[File:PWC Digital Enterprise.png]]

Appendix A: [http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/industry-4.0.html Blueprint for digital success, pwc Enterprise 4.0]

“Digitalisation will profoundly change the entire business world – and that includes the construction industry. Our goal at myConsole is to help the pre-construction sector develop their process and improve win rates by harnessing the power of tech,” says Philp Collard, CEO of myConsole.

As the procurement partner for Digital Construction Week, myConsole are holding a series of [https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8403950411256579?source=Constructing+Excellence webinars] to help organisations understand what digitalisation means for construction. The July webinar will be hosted by Eric Sandor, Chairman of myConsole and former Global Managing Partner at Accenture.

“Our next [https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8403950411256579?source=Constructing+Excellence webinar] will analyse the top management consultants’ reports, from a construction perspective. We will explain why they are now focusing on the construction industry and how digitalisation will affect your business,” explains Eric Sandor.

A recent PwC survey1 of over 2,000 businesses in 26 countries found construction and engineering businesses planned an investment of $195bn in digitalisation over the next three years. It also discovered construction businesses expect to gain 3.4% p.a in cost reductions.

All sectors expected ‘annual digital revenue increases of 2.9% on average,’ with a large proportion believing total increases will be over 50% in the next five year.

myConsole’s [https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8403950411256579?source=Constructing+Excellence webinar], offers learnings in several key areas:

* Using new tech to realise cost savings
* Digitalisation and productivity
* Building revenue
* Change management

“The construction industry has woken up to the fact that digital changes need to be made. Action and investment are the next steps on this digital journey,” says Philp Collard, CEO of myConsole.

Tune it to [https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8403950411256579?source=Design+Buildings+Wiki our webinar] to truly understand where digitalisation can take the construction industry.

ENDS

[http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/industry-4.0.html PwC Global Industry 4.0 Survey: Building the digital enterprise]

About myConsole:

myConsole is a next generation digital solution for procurement in construction. Harnessing the power of data and analytics, our system creates efficiencies and dramatically increases win rates. Our goal is to help the construction industry work smarter in the digital age.

Contact myConsole

Amy Hazlehurst

Projects Manager

07951 491154

[mailto:ahazlehurst@myconsole.co.uk ahazlehurst@myconsole.co.uk]

File:PWC Digital Enterprise.png

2017-06-15T10:34:50Z

Philip Collard: uploaded a new version of "File:PWC Digital Enterprise.png": Credits: pwc Digital Enterprise http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/industry-4.0.html

File:PWC Digital Enterprise.png

2017-06-15T10:33:51Z

Philip Collard:

Marketing planning in the construction industry

2013-12-11T14:43:04Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

Firms in the construction industry who excel at working in complex, rapidly changing environments, sometimes committing to deadlines years in advance, often fail to organise and administrate basic marketing activity. The problem, may stem from our enjoyment of tangible activities which require us to be reactive, responsive and decisive and project work fulfils this criteria exactly. Marketing is often seen as an intangible, non-measurable activity, primarily an overhead, and any time spent on non-fee-earning activity is thought of as wasting resources.

Yet if carefully planned and implemented, marketing can be extremely effective and easily accounted for its annual budget. If the management team can agree in advance their exact financial targets and the specific, quantifiable marketing objectives they wish to realise over the year ahead, then marketing strategies can be developed to achieve them. However, it is essential that the management team shares this desired direction and is willing to contribute time to individually drive forward and report progress on their assigned objectives.

= Strategic approach =

There has to be an emphasis on taking a strategic approach to marketing. This entails understanding the organisation’s wider goals and understanding how they are going to be achieved; setting marketing objectives in relation to those corporate goals and corresponding marketing strategies to deliver on those stated marketing objectives.

Only by adopting such a logical and reasoned approach can marketing rationalise its right to be at the heart of the management decision-making process, a cross-functional discipline that “...is too important to leave to the marketing department”. By being both logical and strategic in nature, it is possible to help dispel the image held by many in the construction industry that it is about advertising, PR (public relations) and general promotional activities.

= Project manage your marketing =

Careful thought must be given as to how each marketing objective can be achieved, and just as in project work, the overall tasks can be broken down into strategies, initiatives and specific actions and their associate costs. Clear identification as to who is responsible for each step must be made so that staff and managers alike know what is required of them to implement their part of the overall plan. Furthermore, a programme must be established which shows when specific campaigns or marketing initiatives need to be completed.

Outline steps for marketing planning:
#Analyse the changing business environment.
#Identify the options relevant to the firms’ core competences.
#Establish a business strategy and define marketing objectives.
#Set marketing strategies and performance targets.
#Confirm feasibility by undertaking market and client research.
#Formulate tactical initiatives and action.
#Seek individuals commitment to implementing their part of plan.
#Create monitoring controls to evaluate performance.

The process described above is project management. So if the company board believes project management has helped improve the control and efficiency of project administration, it will not take much to get them thinking about what it could do for their marketing activities.

= What is a marketing plan? =

A marketing plan is:
*A formal management process.
*All marketing resources are allocated to meet specified marketing objectives.
*The marketing plan should knit together the strategic cornerstones of the corporate / business plan.
*It is a standard against which day-to-day marketing decisions are made.

In being able to knit together both strategic and tactical elements, the marketing plan should correspondingly include both strategic and tactical aspects.

For the purposes of implementing the marketing plan:
*The strategic and tactical elements can be differentiated by time frame.
*Any planning process needs to take account of both the long and short term.
*The broad three year marketing plan should be treated as the strategic plan.
*The first year as the tactical short-term plan.

Marketing plans should be a focus for the whole business unit and / or firm and should not be restricted to the marketing department. They should also be based on the market(s) in which the business unit is operating. This is a simple but important point.

Marketing plans should take account of budgets and other financial measures but should not be based on them. Similarly, sales-led organisations may base their planning and budgeting around sales targets, but these might be overly optimistic to motivate a sales force rather than a realistic assessment of what the market will bear.

Marketing plans and budgets arising from them should be founded on:
*Careful, realistic assessments of what the market is doing in terms of its external environment e.g. economic conditions, market sector growth versus saturation / stagnation, competitor activity etc.
*What the firm can do in response to those external factors e.g. new service launches, service extensions or improvements, improvements through new distribution (new offices, new locations), better promotion (hospitality, mailshots, campaigns etc.), increased sales force (often not required as it easier and cheaper to get existing staff to take on a small degree of marketing responsibility).
*Numbers and quantifiable targets (actually measurable and not just wish statements).
*Targets that are tangible and realisable so that they do not de-motivate.

However the use of numbers, financial or by volume is not enough on its own. Soft factors that require written explanation are just as much a prerequisite as the quantifiable elements.

= Conclusion =

In summary, the approach to marketing planning is that it is:
*Not only a formalised system.
*One that complements the wider corporate aims and strategies of the organisation as a whole.
*At the heart of the firm and its planning and is accordingly cross-functional.
*Not simply a tactical description of how marketing resources will be allocated over the forthcoming twelve-month budgeting period.

If a marketing plan is founded on solid, factual information about the market place itself, then the starting point for constructing the plan will be the search for data organised in such a way as to become useful information. See marketing audit for more information.

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This article was created by --[[User%3APhilip%20Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:41, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki: ===
*Constructing a three year strategic marketing plan.
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Market segmentation.
*Marketing audit.
*One-year tactical or operational marketing plan.
*Winning work.

=== External references: ===
*Marketing Plans, Malcolm McDonald, Butterworth Heinemann Professional Publishing Ltd.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Marketing audits in the construction industry

2013-12-11T14:42:08Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

The process of marketing planning begins with the marketing audit, a detailed assessment of :
*Who we are.
*What we offer - the number and extent of service ranges.
*Our current client base.
*The main feature of services.
*What we offer as benefits.
*The competitive advantages we provide above our competitors.
*Market segments / key sectors we work in.
*Geographical coverage.
*The diversity of business.
*The degree of vertical integration.

All these issues help determine structure and culture, a full picture of where we are now that helps articulate where we could be at some future time. It is this that gives us our true direction.

= The marketing audit =

The marketing audit is the collection of data to be converted into useful information for further distillation in the final marketing plan, but there is as much need to formalise or systemise this process, as there is for the marketing plan itself. An outline framework of the type of areas a firm should be examining and the questions it should be asking, is presented below.

Factors to be examined in the external business environment:
*The wider business environment can be summarised through a STEEP analysis where STEEP stands for Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political (also including legal and fiscal / taxation matters).
*The narrower business environment is the market the business unit is competing in. Factors to be examined here are: its total size by value and volume; whether it is growing, declining or not moving; the different customer/ client groups that go to make up the market e.g. segments and niches; the range of services / products purchased by these customers / clients in this market-place e.g. direct and indirect competitors; prices of services offered; the range of channels open and finally any industry / trade bodies and regulation that may be relevant.
*Industry or market competitors. Examination of competitors can itself demand a framework of analysis. The best known in this regard is Michael Porter’s five forces model, which is discussed in depth in many marketing and business management books. The constituent parts of the analysis at this stage include who the competitors are; whether they are direct or indirect competitors; their relative size by value and volume / market share; distribution channels used; brand image and values as seen by customers; profitability; structure and key (marketing) strategies; main strengths and weaknesses.

Factors to be examined in the internal business environment:
*This is a critical assessment of the firm or business unit’s abilities and should include: sales - by service / product category / range, client segments, region / country (where applicable); market shares by value, volume and percentage in each service/ product market; marketing strategies - channel strategies, promotional, pricing and service/ product strategies (as applicable); marketing management / department; marketing information system and research plan(s).

Conducting a thorough marketing audit is a demanding task. The process above is described in list form only. The level of detail entered into on each point will depend on the auditor and the size of the business or importance of that particular market to the firm.

What is more important is how the information gathered is brought together in some kind of meaningful framework which can then be applied to the marketing plan. Two frameworks were mentioned in the audit methodology; STEEP analyses and the Porter five competitive forces any industry will face. These types of frameworks are extremely useful in processing information and putting it into some form of perspective. McDonald, in his book Marketing Plans, recommends drawing the entire constituent parts and multitude of information together through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis or framework (SWOT). This is particularly convenient because it differentiates between external and internal factors. Thus key points from the internal business environment analysis can be recorded under strengths and weaknesses while external environment factors go under opportunities and threats.

Many companies use SWOTs for a variety of purposes. It is easy to record every single factor generated on the SWOT, but this will make the whole framework unwieldy and defeat the object of its purpose. Far more will be achieved by limiting the SWOT to key factors which have a direct bearing on competitive success in the following period. The objective should be to restrict each SWOT title to one side of text with each point summarized in bullet form.

It is only when there is a full understanding of the scope of activities, that it is possible to match activities to the environment and to possible capabilities. Any future strategy is likely to require a modification of resources but it still must be a reflection of attitudes and beliefs and these can only be distilled from a full audit.

The next stage in marketing planning is to set a long-term direction by creating a three-year plan.

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This article was created by --[[User:Philip Collard|Philip Collard]] 14:42, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Constructing a three year strategic marketing plan.
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Market segmentation.
*Marketing planning.
*One-year tactical or operational marketing plan.
*Winning work.

=== External references ===
*Marketing Plans, Malcolm McDonald, Butterworth Heinemann Professional Publishing Ltd.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Market segmentation in the construction industry

2013-12-11T14:40:50Z

Philip Collard:

It is very important for firms to split their clients (or customers) into different segments, grouping together those clients with similar characteristics which have similar needs. This is not simply about size or sectors but more about what services are bought, by whom, and why. The aim is to identify true clients’ needs, which can be combined together to identify the best segments on which to focus marketing efforts.

This process is called ‘segmentation’ and will identify the most attractive and profitable segments and also those with the highest potential for growth.

Operating a market segmentation strategy can offer considerable competitive advantage. Segmentation centres around identifying the best way to distinguish the main sectors an organisation works in within the total construction market. The skill is in choosing appropriate segmentation criteria given the wide range of possibilities.

The criteria must refer to difference in demand by each customer group. For example the needs and requirements of development directors of retailers are different to development directors specialising in commercial office buildings. The features of an organisations range of services benefit different clients in different ways and so organisations must distil the benefits they experience and promote tailored messages to each segment group.

Major segmentation criteria in the construction industry would be:

{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="1"
|-
|
Industry segments

|
Geographical

|-
|
Commercial

Industrial

Public non-housing

Infrastructure

Private housing

Public housing

|
Wales

North

Midlands

South

Scotland

etc 

|}

Each of the above industry classifications must also be segmented into further categories such as; commercial retail, commercial office or public health, education and private health and private education etc. The same applies for geographical segmentation such as Midlands into East and West Midlands. 

Whilst organisations must clearly segment accordingly to their own customer grouping it is advisable to organise them in such a way that it is possible to layer over data and research findings from industry research bodies to ensure consistency and compatibility. If organisations fail to ensure their segmentation forecasting is based on quantitative research, it will not usually be easy to measure potential segment size, or more importantly, progress. It is therefore critical to recognise that the full implementation of a segmented strategy demands an adequate flow of data for both planning and control purposes.

Without the use of segmentation organisations pursue a homogenous strategy, which may lead to a product or service trying to be all the things to all people. This may work reasonably well when an organisation is dominant, or in a monopoly situation, but it leaves their product or service vulnerable to attack by competitors who target smaller sectors of the market. In time this could mean the 'homogenous' product or service appeals less and less to the total market whose needs are being satisfied elsewhere, and leaves them with fewer potential customers.

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This article was created by --[[User%3APhilip%20Collard|Philip Collard]] 14:48, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Constructing a three year strategic marketing plan.
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Marketing audit.
*Marketing planning.
*One-year tactical or operational marketing plan.
*Winning work.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Winning work in the construction industry

2013-12-11T14:39:41Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

There is a great deal of best practice information on what to do when you have won a project, but very little written about how to win the work in the first place, or how to retain a client for the long-term. Given nearly 10% of a consultants turnover and up to 4% of a contractor’s can be spent on work winning activities, just a few improvements in effectiveness and efficiencies will significantly increase the firm’s profitability.

Research carried out by Marketing Works and the University of Reading put the average cost of construction tendering at 3% of the value of the project, with the average pre-qualification costs running to 1.5%. That means if you are winning one bid in five, then 22.5% of your win budget is spent on bidding costs. There are significant opportunities both to improve win ratios and to reduce the cost of each bid.

= Building on existing foundations =

Ideally a business-winning culture starts at the beginning with feedback on whether client expectations and relationships are being properly managed. How confident are you that you will play a part in their future? Do you know what your clients think, what they want, and more importantly how they see your relationship with them developing? Procurement philosophy is becoming more enlightened, but to exploit this change we become more client-centric.

Most firms start off with excellent core competences and services, which initially fulfil niche client requirements, but as they grow and develop new services and operate in new sectors, they can start to develop bad habits. One such habit is to treat all clients in the same way. This often involves thinking about existing clients on a transactional sales level, with the client / supplier relationship based on being given yet another piece of work.

It is as important to understand why you were awarded a job, as it is to learn from the mistakes when you fail to win one. Most business leaders realise that their central goal should be to establish long-term client relationships. This recognises the cost efficiencies in repeat business, versus the relatively higher cost of converting new opportunities into actual clients. Studies have shown that it costs five times more to acquire a new client than to make a sale to an existing one.

= Strategically important clients =

What does this mean for firms in the construction industry? It means assiduously following the 80:20 rule (80% of fee income coming from 20% of clients). This means researching your existing clients’ actual requirements and potentially changing the way you serve them.

Clients have been getting bigger and more sophisticated. They want tailor-made solutions and are prepared to rationalise their supplier base. Cosy relationships and frameworks now face regular strategic reviews as the demands of economic reality are passed down the line to achieve cost savings. The key therefore, is to actively court a close relationship with your strategically valuable key clients, perhaps by developing new ways to work with them so they cannot easily drop you and to create exit barriers such as a growing dependence on your knowledge of their business.

No longer can incumbent service firms feel safe. They will have to proactively differentiate and to demonstrate why they continue to offer the client the best option. This will mean exploiting distinct sector strengths and marketing unique problem-solving abilities, perhaps honed whilst on the last few jobs. For example, some firms offer existing clients a lower fee structure for the following year’s term contract because they have developed streamlined processes. This shows commitment to building a long-term client relationship.

= Embed improved win work behaviours into tactical win work activities =

To achieve this, it must become fundamental to your tactical and strategic plans. Winning work is too important to be left solely to the marketing department. It depends upon the shared vision of the senior leadership and a willingness to engage all operational client facing staff to play a specific and aligned role in client relationship development. The critical organisational changes that are needed to deliver a client-focused service must be successfully communicated throughout the firm. Every service industry, including construction, is reporting new behavioural models. The current favourite is knowledge sharing and collaboration platforms that facilitate improved internal communications. Leadership must ensure it is easy to communicate within and across delivery teams, to ensure it is easy for the client to deal with their firm and that it is hard for them to leave.

This means:
*Having a clearly thought-through 12 month tactical plan encompassing new business development and key client management strategies and tactics.
*Offering a truly integrated, client-focused service with default feedback capture.
*Implementing IT solutions to effectively support behaviours such as collaboration platforms, hosting proposal/ PQQ content, key client management plans and business development forums and communities.
*Having the right calibre of staff, fully trained, revitalised with refreshed aligned and integrated win work processes.
*Ensuring regular communications designed to engage with client’s decision makers to encourage rapport and relationship building.

= Visibility at board level =

Of crucial importance is the visibility at board level of the opportunity pipeline that will fill the order book in coming months and years. It is vital that reporting provides the board with confidence and certainty that win work activities feeding the opportunity pipeline are being effectively actioned now, not finding out in 3 months’ time that the pursuit slipped due to individuals project commitments. No amount of hard work by staff will lead to any real improvement if these basic business development elements are lacking and senior leadership’s commitment is not there.

Culture change is the key and using external consultants to facilitate this change can make the process easier and faster.

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This article was created by --[[User%3APhilip%20Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:54, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Constructing a three year strategic marketing plan.
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Market segmentation.
*Marketing audit.
*Marketing planning.
*One-year tactical or operational marketing plan.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Embedding successful key client management in the construction industry

2013-12-11T14:38:13Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

Typically 80% of turnover comes from 20% of clients and crucially 95% of profitability comes from that 20%. Your entire business is built on client relationships, and how you deal with your existing clients will determine your company's future.

The key to success is effective leadership. Someone has to decide that managing the client base more effectively is essential to the future of your company, or that if the current way of managing clients doesn’t change, then the company is at risk.

Then, to implement a key client management programme, you will need to apply energy and commitment to achieve buy-in throughout the company. Most professionals will see the value, but what invariably happens is that when they get back behind the desk, client management issues get put onto tomorrow’s to do list. In fact, achieving the key client management actions may be in conflict with achieving today’s objectives. You need to commit some additional resource and time to key client management, to achieve significant results.

= Current clients vs. new clients =

Historically firms place a high value on winning new work from new clients, but conversely you should only pursue new clients when:
*Current relationships are so strong they guarantee new work.
*They always include you in any new work discussions.
*You have identified all the opportunities likely to occur in their future.
*You have examined every area where you can sell capabilities within existing client.

Very few firms can claim to have fulfilled the criteria above. Work won from existing clients is more likely to be more profitable for two reasons:
#Selling costs are likely to be much lower.
#Profit is a factor of margin and volume.

The risks of implementation are:
*Being over-ambitious and trying to do too much. (This has a serious impact as previous attempts may have lacked realism and subsequently future attempts lack credibility.)
*Failing to up-skill practitioners and to embed culture change. (Once a programme has been introduced, unless a sustained focus on embedding the new culture is made, old habits will creep back in and the momentum will dissipate.)

So the advice is ‘Keep it Simple’.

= Developing relationships =

Having a clear view of the type and characteristics of the relationship that you currently have and wish to have with each of your clients is crucial to success. There may be some relationships that offer long-term potential; others provide steady levels of low-margin income.

The construction industry is a highly project-focused environment, and it is the relationships that occur within the project team that lead to success. And yet, developing and building these relationships for the future is sometimes haphazard, not least because the construction market is also highly competitive.

Contractors and consultants often complain that some clients base their selection decision on price. As a result this negates the value of the expertise and the hard work that has been put into developing these relationships and the insight that enables the team to craft a solution that they believe is better than that of its competition.

However, it could also be that the client does not understand why and how this solution is better in terms of meeting their needs. It is often the case that your team does not position and project the added value, or how they could continue to create that added value on future projects. Construction organisations don’t themselves fully appreciate the added value they deliver.

If construction firms do not understand amd communicate where they can add value to a project and do not differentiate themselves from the competition, then the client can only judge them on the lowest common denominator. And this is often the price.

To move the focus away from price, it is important to understand why existing clients keep coming back. A part of this is through understanding where, who and how we added value to their business during the last project(s).

Why not ask them? Better still get a third party to ask them and get the warts and all. Your clients will be impressed that you care enough to ask where they want your service to improve; but don’t then forget to change what they said isn’t working.

In situations where the service that clients receive doesn’t meet their minimum expectation, this will fuel their price sensitivity. You need to know if this is the case. This can then be married with your own understanding of the relationships that you have with the client. You may find that your views are aligned, or that they are significantly different – each informing your future plans and actions.

What may emerge from this feedback are actions to improve the quality and focus of the service that the client receives. These may relate to technical solutions or management processes, but equally they may concern some of the background issues, not least the management of expectations.

= Setting & meeting expectations =

If you want to develop a successful relationship you must meet or exceed your clients’ expectations. It is your responsibility to do what it takes to understand what the client expects. You play a role in influencing clients’ expectations through the commitments that you made during the business development process and typically client-focused organisations under-promise and over-deliver.

Managing client expectations successfully depends on understanding, influencing, setting and agreeing those expectations at every stage of the relationship:
*When discussing new projects.
*When negotiating fees.
*At the start of a new project.
*At regular stages during the delivery programme.
*At the end of the project.

Frustration on both sides is often caused, not by a failure to agree the technical specification, but by the soft issues. For example:
*How the two sides are going to work together.
*How they will communicate.
*Who the client should speak to if they have a concern about progress.
*How to keep critical momentum on a project without seeming to be authoritarian.
*How information should be presented in reports.

Everyone in the client team must know exactly what the formula is for delivering to this client’s satisfaction. Meeting client expectations is as much about the management and motivation of people as it is about producing a report on time.

Little issues like not receiving information on time or not finding it that easy to deal with a member of the team may not provoke a complaint, but will influence the decision about who to appoint on future projects. Therefore it is vital that at regular stages you establish your performance against the client’s criteria. All those influenced by your work need to be questioned, and with sincerity. You need to record their views and check that your understanding of them is accurate and then you need to do something about them.

If the service you are selling in the market place is perceived to be the same as others or a commodity where the only differentiator is price, then you may want to look at two contrasting strategies:
#Your service can become the ‘low cost producer’ in the market. This can mean developing and combining more efficient ways of working, reducing headcount, paying lower salaries and getting people to work harder than they do now.
#The alternative is to constantly invest in developing new expertise that adds greater value for the clients. Focus on innovation and on selling better, more leading edge services for better returns. It then becomes possible to differentiate by delivering a totally tailored service that consistently exceeds clients’ expectations. This will enable you to generate the optimum level of work from those clients, achieving attractive rates and building a reputation that allows you to secure new clients who will pay well for the service that you provide.

The correct strategy depends on what your clients and potential clients see as valuable to them.

Make time to carry out these actions and if time is taken up, decide what not to do. If not you will end up with a wish-list that doesn’t get completed and the client will get the same old service that they can get from a number of your competitors.

= Selling to existing clients =

‘The best source of new work is our existing client base’ is a common statement in this industry and it couldn’t be more true. Your people are onsite or in the offices of clients the whole time, yet it is rare for them to find additional opportunities for work. If they see an opening to which they can directly relate the objectives and chosen strategy of the client organisation, two things will happen:
#They will recognise the opportunity.
#They should feel confident enough to pursue the opportunity, raising it either with their own people or directly with the client.

A surprising number of delivery team members do not know the business objectives of their clients. It is recommended that you test how much real understanding your people have of their clients and their marketplaces. Selling skills training is the first step in enabling people to spot opportunities. Give them the knowledge, understanding and confidence about their clients business so they can recognise how something they perceive as an opportunity can fit into and support the client’s business direction.

= Cross selling to existing clients =

Organisations often work in silos where there may be a significant lack of integration between business units / core services and / or local offices, and this influences the clients’ perceptions of what you can deliver. What you are as a firm is what each individual client perceives you to be. Multidisciplinary, client-orientated teams provide the right environment for cross selling and truly client-facing organisations organise themselves in this way.

Without this client-oriented organisation structure, the risk is that professionals do not recommend other parts of their company; they may even recommend external professionals in whom they have trust and confidence. Today, companies realise that their fee growth ambitions can only be met by selling further services to their client base.

Despite this, directors and partners keep their colleagues from other disciplines at arm’s length from their clients. People must be encouraged to work together. To create the right environment for cross selling you have to have people who are:
*Prepared to share and delegate.
*Recognised or even rewarded on the number of introductions they provide to others within the company.

Real team working is a major facilitator of regular cross selling. Companies must have team objectives. There are often fundamental, structural, cultural, organisational, motivational and behavioural issues that need to be addressed if there is to be any hope of realising the full potential of cross-selling opportunities.

If a company wishes to cross sell effectively it has to ensure its people have sufficient current knowledge of the company’s services to be able to immediately advise the client if they have the capability to assist.

= Success factors in key client planning =

An effective client plan can be an extremely powerful tool in the hands of an organisation that is committed to becoming truly client focused.

The key client plan should be designed to match the needs of the client team and should suit the client that it has been written to serve. It may be as simple as a single piece of paper, or far more complicated, spanning financial, organisational, project and contact information. It may be written by one person, or coordinated by a single person from the contributions of people across the company. But to make sure that it is workable, it should start from the premise that the plan should contain the minimum information needed to focus on the client and add value to their business through the benefits offered by your company’s services.

= Project Management and key client management =

The construction industry makes good use of project management disciplines in their everyday work. These skills work extremely well as a way of keeping control of client management plans.

= Using tools to develop a list of actions =

There are a number of tools that can be uses to help identify the actions that should form a part of your key client plan. They focus on helping you to identify the state of your relationship with the client: how many people you know in the client organisation, how well you know them and how to protect those relationships against your competitors. In other words assessing both the quality and quantity of the relationship.

Although it is highly desirable to keep your key client management plan short and simple, there is some information which should be collected to make sure that you know enough about your client’s business to be able to develop the sort of relationship where it is unthinkable for them to go to anyone else.

Summary:
*Your key client plan should be as brief as possible to make sure that it is workable for you.
*The simplest key client plan includes the strategy or aims and objectives for the client.

= Implementation =

Mobilising key client management effectively and getting the benefits is dependent on having identified your key clients, the person responsible for the relationship and having defined the membership of the team that delivers services to the client. In practice, you also need to have identified a person who will provide the dedicated marketing support to allow your client managers and client teams to manage key client management activity alongside project delivery.

Having defined who are your 'crown jewels', key clients and valued clients, you should revisit your client list annually to assess whether you have a valued client that is growing enough to become a key client, or indeed whether one of your key clients is now working with someone else (after a take-over for example).

Whilst events that cause demotions are likely to be high profile, you should watch your valued clients to see if they now meet the criteria you have set.

To effectively manage your key clients, you need regular contact with them that is relationship focused rather than project-focussed. The client manager should be meeting with them to discuss their future strategic needs, assess their current opportunities and threats and to discuss ways that your company can help them to achieve their objectives.

The client team should also review the relationship with the key client on an annual basis, using tools that measure the strength of the relationship to drive out actions to improve it. A review may also be kicked off by a major change within the client, for example, a change in personnel with the influence to affect buying decisions.

You need to make sure that your key clients are happy with the work that you do for them and that you understand what it is about your service that they value most. To do that, you need to carry out regular client satisfaction surveys and most importantly to act on the information that they provide. You will also get valuable information about what your clients’ value about the work that you do for them. Use this information to make your marketing more compelling.

The end of every project should be finished with project closedown that celebrates the success of what went well, identifies what you would do differently and develops useful case studies, signed off by the client. The close-down meeting can also be an opportunity to examine if there are any other services that your client needs for the next stage of their development.

----

This article was created by --[[User%3APhilip%20Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:14, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Collaborative practices.
*Constructing a three year strategic marketing plan.
*Market segmentation.
*Marketing audit.
*Marketing planning.
*Market segmentation.
*One-year tactical or operational marketing plan.
*Team management.
*Winning work.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Strategic marketing plan

2013-12-11T14:36:08Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

The three-year marketing plan addresses strategic issues. The shorter one-year tactical marketing plan tackles more immediate and operational tasks. Preparation of the three year marketing plan must precede the one year tactical marketing plan, with the latter being a function of the former and not vice versa. Extrapolating the one-year plan into the three-year plan (as many businesses do) will serve no useful purpose.

The following nine-point plan describes the principal component parts of a professional strategic marketing plan. The author would like to acknowledge that this is a summary of the McDonald nine step process and readers who require a more detailed explanation, as well as all the forms to complete in carrying through the methodology, are recommended to refer to Marketing Plans, M.H.B McDonald (published by Heinemann).

= Step 1 – Statement of intent or mission statement =

This statement should have been defined and set in the corporate plan, however at the business unit level (as distinct from company or group level) a further mission statement may be required. Mission should be differentiated from more esoteric concepts such as vision statements which tend to be far more ideological or a long-term statement of strategic intent.

In this context the mission statement defines the role of the business unit as well as the business in which it should primarily be involved. It may also highlight its distinctive competence and give a broad indication of future direction without being overly visionary.

= Step 2 - Performance summary =

This section should examine past to present performance in terms of normal financial measures such as sales value and volume, margins / profitability, contribution etc. By using an extended time period e.g. the last two or three years, a broader picture will put the current situation into perspective. Effectively this involves trying to identify the reasons for good or bad performance in the past as they may offer a number of key areas to address.

= Step 3 - Financial projections =

Having looked at past financials, projected figures should be considered for the planning period under consideration. Similar measures as described above should be applied - sales projections by value and volume, contribution and profitability etc.

= Step 4 - Market overview =

This section begins to draw on the information and analysis gleaned from the marketing audit (see marketing audit for more information). How a manager describes their own market-place is to some extent a matter for personal opinion however some of the key elements that should be included are market segments - how the market is divided into different segments and which ones the business unit primarily wants to do business with, and what is changing within this market - in terms of market segments and niches, competitors or even the legislative framework that may shape a market-place.

Marketers need to provide a summary of the market in enough detail to be informative but not so detailed as to overbalance the marketing plan. McDonald recommends the use of visual aids wherever possible e.g. bar charts, pie charts, product life cycle curves etc.

= Step 5 - SWOT analyses =

The SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is the conclusion of a great deal of preceding work. In assessing Strengths and Weaknesses, the business unit needs to be able to compare its own performance on a limited number of factors that are critical to success with how its competitors are performing. This necessitates listing the key or critical factors for success in order of priority and according each a weighting where the total of weightings adds up to 1, 10 or 100. This weighting in effect rates how important each factor is in determining success in the market place.

The business unit can then assess its own performance on each factor, again out of ten or some similarly easy number, and then do the same for all direct competitors. By multiplying the weight of each factor with the score attained a total weighted score can be calculated which directly compares performance with the competition and thereby quantifies strengths and weaknesses in a reasonably objective fashion.

The external factors, the Opportunities and Threats, can now be examined. Once again following the work completed in the marketing audit, a summary of the macro or wider business environment factors can be considered in terms of government policy, technological developments etc (described in the marketing audit article as the STEEP analysis - Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political).

From this point the manager(s) concerned should be able to state the different assumptions to be made in each product / market segment and thereafter the main objectives and strategies to be followed. This is based on the fact that that the key issues will have been brought out from the analysis made above e.g. SWOT points. This should not be confused with the overall marketing objectives and strategies within the marketing plan which have still to be set (these are considered under Step 8 below).

Each direct competitor should be examined separately to consider what their current position in the market is, what strategies they appear to be following to pursue what objectives, and what strategies they are likely to pursue over the next three years. Once again the level of detail required will depend on the nature of the market and the degree of direct competition, as well as the amount of knowledge possessed about competitors, in terms of their intended broad marketing as well as product / market segment strategies.

= Step 6 - Portfolio summary =

The work conducted above to produce concise but meaningful SWOT analyses can be summarised by means of a portfolio matrix, sometimes also labelled the Shell Directional Policy matrix.

Market segments should have already been defined and ordered in terms of preference for doing business with. Segments at the top of the list are those that will be likely to deliver the best results e.g. the most attractive market segments.

Having established the attractiveness of each segment, the business unit must now assess their own strengths in serving that segment compared to the competition. The pertinent questions in this regard should already have been answered e.g. current market share; ability to grow; proximity to customers etc. From this situation the manager should be able to plot the business unit’s position on the portfolio matrix.

[[File:Marketing portfolio matrix.jpg|RTENOTITLE]]Equipped with this analysis an assessment can be made as to which market segments the business unit is best equipped to serve and which will render the most beneficial results. In the example above segment 1 may be very attractive but the business is least equipped to serve it, given its low strength rating. Segments 2, 3 and 4 can all be met with a high degree of strength but segment 2 has a low attractiveness rating. This leaves segments 3 and 4 as being the most likely for future focus. 

McDonald takes this matrix system further, replacing static positions marked above as ³, with circles where the diameter of the circle represents the proportion of total turnover that that particular market segment accounts for.

This can be taken a step further by plotting where these segments should be on the same matrix in a year or three’s time. This is represented in the diagram below with the dotted circle showing both a movement on the matrix and a growth in size of segment 3. This signifies both a shift in the attractiveness and the ability of the business to serve segment 3 in addition to forecast increase in sales.

[[File:Projected marketing portfolio matrix.jpg|RTENOTITLE]]

= Step 7 - Assumptions (Ceteris paribus) =

Ceteris paribus is Latin for ‘other things remaining equal’, unfortunately in dynamic, ever changing market-places this rule very rarely holds true. Given that so many things can change, it is logical to list any key points or assumptions on which the marketing plan is based. If these key criteria are not fulfilled then the marketing plan will not be able to deliver.

This should not be used as a caveat or loophole for the marketer to absolve themselves of responsibility, rather a genuine reflection of external factors that may be beyond the control of the marketer e.g. economic growth / decline, rising interest rates, the organisation’s access to capital investment or a competitor’s withdrawal from a market-place.

More detailed lists of assumptions may be made for individual product / markets; however the overall marketing plan should only include those key criteria that will directly affect its successful implementation.

= Step 8 - Setting objectives and strategies =

Having completed step 5 (SWOT analysis) and step 6 (portfolio summary) as well as any outstanding assumptions, the marketing plan is now in a position to tackle objectives and strategies.

The distinction between objectives and strategies is that an objective is the end goal and the strategy is the means to achieving the goal. It should be noted that many marketers mix the two up so as to make them indistinct (“our strategy is to beat competitor X”).

A further important point is made by McDonald:

‘Marketing objectives ...should be about products and markets only, since it is only by selling something to someone that the SBU’s [Strategic Business Unit’s] financial goals can be achieved. Advertising, pricing and other elements of the marketing mix are other means (the strategies) by which the SBU can succeed in doing this. Thus pricing objectives, sales promotion objectives, advertising objectives and so on should not be confused with marketing objectives.’

On this basis McDonald cites the interaction of products to market segments e.g. selling existing products to existing or new segments as marketing objectives with a corresponding marketing strategy of ‘improve product functional performance and perceived value in conjunction with new communications campaign’. This would require both new production and communications sub-strategies which will complement the marketing strategy.

In finalising marketing objectives and strategies McDonald recommends referring back to the portfolio analysis and using the labels developed originally by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in order to simplify the position of different market segments or product / markets. The idea here is that each quadrant of the matrix has its own label describing their combination of attractiveness and strength. These are self-explanatory when shown in their respective quadrants:

[[File:Markeintg portfolio analysis labels.jpg|RTENOTITLE]]In its most simple terms any business unit needs to have some kind of balance in the product / markets it serves. Cash cows deliver positive cash flow but will not last forever. Dogs are a drain on cash flow and unless they can be developed into question marks or stars then they should be divested. Question marks, also known as problem children or wildcats, have the potential to become either dogs or stars. Stars are obviously very desirable but are difficult to cultivate etc.

This BCG approach to portfolio management should be viewed as a facilitator and not a scientific end in itself. It simply aids the decision-making process providing a useful framework in which to plan an approach to the market which takes account of both the market’s needs and the firm or business unit’s skills and core competences.

= Step 9 - Financial projections =

At this point, the marketer should be able to provide three-year projections for the key financial markers, as described earlier - sales by value, gross profit, contribution etc.

----

This article was created by --[[User:Philip Collard|Philip Collard]] 14:36, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Marketing audit.
*Marketing planning.
*Market segmentation.
*One-year tactical or operational marketing plan.
*Winning work.

=== External references ===
*Marketing Plans, Malcolm McDonald, Butterworth Heinemann Professional Publishing Ltd.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Tactical marketing plan

2013-12-11T14:30:53Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

The three-year strategic marketing plan addresses strategic issues. The shorter, one-year tactical marketing plan (or operational marketing plan) tackles more immediate and tactical tasks. Preparation of the three year strategic marketing plan must precede the one year plan, with the latter being a function of the former and not vice versa. Extrapolating the one-year plan into the three-year plan (as many businesses do) will serve no useful purpose.

Having waded through the lengthy process of constructing a three-year strategic marketing plan, the one-year tactical marketing plan is relatively simple, as the quantitative analyses, portfolio matrices and competitor analysis have already been completed.

See Constructing a three year strategic marketing plan for more information. 

= Contents of the tactical marketing plan =

== Overall objectives ==

These should include financial objectives e.g. sales volume / value targets, gross margins etc. They may also state a targeted increase in market share or the goal of becoming market leader in terms of share / sales etc. Some form of brief commentary should accompany the objectives.

== Overall strategies ==

How the objectives will be achieved by targeting which customer segments and with which products / new products, communications etc (the marketing mix).

== Detailed sub-objectives by segment / customer ==

With large industrial or business-to-business markets this may go down as far as setting sales targets by customer or new accounts that will sought.

== Sub-strategies and action tactics ==

How the sub-objectives will be met, including details, timing and responsibility for achievement. This should include indications of new advertising, sales promotion, PR or direct mail campaigns, sales incentives for the trade or sales force as well as any other tools that may be employed in order to deliver the sub-objectives set.

== Summary of marketing activities and costs ==

This should cover the whole marketing budget for the year and include everything from advertising to entertainment and travel costs.

== Contingency plan ==

As was discussed in the article about constructing a strategic marketing plan, a list of assumptions made and the implications for the business if those assumptions are not met, is crucial.

Having identified key assumptions, the financial implications can easily be modelled on a spreadsheet to demonstrate two or three different scenarios. For instance what if the firm’s most valued account were to be lost? What could be put in its place and how long would that take?

While comprehensive contingencies cannot practicably be planned for, identifying key assumptions and how the marketing department would deal with the resulting scenarios of a failed assumption, is a requisite fall-back position.

== Operating results and financial ratios ==

This should summarise the main financial ratios as preferred by the firm. In addition to sales, gross margin, marketing costs, and the forecast return on sales, investment or even capital can be recorded. To some extent the content of this section will be dependent on each organisation’s own style of financial analysis.

== Key activity planner / schedule ==

A list of planned marketing activities that will take place, by month, throughout the year.

== Other information ==

Any supplementary details such as; sales targets by individual, realignment of sales territories or sales call plans.

= Conclusion =

True marketing planning requires an integrated approach that offers many benefits including ease of managing progress, as it is now possible to assess actual progress against what is desired. It also ensures that critical marketing objectives, that the future success of the firm may depend on, actually happen because of continuous review, so the usual excuse of “too much project work” is simply not acceptable. Such marketing initiatives will have variable demands on a manager’s time and so they must get properly organised. No current job can be more important than ensuring the firm stays in business in the long term.

Effective construction marketing mean firms are able to stand out from the crowd and have the ability to present themselves as offering something unique that not only differentiates them from their competitors but is valued by potential clients. Firms need to innovate service products that fulfil and satisfy individual client’s needs but they must also be able to identify the client earlier on to try and avoid the pressure and cost of competitive tendering.

Marketing in the construction industry should not be perceived as a non-measurable intangible activity, but a valuable technique that wins more profitable work.

----

This article was created by --[[User:Philip Collard|Philip Collard]] 14:30, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Constructing a three year strategic marketing plan
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Marketing audit.
*Marketing planning.
*Market segmentation.
*Winning work.

=== External references ===
*McDonald, Malcolm H.B., (1990) “Marketing Plans,” Heinemann Professional Publishing,

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

User:Philip Collard

2013-12-11T14:24:02Z

Philip Collard:

MarketingWorks, a leading Work Winning construction industry management consultancy, has helped numerous construction organisations to embed work winning best practice, helping them to move from reactive project-centricity to proactive client-centricity and thereby to win more work. MarketingWorks has provided services for over 1000 construction firms, including 9 of the top 20 contractors and 5 of the top 10 consultants.

Our range of services includes bespoke solutions for leaders who want to improve work winning behaviours (encompassing all aspects of the win work process) and tactical solutions through business development mentoring support and skills training.

MarketingWorks helps our clients define and establish the organisational environment for long term success in work winning through delivering bespoke win work revitalisation programmes. Our methodology is based on a four-stage process:

*Diagnose

*Develop

*Deploy

*Implement

This approach is based on understanding where good work winning practice exists within an organisation across all stages of the work winning process, enhancing processes, skills, systems and tools, behaviours and results. It enables what works well within the organisation to be exploited and enhanced using the expertise of MarketingWorks consultants.

= Win Work Support & Mentoring =

*Opportunity & pipeline management tools & processes

*PQQ Review Go/No Go Selectivity Matrix

*Bid Mentoring

*Proposal Review

*Mobilising a Framework Event

*Mobilising a Sector Team Event

*Mobilising Key Client Teams

*Proposal Red Team Review

*Presentation Facilitation

*Presentation Red Team Reviews

= Research =

*Win Work Audit

*Senior Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Data Analysis

*Client Perspectives Survey

*Key Client Relationship Survey

*Win Work Healthcheck

= Skills Refreshment Workshops =

*How to Sell High Value Services and Convert New Business

*Critical Success Factors in Bid Management

*Winning Business with Winning proposals

*Delivering Successful Presentations at Tender Interview

*Work Winning Revitalisation Workshop

= Articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

*[[Constructing_a_three_year_strategic_marketing_plan|Constructing a three year strategic marketing plan]].

*[[Embedding%20successful%20key%20client%20management|Embedding successful key client management]].

*[[Market%20segmentation|Market segmentation]].

*[[Marketing_audit|Marketing audit]].

*[[Marketing%20planning|Marketing planning]].

*[[One-year_tactical_or_operational_marketing_plan|One-year tactical or operational marketing plan]].

*[[Winning%20work|Winning work]].

----

User:Philip Collard

2013-12-11T10:41:57Z

Philip Collard:

MarketingWorks, a leading Work Winning construction industry management consultancy, has helped numerous construction organisations to embed work winning best practice, helping them to move from reactive project-centricity to proactive client-centricity and thereby to win more work. MarketingWorks has provided services for over 1000 construction firms, including 9 of the top 20 contractors and 5 of the top 10 consultants.

Our range of services includes bespoke solutions for leaders who want to improve work winning behaviours (encompassing all aspects of the win work process) and tactical solutions through business development mentoring support and skills training.

MarketingWorks helps our clients define and establish the organisational environment for long term success in work winning through delivering bespoke win work revitalisation programmes. Our methodology is based on a four-stage process:

*Diagnose

*Develop

*Deploy

*Implement

This approach is based on understanding where good work winning practice exists within an organisation across all stages of the work winning process, enhancing processes, skills, systems and tools, behaviours and results. It enables what works well within the organisation to be exploited and enhanced using the expertise of MarketingWorks consultants.

= Win Work Support & Mentoring =

*Opportunity & pipeline management tools & processes

*PQQ Review Go/No Go Selectivity Matrix

*Bid Mentoring

*Proposal Review

*Mobilising a Framework Event

*Mobilising a Sector Team Event

*Mobilising Key Client Teams

*Proposal Red Team Review

*Presentation Facilitation

*Presentation Red Team Reviews

= Research =

*Win Work Audit

*Senior Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Data Analysis

*Client Perspectives Survey

*Key Client Relationship Survey

*Win Work Healthcheck

= Skills Refreshment Workshops =

*How to Sell High Value Services and Convert New Business

*Critical Success Factors in Bid Management

*Winning Business with Winning proposals

*Delivering Successful Presentations at Tender Interview

*Work Winning Revitalisation Workshop

= Articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

*[[Embedding%20successful%20key%20client%20management|Embedding successful key client management]].

*[[Market%20segmentation|Market segmentation]].

*[[Marketing_planning|Marketing planning]].

*[[Winning%20work|Winning work]].

----

Marketing planning in the construction industry

2013-12-11T10:41:00Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

Firms within the construction industry who excel at working in complex, rapidly changing environments, sometimes committing to deadlines years in advance, often fail to organise and administrate basic marketing activity. The problem, may stem from our enjoyment of tangible activities which require us to be reactive, responsive and decisive and project work fulfils this criteria exactly. Marketing is often perceived as an intangible, non-measurable activity, primarily an overhead, and any time spent on non-fee-earning activity is thought of as wasting resources.

Yet marketing if carefully planned and implemented can be extremely effective and easily accounted for its annual budget. If the management team can agree in advance their exact financial targets and the specific but quantifiable marketing objectives they wish to realise over the year ahead, then marketing strategies can be developed to achieve them. However, it is essential that the management team shares this desired direction and is willing to contribute time to individually drive forward and report progress on their assigned objectives.

= Strategic approach =

There has to be an emphasis on taking a strategic approach to marketing. This entails understanding the organisation’s wider goals and understanding how they are going to be achieved; setting marketing objectives in relation to those corporate goals and corresponding marketing strategies to deliver on those stated marketing objectives.

Only by adopting such a logical and reasoned approach can marketing rationalise its right to be at the heart of the management decision-making process, a cross-functional discipline that “...is too important to leave to the marketing department”. By being both logical and strategic in nature, it is possible to help dispel the image held by many in the construction industry that it is about advertising, PR (public relations) and general promotional activities.

= Project manage your marketing =

Careful thought must be given as to how each marketing objective can be achieved, and just as in project work, the overall tasks can be broken down into strategies, initiatives and specific actions and their associate costs. Clear identification as to who is responsible for each step must be made so that staff and managers alike know what is required of them to implement their part of the overall plan. Furthermore, a programme must be established which shows when specific campaigns or marketing initiatives need to be completed.

Outline steps for marketing planning:
#Analyse the changing business environment.
#Identify the options relevant to the firms’ core competences.
#Establish a business strategy and define marketing objectives.
#Set marketing strategies and performance targets.
#Confirm feasibility by undertaking market and client research.
#Formulate tactical initiatives and action.
#Seek individuals commitment to implementing their part of plan.
#Create monitoring controls to evaluate performance.

The process described above is project management. So if the company board believes project management has helped improve the control and efficiency of project administration, it will not take much to get them thinking about what it could do for their marketing activities.

= What is a marketing plan? =
*It is a formal management process.
*All marketing resources are allocated to meet specified marketing objectives.
*The marketing plan should knit together the strategic cornerstones of the corporate / business plan.
*It is a standard against which day-to-day marketing decisions are made.

In being able to knit together both strategic and tactical elements, the marketing plan should correspondingly include both strategic and tactical aspects.

For purposes of implementing the marketing plan:
*The strategic and tactical elements can be differentiated by time frame.
*Any planning process needs to take account of both the long and short term.
*The broad three year marketing plan should be treated as the strategic plan
*The first year as the tactical short-term plan.

Marketing plans should be a focus for the whole business unit and / or firm and should not be restricted to the marketing department, and they should be based on the market(s) in which the business unit is operating. This is a simple but important point.

Marketing plans should take account of budgets and other financial measures but should not be based on them. Similarly sales-led organisations may base their planning and budgeting around sales targets, but these might be overly optimistic to motivate a sales force rather than a realistic assessment of what the market will bear.

Marketing plans and budgets arising there from, should be founded on:
*Careful, realistic assessments of what the market is doing in terms of its external environment e.g. economic conditions, market sector growth versus saturation / stagnation, competitor activity etc.
*What the firm can do in response to those external factors e.g. new service launches, service extensions or improvements, improvements through new distribution (new offices, new locations), better promotion (hospitality, mailshots, campaigns etc.) increased sales force (often not required as it easier and cheaper to get existing staff to take on a small degree of marketing responsibility).
*Numbers and quantifiable targets (actually measurable and not just wish statements).
*Targets that are tangible and realisable so that they do not de-motivate.

However the use of numbers, financial or by volume is not enough on its own. Soft factors that require written explanation are just as much a prerequisite as the quantifiable elements.

In summary, the approach to marketing planning is:
*Not only a formalised system.
*One that complements the wider corporate aims and strategies of the organisation as a whole.
*At the heart of the firm and its planning and is accordingly cross-functional.
*Not simply a tactical description of how marketing resources will be allocated over the forthcoming twelve-month budgeting period.

If a marketing plan is founded on solid, factual information about the market place itself, then the starting point for constructing the plan will be the search for data organised in such a way as to become useful information. See marketing audit for more information.

----

This article was created by --[[User:Philip Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:41, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki: ===
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Market segmentation.
*Winning work.

=== External references: ===
*Marketing Plans, Malcolm McDonald, Butterworth Heinemann Professional Publishing Ltd.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Marketing planning in the construction industry

2013-12-11T10:39:42Z

Philip Collard: Created page with " = Introduction = Firms within the construction industry who excel at working in complex, rapidly changing environments, sometimes committing to deadlines years in advance, ofte..."

= Introduction =

Firms within the construction industry who excel at working in complex, rapidly changing environments, sometimes committing to deadlines years in advance, often fail to organise and administrate basic marketing activity. The problem, may stem from our enjoyment of tangible activities which require us to be reactive, responsive and decisive and project work fulfils this criteria exactly. Marketing is often perceived as an intangible, non-measurable activity, primarily an overhead, and any time spent on non-fee-earning activity is thought of as wasting resources.

Yet marketing if carefully planned and implemented can be extremely effective and easily accounted for its annual budget. If the management team can agree in advance their exact financial targets and the specific but quantifiable marketing objectives they wish to realise over the year ahead, then marketing strategies can be developed to achieve them. However, it is essential that the management team shares this desired direction and is willing to contribute time to individually drive forward and report progress on their assigned objectives.

= Strategic approach =

There has to be an emphasis on taking a strategic approach to marketing. This entails understanding the organisation’s wider goals and understanding how they are going to be achieved; setting marketing objectives in relation to those corporate goals and corresponding marketing strategies to deliver on those stated marketing objectives.

Only by adopting such a logical and reasoned approach can marketing rationalise its right to be at the heart of the management decision-making process, a cross-functional discipline that “...is too important to leave to the marketing department”. By being both logical and strategic in nature, it is possible to help dispel the image held by many in the construction industry that it is about advertising, PR (public relations) and general promotional activities.

= Project manage your marketing =

Careful thought must be given as to how each marketing objective can be achieved, and just as in project work, the overall tasks can be broken down into strategies, initiatives and specific actions and their associate costs. Clear identification as to who is responsible for each step must be made so that staff and managers alike know what is required of them to implement their part of the overall plan. Furthermore, a programme must be established which shows when specific campaigns or marketing initiatives need to be completed.

Outline steps for marketing planning:
#Analyse the changing business environment.
#Identify the options relevant to the firms’ core competences.
#Establish a business strategy and define marketing objectives.
#Set marketing strategies and performance targets.
#Confirm feasibility by undertaking market and client research.
#Formulate tactical initiatives and action.
#Seek individuals commitment to implementing their part of plan.
#Create monitoring controls to evaluate performance.

The process described above is project management. So if the company board believes project management has helped improve the control and efficiency of project administration, it will not take much to get them thinking about what it could do for their marketing activities.

= What is a marketing plan? =
*It is a formal management process.
*All marketing resources are allocated to meet specified marketing objectives.
*The marketing plan should knit together the strategic cornerstones of the corporate / business plan.
*It is a standard against which day-to-day marketing decisions are made.

In being able to knit together both strategic and tactical elements, the marketing plan should correspondingly include both strategic and tactical aspects.

For purposes of implementing the marketing plan:
*The strategic and tactical elements can be differentiated by time frame.
*Any planning process needs to take account of both the long and short term.
*The broad three year marketing plan should be treated as the strategic plan
*The first year as the tactical short-term plan.

Marketing plans should be a focus for the whole business unit and / or firm and should not be restricted to the marketing department, and they should be based on the market(s) in which the business unit is operating. This is a simple but important point.

Marketing plans should take account of budgets and other financial measures but should not be based on them. Similarly sales-led organisations may base their planning and budgeting around sales targets, but these might be overly optimistic to motivate a sales force rather than a realistic assessment of what the market will bear.

Marketing plans and budgets arising there from, should be founded on:
*Careful, realistic assessments of what the market is doing in terms of its external environment e.g. economic conditions, market sector growth versus saturation / stagnation, competitor activity etc.

*What the firm can do in response to those external factors e.g. new service launches, service extensions or improvements, improvements through new distribution (new offices, new locations), better promotion (hospitality, mailshots, campaigns etc.) increased sales force (often not required as it easier and cheaper to get existing staff to take on a small degree of marketing responsibility).
*Numbers and quantifiable targets (actually measurable and not just wish statements).
*Targets that are tangible and realisable so that they do not de-motivate.

However the use of numbers, financial or by volume is not enough on its own. Soft factors that require written explanation are just as much a prerequisite as the quantifiable elements.

In summary, the approach to marketing planning is:
*Not only a formalised system.
*One that complements the wider corporate aims and strategies of the organisation as a whole.
*At the heart of the firm and its planning and is accordingly cross-functional.
*Not simply a tactical description of how marketing resources will be allocated over the forthcoming twelve-month budgeting period.

If a marketing plan is founded on solid, factual information about the market place itself, then the starting point for constructing the plan will be the search for data organised in such a way as to become useful information. See marketing audit for more information.

= Find out more =

Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki:
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Market segmentation.
*Winning work.

External references:
*Marketing Plans, Malcolm McDonald, Butterworth Heinemann Professional Publishing Ltd.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Winning work in the construction industry

2013-12-10T14:49:24Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

There is a great deal of best practice information on what to do when you have won a project, but very little written about how to win the work in the first place, or how to retain a client for the long-term. Given nearly 10% of a consultants turnover and up to 4% of a contractor’s can be spent on work winning activities, just a few improvements in effectiveness and efficiencies will significantly increase the firm’s profitability.

Research carried out by Marketing Works and the University of Reading put the average cost of construction tendering at 3% of the value of the project, with the average pre-qualification costs running to 1.5%. That means if you are winning one bid in five, then 22.5% of your win budget is spent on bidding costs. There are significant opportunities both to improve win ratios and to reduce the cost of each bid.

= Building on existing foundations =

Ideally a business-winning culture starts at the beginning with feedback on whether client expectations and relationships are being properly managed. How confident are you that you will play a part in their future? Do you know what your clients think, what they want, and more importantly how they see your relationship with them developing? Procurement philosophy is becoming more enlightened, but to exploit this change we become more client-centric.

Most firms start off with excellent core competences and services, which initially fulfil niche client requirements, but as they grow and develop new services and operate in new sectors, they can start to develop bad habits. One such habit is to treat all clients in the same way. This often involves thinking about existing clients on a transactional sales level, with the client / supplier relationship based on being given yet another piece of work.

It is as important to understand why you were awarded a job, as it is to learn from the mistakes when you fail to win one. Most business leaders realise that their central goal should be to establish long-term client relationships. This recognises the cost efficiencies in repeat business, versus the relatively higher cost of converting new opportunities into actual clients. Studies have shown that it costs five times more to acquire a new client than to make a sale to an existing one.

= Strategically important clients =

What does this mean for firms in the construction industry? It means assiduously following the 80:20 rule (80% of fee income coming from 20% of clients). This means researching your existing clients’ actual requirements and potentially changing the way you serve them.

Clients have been getting bigger and more sophisticated. They want tailor-made solutions and are prepared to rationalise their supplier base. Cosy relationships and frameworks now face regular strategic reviews as the demands of economic reality are passed down the line to achieve cost savings. The key therefore, is to actively court a close relationship with your strategically valuable key clients, perhaps by developing new ways to work with them so they cannot easily drop you and to create exit barriers such as a growing dependence on your knowledge of their business.

No longer can incumbent service firms feel safe. They will have to proactively differentiate and to demonstrate why they continue to offer the client the best option. This will mean exploiting distinct sector strengths and marketing unique problem-solving abilities, perhaps honed whilst on the last few jobs. For example, some firms offer existing clients a lower fee structure for the following year’s term contract because they have developed streamlined processes. This shows commitment to building a long-term client relationship.

= Embed improved win work behaviours into tactical win work activities =

To achieve this, it must become fundamental to your tactical and strategic plans. Winning work is too important to be left solely to the marketing department. It depends upon the shared vision of the senior leadership and a willingness to engage all operational client facing staff to play a specific and aligned role in client relationship development. The critical organisational changes that are needed to deliver a client-focused service must be successfully communicated throughout the firm. Every service industry, including construction, is reporting new behavioural models. The current favourite is knowledge sharing and collaboration platforms that facilitate improved internal communications. Leadership must ensure it is easy to communicate within and across delivery teams, to ensure it is easy for the client to deal with their firm and that it is hard for them to leave.

This means:
*Having a clearly thought-through 12 month tactical plan encompassing new business development and key client management strategies and tactics.
*Offering a truly integrated, client-focused service with default feedback capture.
*Implementing IT solutions to effectively support behaviours such as collaboration platforms, hosting proposal/ PQQ content, key client management plans and business development forums and communities.
*Having the right calibre of staff, fully trained, revitalised with refreshed aligned and integrated win work processes.
*Ensuring regular communications designed to engage with client’s decision makers to encourage rapport and relationship building.

= Visibility at board level =

Of crucial importance is the visibility at board level of the opportunity pipeline that will fill the order book in coming months and years. It is vital that reporting provides the board with confidence and certainty that win work activities feeding the opportunity pipeline are being effectively actioned now, not finding out in 3 months’ time that the pursuit slipped due to individuals project commitments. No amount of hard work by staff will lead to any real improvement if these basic business development elements are lacking and senior leadership’s commitment is not there.

Culture change is the key and using external consultants to facilitate this change can make the process easier and faster.

----

This article was created by --[[User%3APhilip%20Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:54, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Embedding successful key client management.
*Market segmentation.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Embedding successful key client management in the construction industry

2013-12-10T14:48:57Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

Typically 80% of turnover comes from 20% of clients and crucially 95% of profitability comes from that 20%. Your entire business is built on client relationships, and how you deal with your existing clients will determine your company's future.

The key to success is effective leadership. Someone has to decide that managing the client base more effectively is essential to the future of your company, or that if the current way of managing clients doesn’t change, then the company is at risk.

Then, to implement a key client management programme, you will need to apply energy and commitment to achieve buy-in throughout the company. Most professionals will see the value, but what invariably happens is that when they get back behind the desk, client management issues get put onto tomorrow’s to do list. In fact, achieving the key client management actions may be in conflict with achieving today’s objectives. You need to commit some additional resource and time to key client management, to achieve significant results.

= Current clients vs. new clients =

Historically firms place a high value on winning new work from new clients, but conversely you should only pursue new clients when:
*Current relationships are so strong they guarantee new work.
*They always include you in any new work discussions.
*You have identified all the opportunities likely to occur in their future.
*You have examined every area where you can sell capabilities within existing client.

Very few firms can claim to have fulfilled the criteria above. Work won from existing clients is more likely to be more profitable for two reasons:
#Selling costs are likely to be much lower.
#Profit is a factor of margin and volume.

The risks of implementation are:
*Being over-ambitious and trying to do too much. (This has a serious impact as previous attempts may have lacked realism and subsequently future attempts lack credibility.)
*Failing to up-skill practitioners and to embed culture change. (Once a programme has been introduced, unless a sustained focus on embedding the new culture is made, old habits will creep back in and the momentum will dissipate.)

So the advice is ‘Keep it Simple’.

= Developing relationships =

Having a clear view of the type and characteristics of the relationship that you currently have and wish to have with each of your clients is crucial to success. There may be some relationships that offer long-term potential; others provide steady levels of low-margin income.

The construction industry is a highly project-focused environment, and it is the relationships that occur within the project team that lead to success. And yet, developing and building these relationships for the future is sometimes haphazard, not least because the construction market is also highly competitive.

Contractors and consultants often complain that some clients base their selection decision on price. As a result this negates the value of the expertise and the hard work that has been put into developing these relationships and the insight that enables the team to craft a solution that they believe is better than that of its competition.

However, it could also be that the client does not understand why and how this solution is better in terms of meeting their needs. It is often the case that your team does not position and project the added value, or how they could continue to create that added value on future projects. Construction organisations don’t themselves fully appreciate the added value they deliver.

If construction firms do not understand amd communicate where they can add value to a project and do not differentiate themselves from the competition, then the client can only judge them on the lowest common denominator. And this is often the price.

To move the focus away from price, it is important to understand why existing clients keep coming back. A part of this is through understanding where, who and how we added value to their business during the last project(s).

Why not ask them? Better still get a third party to ask them and get the warts and all. Your clients will be impressed that you care enough to ask where they want your service to improve; but don’t then forget to change what they said isn’t working.

In situations where the service that clients receive doesn’t meet their minimum expectation, this will fuel their price sensitivity. You need to know if this is the case. This can then be married with your own understanding of the relationships that you have with the client. You may find that your views are aligned, or that they are significantly different – each informing your future plans and actions.

What may emerge from this feedback are actions to improve the quality and focus of the service that the client receives. These may relate to technical solutions or management processes, but equally they may concern some of the background issues, not least the management of expectations.

= Setting & meeting expectations =

If you want to develop a successful relationship you must meet or exceed your clients’ expectations. It is your responsibility to do what it takes to understand what the client expects. You play a role in influencing clients’ expectations through the commitments that you made during the business development process and typically client-focused organisations under-promise and over-deliver.

Managing client expectations successfully depends on understanding, influencing, setting and agreeing those expectations at every stage of the relationship:
*When discussing new projects.
*When negotiating fees.
*At the start of a new project.
*At regular stages during the delivery programme.
*At the end of the project.

Frustration on both sides is often caused, not by a failure to agree the technical specification, but by the soft issues. For example:
*How the two sides are going to work together.
*How they will communicate.
*Who the client should speak to if they have a concern about progress.
*How to keep critical momentum on a project without seeming to be authoritarian.
*How information should be presented in reports.

Everyone in the client team must know exactly what the formula is for delivering to this client’s satisfaction. Meeting client expectations is as much about the management and motivation of people as it is about producing a report on time.

Little issues like not receiving information on time or not finding it that easy to deal with a member of the team may not provoke a complaint, but will influence the decision about who to appoint on future projects. Therefore it is vital that at regular stages you establish your performance against the client’s criteria. All those influenced by your work need to be questioned, and with sincerity. You need to record their views and check that your understanding of them is accurate and then you need to do something about them.

If the service you are selling in the market place is perceived to be the same as others or a commodity where the only differentiator is price, then you may want to look at two contrasting strategies:
#Your service can become the ‘low cost producer’ in the market. This can mean developing and combining more efficient ways of working, reducing headcount, paying lower salaries and getting people to work harder than they do now.
#The alternative is to constantly invest in developing new expertise that adds greater value for the clients. Focus on innovation and on selling better, more leading edge services for better returns. It then becomes possible to differentiate by delivering a totally tailored service that consistently exceeds clients’ expectations. This will enable you to generate the optimum level of work from those clients, achieving attractive rates and building a reputation that allows you to secure new clients who will pay well for the service that you provide.

The correct strategy depends on what your clients and potential clients see as valuable to them.

Make time to carry out these actions and if time is taken up, decide what not to do. If not you will end up with a wish-list that doesn’t get completed and the client will get the same old service that they can get from a number of your competitors.

= Selling to existing clients =

‘The best source of new work is our existing client base’ is a common statement in this industry and it couldn’t be more true. Your people are onsite or in the offices of clients the whole time, yet it is rare for them to find additional opportunities for work. If they see an opening to which they can directly relate the objectives and chosen strategy of the client organisation, two things will happen:
#They will recognise the opportunity.
#They should feel confident enough to pursue the opportunity, raising it either with their own people or directly with the client.

A surprising number of delivery team members do not know the business objectives of their clients. It is recommended that you test how much real understanding your people have of their clients and their marketplaces. Selling skills training is the first step in enabling people to spot opportunities. Give them the knowledge, understanding and confidence about their clients business so they can recognise how something they perceive as an opportunity can fit into and support the client’s business direction.

= Cross selling to existing clients =

Organisations often work in silos where there may be a significant lack of integration between business units / core services and / or local offices, and this influences the clients’ perceptions of what you can deliver. What you are as a firm is what each individual client perceives you to be. Multidisciplinary, client-orientated teams provide the right environment for cross selling and truly client-facing organisations organise themselves in this way.

Without this client-oriented organisation structure, the risk is that professionals do not recommend other parts of their company; they may even recommend external professionals in whom they have trust and confidence. Today, companies realise that their fee growth ambitions can only be met by selling further services to their client base.

Despite this, directors and partners keep their colleagues from other disciplines at arm’s length from their clients. People must be encouraged to work together. To create the right environment for cross selling you have to have people who are:
*Prepared to share and delegate.
*Recognised or even rewarded on the number of introductions they provide to others within the company.

Real team working is a major facilitator of regular cross selling. Companies must have team objectives. There are often fundamental, structural, cultural, organisational, motivational and behavioural issues that need to be addressed if there is to be any hope of realising the full potential of cross-selling opportunities.

If a company wishes to cross sell effectively it has to ensure its people have sufficient current knowledge of the company’s services to be able to immediately advise the client if they have the capability to assist.

= Success factors in key client planning =

An effective client plan can be an extremely powerful tool in the hands of an organisation that is committed to becoming truly client focused.

The key client plan should be designed to match the needs of the client team and should suit the client that it has been written to serve. It may be as simple as a single piece of paper, or far more complicated, spanning financial, organisational, project and contact information. It may be written by one person, or coordinated by a single person from the contributions of people across the company. But to make sure that it is workable, it should start from the premise that the plan should contain the minimum information needed to focus on the client and add value to their business through the benefits offered by your company’s services.

= Project Management and key client management =

The construction industry makes good use of project management disciplines in their everyday work. These skills work extremely well as a way of keeping control of client management plans.

= Using tools to develop a list of actions =

There are a number of tools that can be uses to help identify the actions that should form a part of your key client plan. They focus on helping you to identify the state of your relationship with the client: how many people you know in the client organisation, how well you know them and how to protect those relationships against your competitors. In other words assessing both the quality and quantity of the relationship.

Although it is highly desirable to keep your key client management plan short and simple, there is some information which should be collected to make sure that you know enough about your client’s business to be able to develop the sort of relationship where it is unthinkable for them to go to anyone else.

Summary:
*Your key client plan should be as brief as possible to make sure that it is workable for you.
*The simplest key client plan includes the strategy or aims and objectives for the client.

= Implementation =

Mobilising key client management effectively and getting the benefits is dependent on having identified your key clients, the person responsible for the relationship and having defined the membership of the team that delivers services to the client. In practice, you also need to have identified a person who will provide the dedicated marketing support to allow your client managers and client teams to manage key client management activity alongside project delivery.

Having defined who are your 'crown jewels', key clients and valued clients, you should revisit your client list annually to assess whether you have a valued client that is growing enough to become a key client, or indeed whether one of your key clients is now working with someone else (after a take-over for example).

Whilst events that cause demotions are likely to be high profile, you should watch your valued clients to see if they now meet the criteria you have set.

To effectively manage your key clients, you need regular contact with them that is relationship focused rather than project-focussed. The client manager should be meeting with them to discuss their future strategic needs, assess their current opportunities and threats and to discuss ways that your company can help them to achieve their objectives.

The client team should also review the relationship with the key client on an annual basis, using tools that measure the strength of the relationship to drive out actions to improve it. A review may also be kicked off by a major change within the client, for example, a change in personnel with the influence to affect buying decisions.

You need to make sure that your key clients are happy with the work that you do for them and that you understand what it is about your service that they value most. To do that, you need to carry out regular client satisfaction surveys and most importantly to act on the information that they provide. You will also get valuable information about what your clients’ value about the work that you do for them. Use this information to make your marketing more compelling.

The end of every project should be finished with project closedown that celebrates the success of what went well, identifies what you would do differently and develops useful case studies, signed off by the client. The close-down meeting can also be an opportunity to examine if there are any other services that your client needs for the next stage of their development.

----

This article was created by --[[User%3APhilip%20Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:14, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Collaborative practices.
*Market segmentation.
*Team management.
*Winning work.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Market segmentation in the construction industry

2013-12-10T14:48:21Z

Philip Collard:

It is very important for firms to split their clients (or customers) into different segments, grouping together those clients with similar characteristics which have similar needs. This is not simply about size or sectors but more about what services are bought, by whom, and why. The aim is to identify true clients’ needs, which can be combined together to identify the best segments on which to focus marketing efforts.

This process is called ‘segmentation’ and will identify the most attractive and profitable segments and also those with the highest potential for growth.

Operating a market segmentation strategy can offer considerable competitive advantage. Segmentation centres around identifying the best way to distinguish the main sectors an organisation works in within the total construction market. The skill is in choosing appropriate segmentation criteria given the wide range of possibilities.

The criteria must refer to difference in demand by each customer group. For example the needs and requirements of development directors of retailers are different to development directors specialising in commercial office buildings. The features of an organisations range of services benefit different clients in different ways and so organisations must distil the benefits they experience and promote tailored messages to each segment group.

Major segmentation criteria in the construction industry would be:

{| cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="1"
|-
|
Industry segments

|
Geographical

|-
|
Commercial

Industrial

Public non-housing

Infrastructure

Private housing

Public housing

|
Wales

North

Midlands

South

Scotland

etc 

|}

Each of the above industry classifications must also be segmented into further categories such as; commercial retail, commercial office or public health, education and private health and private education etc. The same applies for geographical segmentation such as Midlands into East and West Midlands. 

Whilst organisations must clearly segment accordingly to their own customer grouping it is advisable to organise them in such a way that it is possible to layer over data and research findings from industry research bodies to ensure consistency and compatibility. If organisations fail to ensure their segmentation forecasting is based on quantitative research, it will not usually be easy to measure potential segment size, or more importantly, progress. It is therefore critical to recognise that the full implementation of a segmented strategy demands an adequate flow of data for both planning and control purposes.

Without the use of segmentation organisations pursue a homogenous strategy, which may lead to a product or service trying to be all the things to all people. This may work reasonably well when an organisation is dominant, or in a monopoly situation, but it leaves their product or service vulnerable to attack by competitors who target smaller sectors of the market. In time this could mean the 'homogenous' product or service appeals less and less to the total market whose needs are being satisfied elsewhere, and leaves them with fewer potential customers.

----

This article was created by --[[User:Philip Collard|Philip Collard]] 14:48, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Embedding successful key client management. 
*Winning work.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

User:Philip Collard

2013-12-10T14:43:24Z

Philip Collard:

MarketingWorks, a leading Work Winning construction industry management consultancy, has helped numerous construction organisations to embed work winning best practice, helping them to move from reactive project-centricity to proactive client-centricity and thereby to win more work. MarketingWorks has provided services for over 1000 construction firms, including 9 of the top 20 contractors and 5 of the top 10 consultants.

Our range of services includes bespoke solutions for leaders who want to improve work winning behaviours (encompassing all aspects of the win work process) and tactical solutions through business development mentoring support and skills training.

MarketingWorks helps our clients define and establish the organisational environment for long term success in work winning through delivering bespoke win work revitalisation programmes. Our methodology is based on a four-stage process:

*Diagnose

*Develop

*Deploy

*Implement

This approach is based on understanding where good work winning practice exists within an organisation across all stages of the work winning process, enhancing processes, skills, systems and tools, behaviours and results. It enables what works well within the organisation to be exploited and enhanced using the expertise of MarketingWorks consultants.

= Win Work Support & Mentoring =

*Opportunity & pipeline management tools & processes

*PQQ Review Go/No Go Selectivity Matrix

*Bid Mentoring

*Proposal Review

*Mobilising a Framework Event

*Mobilising a Sector Team Event

*Mobilising Key Client Teams

*Proposal Red Team Review

*Presentation Facilitation

*Presentation Red Team Reviews

= Research =

*Win Work Audit

*Senior Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Data Analysis

*Client Perspectives Survey

*Key Client Relationship Survey

*Win Work Healthcheck

= Skills Refreshment Workshops =

*How to Sell High Value Services and Convert New Business

*Critical Success Factors in Bid Management

*Winning Business with Winning proposals

*Delivering Successful Presentations at Tender Interview

*Work Winning Revitalisation Workshop

= Articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

*[[Embedding%20successful%20key%20client%20management|Embedding successful key client management]].

*[[Market_segmentation|Market segmentation]].

*[[Winning%20work|Winning work]].

----

Embedding successful key client management in the construction industry

2013-12-10T10:57:50Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

Typically 80% of turnover comes from 20% of clients and crucially 95% of profitability comes from that 20%. Your entire business is built on client relationships, and how you deal with your existing clients will determine your company's future.

The key to success is effective leadership. Someone has to decide that managing the client base more effectively is essential to the future of your company, or that if the current way of managing clients doesn’t change, then the company is at risk.

Then, to implement a key client management programme, you will need to apply energy and commitment to achieve buy-in throughout the company. Most professionals will see the value, but what invariably happens is that when they get back behind the desk, client management issues get put onto tomorrow’s to do list. In fact, achieving the key client management actions may be in conflict with achieving today’s objectives. You need to commit some additional resource and time to key client management, to achieve significant results.

= Current clients vs. new clients =

Historically firms place a high value on winning new work from new clients, but conversely you should only pursue new clients when:
*Current relationships are so strong they guarantee new work.
*They always include you in any new work discussions.
*You have identified all the opportunities likely to occur in their future.
*You have examined every area where you can sell capabilities within existing client.

Very few firms can claim to have fulfilled the criteria above. Work won from existing clients is more likely to be more profitable for two reasons:
#Selling costs are likely to be much lower.
#Profit is a factor of margin and volume.

The risks of implementation are:
*Being over-ambitious and trying to do too much. (This has a serious impact as previous attempts may have lacked realism and subsequently future attempts lack credibility.)
*Failing to up-skill practitioners and to embed culture change. (Once a programme has been introduced, unless a sustained focus on embedding the new culture is made, old habits will creep back in and the momentum will dissipate.)

So the advice is ‘Keep it Simple’.

= Developing relationships =

Having a clear view of the type and characteristics of the relationship that you currently have and wish to have with each of your clients is crucial to success. There may be some relationships that offer long-term potential; others provide steady levels of low-margin income.

The construction industry is a highly project-focused environment, and it is the relationships that occur within the project team that lead to success. And yet, developing and building these relationships for the future is sometimes haphazard, not least because the construction market is also highly competitive.

Contractors and consultants often complain that some clients base their selection decision on price. As a result this negates the value of the expertise and the hard work that has been put into developing these relationships and the insight that enables the team to craft a solution that they believe is better than that of its competition.

However, it could also be that the client does not understand why and how this solution is better in terms of meeting their needs. It is often the case that your team does not position and project the added value, or how they could continue to create that added value on future projects. Construction organisations don’t themselves fully appreciate the added value they deliver.

If construction firms do not understand amd communicate where they can add value to a project and do not differentiate themselves from the competition, then the client can only judge them on the lowest common denominator. And this is often the price.

To move the focus away from price, it is important to understand why existing clients keep coming back. A part of this is through understanding where, who and how we added value to their business during the last project(s).

Why not ask them? Better still get a third party to ask them and get the warts and all. Your clients will be impressed that you care enough to ask where they want your service to improve; but don’t then forget to change what they said isn’t working.

In situations where the service that clients receive doesn’t meet their minimum expectation, this will fuel their price sensitivity. You need to know if this is the case. This can then be married with your own understanding of the relationships that you have with the client. You may find that your views are aligned, or that they are significantly different – each informing your future plans and actions.

What may emerge from this feedback are actions to improve the quality and focus of the service that the client receives. These may relate to technical solutions or management processes, but equally they may concern some of the background issues, not least the management of expectations.

= Setting & meeting expectations =

If you want to develop a successful relationship you must meet or exceed your clients’ expectations. It is your responsibility to do what it takes to understand what the client expects. You play a role in influencing clients’ expectations through the commitments that you made during the business development process and typically client-focused organisations under-promise and over-deliver.

Managing client expectations successfully depends on understanding, influencing, setting and agreeing those expectations at every stage of the relationship:
*When discussing new projects.
*When negotiating fees.
*At the start of a new project.
*At regular stages during the delivery programme.
*At the end of the project.

Frustration on both sides is often caused, not by a failure to agree the technical specification, but by the soft issues. For example:
*How the two sides are going to work together.
*How they will communicate.
*Who the client should speak to if they have a concern about progress.
*How to keep critical momentum on a project without seeming to be authoritarian.
*How information should be presented in reports.

Everyone in the client team must know exactly what the formula is for delivering to this client’s satisfaction. Meeting client expectations is as much about the management and motivation of people as it is about producing a report on time.

Little issues like not receiving information on time or not finding it that easy to deal with a member of the team may not provoke a complaint, but will influence the decision about who to appoint on future projects. Therefore it is vital that at regular stages you establish your performance against the client’s criteria. All those influenced by your work need to be questioned, and with sincerity. You need to record their views and check that your understanding of them is accurate and then you need to do something about them.

If the service you are selling in the market place is perceived to be the same as others or a commodity where the only differentiator is price, then you may want to look at two contrasting strategies:
#Your service can become the ‘low cost producer’ in the market. This can mean developing and combining more efficient ways of working, reducing headcount, paying lower salaries and getting people to work harder than they do now.
#The alternative is to constantly invest in developing new expertise that adds greater value for the clients. Focus on innovation and on selling better, more leading edge services for better returns. It then becomes possible to differentiate by delivering a totally tailored service that consistently exceeds clients’ expectations. This will enable you to generate the optimum level of work from those clients, achieving attractive rates and building a reputation that allows you to secure new clients who will pay well for the service that you provide.

The correct strategy depends on what your clients and potential clients see as valuable to them.

Make time to carry out these actions and if time is taken up, decide what not to do. If not you will end up with a wish-list that doesn’t get completed and the client will get the same old service that they can get from a number of your competitors.

= Selling to existing clients =

‘The best source of new work is our existing client base’ is a common statement in this industry and it couldn’t be more true. Your people are onsite or in the offices of clients the whole time, yet it is rare for them to find additional opportunities for work. If they see an opening to which they can directly relate the objectives and chosen strategy of the client organisation, two things will happen:
#They will recognise the opportunity.
#They should feel confident enough to pursue the opportunity, raising it either with their own people or directly with the client.

A surprising number of delivery team members do not know the business objectives of their clients. It is recommended that you test how much real understanding your people have of their clients and their marketplaces. Selling skills training is the first step in enabling people to spot opportunities. Give them the knowledge, understanding and confidence about their clients business so they can recognise how something they perceive as an opportunity can fit into and support the client’s business direction.

= Cross selling to existing clients =

Organisations often work in silos where there may be a significant lack of integration between business units / core services and / or local offices, and this influences the clients’ perceptions of what you can deliver. What you are as a firm is what each individual client perceives you to be. Multidisciplinary, client-orientated teams provide the right environment for cross selling and truly client-facing organisations organise themselves in this way.

Without this client-oriented organisation structure, the risk is that professionals do not recommend other parts of their company; they may even recommend external professionals in whom they have trust and confidence. Today, companies realise that their fee growth ambitions can only be met by selling further services to their client base.

Despite this, directors and partners keep their colleagues from other disciplines at arm’s length from their clients. People must be encouraged to work together. To create the right environment for cross selling you have to have people who are:
*Prepared to share and delegate.
*Recognised or even rewarded on the number of introductions they provide to others within the company.

Real team working is a major facilitator of regular cross selling. Companies must have team objectives. There are often fundamental, structural, cultural, organisational, motivational and behavioural issues that need to be addressed if there is to be any hope of realising the full potential of cross-selling opportunities.

If a company wishes to cross sell effectively it has to ensure its people have sufficient current knowledge of the company’s services to be able to immediately advise the client if they have the capability to assist.

= Success factors in key client planning =

An effective client plan can be an extremely powerful tool in the hands of an organisation that is committed to becoming truly client focused.

The key client plan should be designed to match the needs of the client team and should suit the client that it has been written to serve. It may be as simple as a single piece of paper, or far more complicated, spanning financial, organisational, project and contact information. It may be written by one person, or coordinated by a single person from the contributions of people across the company. But to make sure that it is workable, it should start from the premise that the plan should contain the minimum information needed to focus on the client and add value to their business through the benefits offered by your company’s services.

= Project Management and key client management =

The construction industry makes good use of project management disciplines in their everyday work. These skills work extremely well as a way of keeping control of client management plans.

= Using tools to develop a list of actions =

There are a number of tools that can be uses to help identify the actions that should form a part of your key client plan. They focus on helping you to identify the state of your relationship with the client: how many people you know in the client organisation, how well you know them and how to protect those relationships against your competitors. In other words assessing both the quality and quantity of the relationship.

Although it is highly desirable to keep your key client management plan short and simple, there is some information which should be collected to make sure that you know enough about your client’s business to be able to develop the sort of relationship where it is unthinkable for them to go to anyone else.

Summary:
*Your key client plan should be as brief as possible to make sure that it is workable for you.
*The simplest key client plan includes the strategy or aims and objectives for the client.

= Implementation =

Mobilising key client management effectively and getting the benefits is dependent on having identified your key clients, the person responsible for the relationship and having defined the membership of the team that delivers services to the client. In practice, you also need to have identified a person who will provide the dedicated marketing support to allow your client managers and client teams to manage key client management activity alongside project delivery.

Having defined who are your 'crown jewels', key clients and valued clients, you should revisit your client list annually to assess whether you have a valued client that is growing enough to become a key client, or indeed whether one of your key clients is now working with someone else (after a take-over for example).

Whilst events that cause demotions are likely to be high profile, you should watch your valued clients to see if they now meet the criteria you have set.

To effectively manage your key clients, you need regular contact with them that is relationship focused rather than project-focussed. The client manager should be meeting with them to discuss their future strategic needs, assess their current opportunities and threats and to discuss ways that your company can help them to achieve their objectives.

The client team should also review the relationship with the key client on an annual basis, using tools that measure the strength of the relationship to drive out actions to improve it. A review may also be kicked off by a major change within the client, for example, a change in personnel with the influence to affect buying decisions.

You need to make sure that your key clients are happy with the work that you do for them and that you understand what it is about your service that they value most. To do that, you need to carry out regular client satisfaction surveys and most importantly to act on the information that they provide. You will also get valuable information about what your clients’ value about the work that you do for them. Use this information to make your marketing more compelling.

The end of every project should be finished with project closedown that celebrates the success of what went well, identifies what you would do differently and develops useful case studies, signed off by the client. The close-down meeting can also be an opportunity to examine if there are any other services that your client needs for the next stage of their development.

----

This article was created by --[[User%3APhilip%20Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:14, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Collaborative practices.
*Team management.
*Winning work.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

User:Philip Collard

2013-12-10T10:56:40Z

Philip Collard:

MarketingWorks, a leading Work Winning construction industry management consultancy, has helped numerous construction organisations to embed work winning best practice, helping them to move from reactive project-centricity to proactive client-centricity and thereby to win more work. MarketingWorks has provided services for over 1000 construction firms, including 9 of the top 20 contractors and 5 of the top 10 consultants.

Our range of services includes bespoke solutions for leaders who want to improve work winning behaviours (encompassing all aspects of the win work process) and tactical solutions through business development mentoring support and skills training.

MarketingWorks helps our clients define and establish the organisational environment for long term success in work winning through delivering bespoke win work revitalisation programmes. Our methodology is based on a four-stage process:

*Diagnose

*Develop

*Deploy

*Implement

This approach is based on understanding where good work winning practice exists within an organisation across all stages of the work winning process, enhancing processes, skills, systems and tools, behaviours and results. It enables what works well within the organisation to be exploited and enhanced using the expertise of MarketingWorks consultants.

= Win Work Support & Mentoring =

*Opportunity & pipeline management tools & processes

*PQQ Review Go/No Go Selectivity Matrix

*Bid Mentoring

*Proposal Review

*Mobilising a Framework Event

*Mobilising a Sector Team Event

*Mobilising Key Client Teams

*Proposal Red Team Review

*Presentation Facilitation

*Presentation Red Team Reviews

= Research =

*Win Work Audit

*Senior Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Data Analysis

*Client Perspectives Survey

*Key Client Relationship Survey

*Win Work Healthcheck

= Skills Refreshment Workshops =

*How to Sell High Value Services and Convert New Business

*Critical Success Factors in Bid Management

*Winning Business with Winning proposals

*Delivering Successful Presentations at Tender Interview

*Work Winning Revitalisation Workshop

= Articles on Designing Buildings Wiki =

*[[Embedding_successful_key_client_management|Embedding successful key client management]].

*[[Winning_work|Winning work]].

----

Winning work in the construction industry

2013-12-10T10:54:23Z

Philip Collard: Created page with " = Introduction = Clearly, there exists a great deal of best practice information on what to do when you have won a project, but very little written information on how to win th..."

= Introduction =

Clearly, there exists a great deal of best practice information on what to do when you have won a project, but very little written information on how to win the work in the first place, or how to retain a client for the long-term.

Given nearly 10% of a consultants turnover and up to 4 % of a contractor’s can be spent on work winning activities, just a few improvements in effectiveness and efficiencies will significantly increase the firm’s profitability.

= The cost of bidding =

Research carried out by Marketing Works and the University of Reading put the average cost of construction tendering at 3% of the value of the project, with the average pre-qualification costs running to 1.5%. That means if you are winning one bid in five, then 22.5% of your win budget is spent on bidding costs. There are significant opportunities both to improve win ratios and to reduce the cost of each bid.

= Building on existing foundations =

Ideally a business-winning culture starts at the beginning with feedback on whether client expectations and relationships are being properly managed. How confident are you that you will play a part in their future? Do you know what your clients think, what they want, and more importantly how they see your relationship with them developing? Procurement philosophy is becoming more enlightened, but to exploit this change, we too must adapt to our clients and become more client-centric.

Most firms start off with excellent core competences and services, which initially fulfil niche client requirements, but as they grow and develop new services and operate in new sectors, they can start to develop bad habits. One such act of heresy is to treat all clients in the same way. This often takes the shape of considering existing clients on a transactional sales level, with the client / supplier relationship based on being given yet another piece of work. It is equally important to understand why you were awarded a job, as it is to learn from the mistakes when you fail to win one.

Most leaders realise that their central goal should be to establish long-term client relationships. This approach recognises the cost efficiencies in repeat business, versus the relatively higher cost of converting new opportunities into actual clients. Studies have shown that it costs five times more to acquire a new client than to make a sale to an existing one.

= Strategically important clients =

So what does this mean for firms in the construction industry? Well, it means assiduously following the 80:20 rule (80% of fee income coming from 20% of clients). This means researching your existing clients’ actual requirements and potentially changing the way you serve them. Clients have been getting bigger and more sophisticated. They want tailor-made solutions and are prepared to rationalise their supplier base. Look at the many blue chip clients of this world - these big players started to play hardball a few years ago and this trend has spread. Cosy relationships and frameworks now face regular strategic reviews as the demands of economic reality are passed down the line to achieve cost savings. The key therefore, is to actively court a close relationship with your strategically valuable key clients, perhaps by developing new ways to work with them so that they cannot easily drop you and to create exit barriers such as a growing dependence on your knowledge of their business.

No longer can incumbent service firms feel safe. They will have to proactively differentiate and to demonstrate why they continue to offer the client the best option. This will mean exploiting distinct sector strengths and marketing their unique problem-solving abilities, perhaps honed whilst on the last few jobs. For example, some firms offer existing clients a lower fee structure for the following year’s term contract because they have developed streamline processes. This shows commitment to building a long-term client relationship.

= Embed improved win work behaviours into tactical win work activities =

To achieve this, it must become fundamental to your tactical and strategic plans, as winning work is too important to be left solely to the marketing department. It depends upon the shared vision of the senior leadership and a willingness to engage all operational client facing staff to play a specific and aligned role in client relationship development. The critical organisational changes that are needed to deliver a client-focused service must be successfully communicated throughout the firm. Every service industry, including construction, is reporting new behavioural models. The current favourite is knowledge sharing and collaboration platforms that facilitate improved internal communications. But it’s important not to get entangled in the jargon or the technology solutions. Leadership must ensure it is easy to communicate within and across delivery teams, it is easy for the client to deal with their firm and that it is hard for them to leave.

This means:
*Having a clearly thought-through 12 month tactical plan encompassing new business development and key client management strategies and tactics.
*Offering a truly integrated, client-focused service with default feedback capture.
*Implementing IT solutions to effectively support (not to drive) behaviours such as collaboration platforms, hosting proposal/ PQQ content, key client management plans and business development forums and communities.
*Having the right calibre of staff, fully trained, revitalised with refreshed aligned and integrated win work processes.
*Ensuring regular communications designed to engage with client’s decision makers to encourage rapport and relationship building.

= Visibility at board level =

Of crucial importance on top of all this is to ensure the visibility at board level of the opportunity pipeline that will fill the order book in coming months and years. It is of extreme importance that the current reporting provides the board with confidence and certainty that win work activities feeding the opportunity pipeline are being effectively actioned now, not finding out in 3 months’ time that pursuit slipped due to individuals project commitments.

No amount of hard work by staff will lead to any real improvement if these basic business development elements are lacking and senior leadership’s commitment is not there.

Culture change is the key and using external consultants to facilitate this change can make the process easier and faster.

----

This article was created by --[[User:Philip Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:54, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Embedding successful key client management.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

User:Philip Collard

2013-11-21T10:19:34Z

Philip Collard:

Embedding successful key client management in the construction industry

2013-11-21T10:15:26Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

Typically 80% of turnover comes from 20% of clients and crucially 95% of profitability comes from that 20%. Your entire business is built on client relationships, and how you deal with your existing clients will determine your company's future.

The key to success is effective leadership. Someone has to decide that managing the client base more effectively is essential to the future of your company, or that if the current way of managing clients doesn’t change, then the company is at risk.

Then, to implement a key client management programme, you will need to apply energy and commitment to achieve buy-in throughout the company. Most professionals will see the value, but what invariably happens is that when they get back behind the desk, client management issues get put onto tomorrow’s to do list. In fact, achieving the key client management actions may be in conflict with achieving today’s objectives. You need to commit some additional resource and time to key client management, to achieve significant results.

= Current clients vs. new clients =

Historically firms place a high value on winning new work from new clients, but conversely you should only pursue new clients when:
*Current relationships are so strong they guarantee new work.
*They always include you in any new work discussions.
*You have identified all the opportunities likely to occur in their future.
*You have examined every area where you can sell capabilities within existing client.

Very few firms can claim to have fulfilled the criteria above. Work won from existing clients is more likely to be more profitable for two reasons:
#Selling costs are likely to be much lower.
#Profit is a factor of margin and volume.

The risks of implementation are:
*Being over-ambitious and trying to do too much. (This has a serious impact as previous attempts may have lacked realism and subsequently future attempts lack credibility.)
*Failing to up-skill practitioners and to embed culture change. (Once a programme has been introduced, unless a sustained focus on embedding the new culture is made, old habits will creep back in and the momentum will dissipate.)

So the advice is ‘Keep it Simple’.

= Developing relationships =

Having a clear view of the type and characteristics of the relationship that you currently have and wish to have with each of your clients is crucial to success. There may be some relationships that offer long-term potential; others provide steady levels of low-margin income.

The construction industry is a highly project-focused environment, and it is the relationships that occur within the project team that lead to success. And yet, developing and building these relationships for the future is sometimes haphazard, not least because the construction market is also highly competitive.

Contractors and consultants often complain that some clients base their selection decision on price. As a result this negates the value of the expertise and the hard work that has been put into developing these relationships and the insight that enables the team to craft a solution that they believe is better than that of its competition.

However, it could also be that the client does not understand why and how this solution is better in terms of meeting their needs. It is often the case that your team does not position and project the added value, or how they could continue to create that added value on future projects. Construction organisations don’t themselves fully appreciate the added value they deliver.

If construction firms do not understand amd communicate where they can add value to a project and do not differentiate themselves from the competition, then the client can only judge them on the lowest common denominator. And this is often the price.

To move the focus away from price, it is important to understand why existing clients keep coming back. A part of this is through understanding where, who and how we added value to their business during the last project(s).

Why not ask them? Better still get a third party to ask them and get the warts and all. Your clients will be impressed that you care enough to ask where they want your service to improve; but don’t then forget to change what they said isn’t working.

In situations where the service that clients receive doesn’t meet their minimum expectation, this will fuel their price sensitivity. You need to know if this is the case. This can then be married with your own understanding of the relationships that you have with the client. You may find that your views are aligned, or that they are significantly different – each informing your future plans and actions.

What may emerge from this feedback are actions to improve the quality and focus of the service that the client receives. These may relate to technical solutions or management processes, but equally they may concern some of the background issues, not least the management of expectations.

= Setting & meeting expectations =

If you want to develop a successful relationship you must meet or exceed your clients’ expectations. It is your responsibility to do what it takes to understand what the client expects. You play a role in influencing clients’ expectations through the commitments that you made during the business development process and typically client-focused organisations under-promise and over-deliver.

Managing client expectations successfully depends on understanding, influencing, setting and agreeing those expectations at every stage of the relationship:
*When discussing new projects.
*When negotiating fees.
*At the start of a new project.
*At regular stages during the delivery programme.
*At the end of the project.

Frustration on both sides is often caused, not by a failure to agree the technical specification, but by the soft issues. For example:
*How the two sides are going to work together.
*How they will communicate.
*Who the client should speak to if they have a concern about progress.
*How to keep critical momentum on a project without seeming to be authoritarian.
*How information should be presented in reports.

Everyone in the client team must know exactly what the formula is for delivering to this client’s satisfaction. Meeting client expectations is as much about the management and motivation of people as it is about producing a report on time.

Little issues like not receiving information on time or not finding it that easy to deal with a member of the team may not provoke a complaint, but will influence the decision about who to appoint on future projects. Therefore it is vital that at regular stages you establish your performance against the client’s criteria. All those influenced by your work need to be questioned, and with sincerity. You need to record their views and check that your understanding of them is accurate and then you need to do something about them.

If the service you are selling in the market place is perceived to be the same as others or a commodity where the only differentiator is price, then you may want to look at two contrasting strategies:
#Your service can become the ‘low cost producer’ in the market. This can mean developing and combining more efficient ways of working, reducing headcount, paying lower salaries and getting people to work harder than they do now.
#The alternative is to constantly invest in developing new expertise that adds greater value for the clients. Focus on innovation and on selling better, more leading edge services for better returns. It then becomes possible to differentiate by delivering a totally tailored service that consistently exceeds clients’ expectations. This will enable you to generate the optimum level of work from those clients, achieving attractive rates and building a reputation that allows you to secure new clients who will pay well for the service that you provide.

The correct strategy depends on what your clients and potential clients see as valuable to them.

Make time to carry out these actions and if time is taken up, decide what not to do. If not you will end up with a wish-list that doesn’t get completed and the client will get the same old service that they can get from a number of your competitors.

= Selling to existing clients =

‘The best source of new work is our existing client base’ is a common statement in this industry and it couldn’t be more true. Your people are onsite or in the offices of clients the whole time, yet it is rare for them to find additional opportunities for work. If they see an opening to which they can directly relate the objectives and chosen strategy of the client organisation, two things will happen:
#They will recognise the opportunity.
#They should feel confident enough to pursue the opportunity, raising it either with their own people or directly with the client.

A surprising number of delivery team members do not know the business objectives of their clients. It is recommended that you test how much real understanding your people have of their clients and their marketplaces. Selling skills training is the first step in enabling people to spot opportunities. Give them the knowledge, understanding and confidence about their clients business so they can recognise how something they perceive as an opportunity can fit into and support the client’s business direction.

= Cross selling to existing clients =

Organisations often work in silos where there may be a significant lack of integration between business units / core services and / or local offices, and this influences the clients’ perceptions of what you can deliver. What you are as a firm is what each individual client perceives you to be. Multidisciplinary, client-orientated teams provide the right environment for cross selling and truly client-facing organisations organise themselves in this way.

Without this client-oriented organisation structure, the risk is that professionals do not recommend other parts of their company; they may even recommend external professionals in whom they have trust and confidence. Today, companies realise that their fee growth ambitions can only be met by selling further services to their client base.

Despite this, directors and partners keep their colleagues from other disciplines at arm’s length from their clients. People must be encouraged to work together. To create the right environment for cross selling you have to have people who are:
*Prepared to share and delegate.
*Recognised or even rewarded on the number of introductions they provide to others within the company.

Real team working is a major facilitator of regular cross selling. Companies must have team objectives. There are often fundamental, structural, cultural, organisational, motivational and behavioural issues that need to be addressed if there is to be any hope of realising the full potential of cross-selling opportunities.

If a company wishes to cross sell effectively it has to ensure its people have sufficient current knowledge of the company’s services to be able to immediately advise the client if they have the capability to assist.

= Success factors in key client planning =

An effective client plan can be an extremely powerful tool in the hands of an organisation that is committed to becoming truly client focused.

The key client plan should be designed to match the needs of the client team and should suit the client that it has been written to serve. It may be as simple as a single piece of paper, or far more complicated, spanning financial, organisational, project and contact information. It may be written by one person, or coordinated by a single person from the contributions of people across the company. But to make sure that it is workable, it should start from the premise that the plan should contain the minimum information needed to focus on the client and add value to their business through the benefits offered by your company’s services.

= Project Management and key client management =

The construction industry makes good use of project management disciplines in their everyday work. These skills work extremely well as a way of keeping control of client management plans.

= Using tools to develop a list of actions =

There are a number of tools that can be uses to help identify the actions that should form a part of your key client plan. They focus on helping you to identify the state of your relationship with the client: how many people you know in the client organisation, how well you know them and how to protect those relationships against your competitors. In other words assessing both the quality and quantity of the relationship.

Although it is highly desirable to keep your key client management plan short and simple, there is some information which should be collected to make sure that you know enough about your client’s business to be able to develop the sort of relationship where it is unthinkable for them to go to anyone else.

Summary:
*Your key client plan should be as brief as possible to make sure that it is workable for you.
*The simplest key client plan includes the strategy or aims and objectives for the client.

= Implementation =

Mobilising key client management effectively and getting the benefits is dependent on having identified your key clients, the person responsible for the relationship and having defined the membership of the team that delivers services to the client. In practice, you also need to have identified a person who will provide the dedicated marketing support to allow your client managers and client teams to manage key client management activity alongside project delivery.

Having defined who are your 'crown jewels', key clients and valued clients, you should revisit your client list annually to assess whether you have a valued client that is growing enough to become a key client, or indeed whether one of your key clients is now working with someone else (after a take-over for example).

Whilst events that cause demotions are likely to be high profile, you should watch your valued clients to see if they now meet the criteria you have set.

To effectively manage your key clients, you need regular contact with them that is relationship focused rather than project-focussed. The client manager should be meeting with them to discuss their future strategic needs, assess their current opportunities and threats and to discuss ways that your company can help them to achieve their objectives.

The client team should also review the relationship with the key client on an annual basis, using tools that measure the strength of the relationship to drive out actions to improve it. A review may also be kicked off by a major change within the client, for example, a change in personnel with the influence to affect buying decisions.

You need to make sure that your key clients are happy with the work that you do for them and that you understand what it is about your service that they value most. To do that, you need to carry out regular client satisfaction surveys and most importantly to act on the information that they provide. You will also get valuable information about what your clients’ value about the work that you do for them. Use this information to make your marketing more compelling.

The end of every project should be finished with project closedown that celebrates the success of what went well, identifies what you would do differently and develops useful case studies, signed off by the client. The close-down meeting can also be an opportunity to examine if there are any other services that your client needs for the next stage of their development.

----

This article was created by --[[User%3APhilip%20Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:14, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Client.
*Collaborative practices.
*Integrated project team.
*Team management.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Embedding successful key client management in the construction industry

2013-11-21T10:14:20Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

Typically 80% of turnover comes from 20% of clients and crucially 95% of profitability comes from that 20%. Your entire business is built on client relationships, and how you deal with your existing clients will determine your company's future.

The key to success is effective leadership. Someone has to decide that managing the client base more effectively is essential to the future of your company, or that if the current way of managing clients doesn’t change, then the company is at risk.

Then, to implement a key client management programme, you will need to apply energy and commitment to achieve buy-in throughout the company. Most professionals will see the value, but what invariably happens is that when they get back behind the desk, client management issues get put onto tomorrow’s to do list. In fact, achieving the key client management actions may be in conflict with achieving today’s objectives. You need to commit some additional resource and time to key client management, to achieve significant results.

= Current clients vs. new clients =

Historically firms place a high value on winning new work from new clients, but conversely you should only pursue new clients when:
*Current relationships are so strong they guarantee new work.
*They always include you in any new work discussions.
*You have identified all the opportunities likely to occur in their future.
*You have examined every area where you can sell capabilities within existing client.

Very few firms can claim to have fulfilled the criteria above. Work won from existing clients is more likely to be more profitable for two reasons:
#Selling costs are likely to be much lower.
#Profit is a factor of margin and volume.

The risks of implementation are:
*Being over-ambitious and trying to do too much. (This has a serious impact as previous attempts may have lacked realism and subsequently future attempts lack credibility.)
*Failing to up-skill practitioners and to embed culture change. (Once a programme has been introduced, unless a sustained focus on embedding the new culture is made, old habits will creep back in and the momentum will dissipate.)

So the advice is ‘Keep it Simple’.

= Developing relationships =

Having a clear view of the type and characteristics of the relationship that you currently have and wish to have with each of your clients is crucial to success. There may be some relationships that offer long-term potential; others provide steady levels of low-margin income.

The construction industry is a highly project-focused environment, and it is the relationships that occur within the project team that lead to success. And yet, developing and building these relationships for the future is sometimes haphazard, not least because the construction market is also highly competitive.

Contractors and consultants often complain that some clients base their selection decision on price. As a result this negates the value of the expertise and the hard work that has been put into developing these relationships and the insight that enables the team to craft a solution that they believe is better than that of its competition.

However, it could also be that the client does not understand why and how this solution is better in terms of meeting their needs. It is often the case that your team does not position and project the added value, or how they could continue to create that added value on future projects. Construction organisations don’t themselves fully appreciate the added value they deliver.

If construction firms do not understand amd communicate where they can add value to a project and do not differentiate themselves from the competition, then the client can only judge them on the lowest common denominator. And this is often the price.

To move the focus away from price, it is important to understand why existing clients keep coming back. A part of this is through understanding where, who and how we added value to their business during the last project(s).

Why not ask them? Better still get a third party to ask them and get the warts and all. Your clients will be impressed that you care enough to ask where they want your service to improve; but don’t then forget to change what they said isn’t working.

In situations where the service that clients receive doesn’t meet their minimum expectation, this will fuel their price sensitivity. You need to know if this is the case. This can then be married with your own understanding of the relationships that you have with the client. You may find that your views are aligned, or that they are significantly different – each informing your future plans and actions.

What may emerge from this feedback are actions to improve the quality and focus of the service that the client receives. These may relate to technical solutions or management processes, but equally they may concern some of the background issues, not least the management of expectations.

= Setting & meeting expectations =

If you want to develop a successful relationship you must meet or exceed your clients’ expectations. It is your responsibility to do what it takes to understand what the client expects. You play a role in influencing clients’ expectations through the commitments that you made during the business development process and typically client-focused organisations under-promise and over-deliver.

Managing client expectations successfully depends on understanding, influencing, setting and agreeing those expectations at every stage of the relationship:
*When discussing new projects.
*When negotiating fees.
*At the start of a new project.
*At regular stages during the delivery programme.
*At the end of the project.

Frustration on both sides is often caused, not by a failure to agree the technical specification, but by the soft issues. For example:
*How the two sides are going to work together.
*How they will communicate.
*Who the client should speak to if they have a concern about progress.
*How to keep critical momentum on a project without seeming to be authoritarian.
*How information should be presented in reports.

Everyone in the client team must know exactly what the formula is for delivering to this client’s satisfaction. Meeting client expectations is as much about the management and motivation of people as it is about producing a report on time.

Little issues like not receiving information on time or not finding it that easy to deal with a member of the team may not provoke a complaint, but will influence the decision about who to appoint on future projects. Therefore it is vital that at regular stages you establish your performance against the client’s criteria. All those influenced by your work need to be questioned, and with sincerity. You need to record their views and check that your understanding of them is accurate and then you need to do something about them.

If the service you are selling in the market place is perceived to be the same as others or a commodity where the only differentiator is price, then you may want to look at two contrasting strategies:
#Your service can become the ‘low cost producer’ in the market. This can mean developing and combining more efficient ways of working, reducing headcount, paying lower salaries and getting people to work harder than they do now.
#The alternative is to constantly invest in developing new expertise that adds greater value for the clients. Focus on innovation and on selling better, more leading edge services for better returns. It then becomes possible to differentiate by delivering a totally tailored service that consistently exceeds clients’ expectations. This will enable you to generate the optimum level of work from those clients, achieving attractive rates and building a reputation that allows you to secure new clients who will pay well for the service that you provide.

The correct strategy depends on what your clients and potential clients see as valuable to them.

Make time to carry out these actions and if time is taken up, decide what not to do. If not you will end up with a wish-list that doesn’t get completed and the client will get the same old service that they can get from a number of your competitors.

= Selling to Existing clients =

‘The best source of new work is our existing client base’ is a common statement in this industry and it couldn’t be more true. Your people are onsite or in the offices of clients the whole time, yet it is rare for them to find additional opportunities for work. If they see an opening to which they can directly relate the objectives and chosen strategy of the client organisation, two things will happen:
#They will recognise the opportunity.
#They should feel confident enough to pursue the opportunity, raising it either with their own people or directly with the client.

A surprising number of delivery team members do not know the business objectives of their clients. It is recommended that you test how much real understanding your people have of their clients and their marketplaces. Selling skills training is the first step in enabling people to spot opportunities. Give them the knowledge, understanding and confidence about their clients business so they can recognise how something they perceive as an opportunity can fit into and support the client’s business direction.

= Cross selling to existing clients =

Organisations often work in silos where there may be a significant lack of integration between business units / core services and / or local offices, and this influences the clients’ perceptions of what you can deliver. What you are as a firm is what each individual client perceives you to be. Multidisciplinary, client-orientated teams provide the right environment for cross selling and truly client-facing organisations organise themselves in this way.

Without this client-oriented organisation structure, the risk is that professionals do not recommend other parts of their company; they may even recommend external professionals in whom they have trust and confidence. Today, companies realise that their fee growth ambitions can only be met by selling further services to their client base.

Despite this, directors and partners keep their colleagues from other disciplines at arm’s length from their clients. People must be encouraged to work together. To create the right environment for cross selling you have to have people who are:
*Prepared to share and delegate.
*Recognised or even rewarded on the number of introductions they provide to others within the company.

Real team working is a major facilitator of regular cross selling. Companies must have team objectives. There are often fundamental, structural, cultural, organisational, motivational and behavioural issues that need to be addressed if there is to be any hope of realising the full potential of cross-selling opportunities.

If a company wishes to cross sell effectively it has to ensure its people have sufficient current knowledge of the company’s services to be able to immediately advise the client if they have the capability to assist.

= Success factors in key client planning =

An effective client plan can be an extremely powerful tool in the hands of an organisation that is committed to becoming truly client focused.

The key client plan should be designed to match the needs of the client team and should suit the client that it has been written to serve. It may be as simple as a single piece of paper, or far more complicated, spanning financial, organisational, project and contact information. It may be written by one person, or coordinated by a single person from the contributions of people across the company. But to make sure that it is workable, it should start from the premise that the plan should contain the minimum information needed to focus on the client and add value to their business through the benefits offered by your company’s services.

= Project Management and Key Client Management =

The construction industry makes good use of project management disciplines in their everyday work. These skills work extremely well as a way of keeping control of client management plans.

= Using tools to develop a list of actions =

There are a number of tools that can be uses to help identify the actions that should form a part of your key client plan. They focus on helping you to identify the state of your relationship with the client: how many people you know in the client organisation, how well you know them and how to protect those relationships against your competitors. In other words assessing both the quality and quantity of the relationship.

Although it is highly desirable to keep your key client management plan short and simple, there is some information which should be collected to make sure that you know enough about your client’s business to be able to develop the sort of relationship where it is unthinkable for them to go to anyone else.

Summary:
*Your key client plan should be as brief as possible to make sure that it is workable for you.
*The simplest key client plan includes the strategy or aims and objectives for the client.

= Implementation =

Mobilising key client management effectively and getting the benefits is dependent on having identified your key clients, the person responsible for the relationship and having defined the membership of the team that delivers services to the client. In practice, you also need to have identified a person who will provide the dedicated marketing support to allow your client managers and client teams to manage key client management activity alongside project delivery.

Having defined who are your 'crown jewels', key clients and valued clients, you should revisit your client list annually to assess whether you have a valued client that is growing enough to become a key client, or indeed whether one of your key clients is now working with someone else (after a take-over for example).

Whilst events that cause demotions are likely to be high profile, you should watch your valued clients to see if they now meet the criteria you have set.

To effectively manage your key clients, you need regular contact with them that is relationship focused rather than project-focussed. The client manager should be meeting with them to discuss their future strategic needs, assess their current opportunities and threats and to discuss ways that your company can help them to achieve their objectives.

The client team should also review the relationship with the key client on an annual basis, using tools that measure the strength of the relationship to drive out actions to improve it. A review may also be kicked off by a major change within the client, for example, a change in personnel with the influence to affect buying decisions.

You need to make sure that your key clients are happy with the work that you do for them and that you understand what it is about your service that they value most. To do that, you need to carry out regular client satisfaction surveys and most importantly to act on the information that they provide. You will also get valuable information about what your clients’ value about the work that you do for them. Use this information to make your marketing more compelling.

The end of every project should be finished with project closedown that celebrates the success of what went well, identifies what you would do differently and develops useful case studies, signed off by the client. The close-down meeting can also be an opportunity to examine if there are any other services that your client needs for the next stage of their development.

----

This article was created by --[[User:Philip Collard|Philip Collard]] 10:14, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===
*Client.
*Collaborative practices.
*Integrated project team.
*Team management.

[[Category:Cost_/_business_planning]]

Embedding successful key client management in the construction industry

2013-11-21T09:46:32Z

Philip Collard:

= Introduction =

Typically 80% of turnover comes from 20% of clients and crucially 95% of profitability comes from that 20%. Your entire business is built on client relationships, and how you deal with your existing clients will determine your company's future.

The key to success is effective leadership. Someone has to decide that managing the client base more effectively is essential to the future of your company, or that if the current way of managing clients doesn’t change, then the company is at risk.

Then, to implement a key client management programme, you will need to apply energy and commitment to achieve buy-in throughout the company. Most professionals will see the value, but what invariably happens is that when they get back behind the desk, client management issues get put onto tomorrow’s to do list. In fact, achieving the key client management actions may be in conflict with achieving today’s objectives. You need to commit some additional resource and time to key client management, to achieve significant results.

= Current clients vs. new clients =

Historically firms place a high value on winning new work from new clients, but conversely you should only pursue new clients when:
*Current relationships are so strong they guarantee new work.
*They always include you in any new work discussions.
*You have identified all the opportunities likely to occur in their future.
*You have examined every area where you can sell capabilities within existing client.

Very few firms can claim to have fulfilled the criteria above. Work won from existing clients is more likely to be more profitable for two reasons:
#Selling costs are likely to be much lower.
#Profit is a factor of margin and volume.

The risks of implementation are:
*Being over-ambitious and trying to do too much. (This has a serious impact as previous attempts may have lacked realism and subsequently future attempts lack credibility.)
*Failing to up-skill practitioners and to embed culture change. (Once a programme has been introduced, unless a sustained focus on embedding the new culture is made, old habits will creep back in and the momentum will dissipate.)

So the advice is ‘Keep it Simple’.

= Developing Relationships =

Having a clear view of the type and characteristics of the relationship that you currently have and wish to have with each of your clients is crucial to success. There may be some relationships that offer long-term potential; others provide steady levels of low-margin income.

The construction industry is a highly project-focused environment, and it is the relationships that occur within the project team that lead to success. And yet, developing and building these relationships for the future is sometimes haphazard, not least because the construction market is also highly competitive.

Contractors and consultants often complain that some clients base their selection decision on price. As a result this negates the value of the expertise and the hard work that has been put into developing these relationships and the insight that enables the team to craft a solution that they believe is better than that of its competition.

However, it could also be that the client does not understand why and how this solution is better in terms of meeting their needs. It is often the case that your team does not position and project the added value, or how they could continue to create that added value on future projects. Construction organisations don’t themselves fully appreciate the added value they deliver.

If construction firms do not understand amd communicate where they can add value to a project and do not differentiate themselves from the competition, then the client can only judge them on the lowest common denominator. And this is often the price.

To move the focus away from price, it is important to understand why existing clients keep coming back. A part of this is through understanding where, who and how we added value to their business during the last project(s).

Why not ask them? Better still get a third party to ask them and get the warts and all. Your clients will be impressed that you care enough to ask where they want your service to improve; but don’t then forget to change what they said isn’t working.

In situations where the service that clients receive doesn’t meet their minimum expectation, this will fuel their price sensitivity. You need to know if this is the case. This can then be married with your own understanding of the relationships that you have with the client. You may find that your views are aligned, or that they are significantly different – each informing your future plans and actions.

What may emerge from this feedback are actions to improve the quality and focus of the service that the client receives. These may relate to technical solutions or management processes, but equally they may concern some of the background issues, not least the management of expectations.

= Setting & meeting expectations =

If you want to develop a successful relationship you must meet or exceed your clients’ expectations. It is your responsibility to do what it takes to understand what the client expects. You play a role in influencing clients’ expectations through the commitments that you made during the business development process and typically client-focused organisations under-promise and over-deliver.

Managing client expectations successfully depends on understanding, influencing, setting and agreeing those expectations at every stage of the relationship:
*When discussing new projects.
*When negotiating fees.
*At the start of a new project.
*At regular stages during the delivery programme.
*At the end of the project.

Frustration on both sides is often caused, not by a failure to agree the technical specification, but by the soft issues. For example:
*How the two sides are going to work together.
*How they will communicate.
*Who the client should speak to if they have a concern about progress.
*How to keep critical momentum on a project without seeming to be authoritarian.
*How information should be presented in reports.

Everyone in the client team must know exactly what the formula is for delivering to this client’s satisfaction. Meeting client expectations is as much about the management and motivation of people as it is about producing a report on time.

Little issues like not receiving information on time or not finding it that easy to deal with a member of the team may not provoke a complaint, but will influence the decision about who to appoint on future projects. Therefore it is vital that at regular stages you establish your performance against the client’s criteria. All those influenced by your work need to be questioned, and with sincerity. You need to record their views and check that your understanding of them is accurate and then you need to do something about them.

If the service you are selling in the market place is perceived to be the same as others or a commodity where the only differentiator is price, then you may want to look at two contrasting strategies:
#Your service can become the ‘low cost producer’ in the market. This can mean developing and combining more efficient ways of working, reducing headcount, paying lower salaries and getting people to work harder than they do now.
#The alternative is to constantly invest in developing new expertise that adds greater value for the clients. Focus on innovation and on selling better, more leading edge services for better returns. It then becomes possible to differentiate by delivering a totally tailored service that consistently exceeds clients’ expectations. This will enable you to generate the optimum level of work from those clients, achieving attractive rates and building a reputation that allows you to secure new clients who will pay well for the service that you provide.

The correct strategy depends on what your clients and potential clients see as valuable to them.

Make time to carry out these actions and if time is taken up, decide what not to do. If not you will end up with a wish-list that doesn’t get completed and the client will get the same old service that they can get from a number of your competitors.

= Selling to Existing Clients =

‘The best source of new work is our existing client base’ is a common statement in this industry and it couldn’t be truer. Our people are onsite or in the offices of clients the whole time, yet it is rare for them to find additional opportunities for work. If they see an opening to which they can directly relate the objectives and chosen strategy of the client organisation, two things will happen:
#They will recognise the opportunity.
#They should feel confident enough to pursue the opportunity, raising it either with their own people or directly with the client.

A surprising number of delivery team members do not know the business objectives of their clients. We recommend that you test how much real understanding your people have of their clients and their marketplaces.

Selling skills training is the first step in enabling people to spot opportunities. Give them the knowledge, understanding and confidence about their clients business so they can recognise how something they perceive as an opportunity can fit into and support the client’s business direction.

= Cross selling to Existing Clients =

Organisations often work in silos where there may be a significant lack of integration between business units/ core services and/or local offices and this influences the clients’ perceptions of what we can deliver. What we are as a firm is what each individual client perceives us to be.

Yet, multidisciplinary, client-orientated teams provide the right environment for cross selling and truly client-facing organisations organise themselves in this way.

Without this client-oriented organisation structure, the risk is that professionals do not recommend other parts of their company; they may even recommend external professionals in whom they have trust and confidence. Today, companies realise that their fee growth ambitions can only be met by selling further services to their client base.

Despite this, directors and partners keep their colleagues from other disciplines at arm’s length from their clients. Unfortunately these represent typical examples of silo behaviour, exacerbated by silo organisational structures.

People must be encouraged to work together. To create the right environment for cross selling we have to have people who are:
*Prepared to share and delegate
*Recognised or even rewarded on the number of introductions they provide to others within the company

Real team working is a major facilitator of regular cross selling. Companies must have team objectives. There are often fundamental, structural, cultural, organisational, motivational and behavioural issues that need to be addressed if there is to be any hope of realising the full potential of cross selling opportunities.

If a company wishes to cross sell effectively it has to ensure its people have sufficient current knowledge of the company’s services to be able to immediately advise the client if they have the capability to assist.

= Success factors in key client planning =

In this section, the focus is on the development of workable key client plans that can be managed on an on-going basis. An effective client plan can be an extremely powerful tool in the hands of an organisation that is committed to becoming truly client focused.

The key client plan should be designed to match the needs of the client team and should suit the client that it has been written to serve. It may be as simple as a single piece of paper, or far more complicated, spanning financial, organisational, project and contact information. It may be written by one person, or coordinated by a single person from the contributions of people across the company. But to make sure that it is workable, it should start from the premise that the plan should contain the minimum information needed to focus on the client and add value to their business through the benefits offered by your company’s services.

== Project Management and Key Client Management ==

The construction industry makes good use of Project Management disciplines in their everyday work. These skills work extremely well as a way of keeping control of client management plans.

== Using tools to develop a list of actions ==

There are a number of tools (developed by The Pace Partnership),that you can use to help identify the actions that should for a part of your key client plan. They focus on helping you to identify the state of your relationship with the client: how many people you know in the client organisation, how well you know them and how to protect those relationships against your competitors. In other words assessing both quality and quantity of the relationship.

Although it is highly desirable to keep your Key Client Management Plan short and simple, there is some information which should be collected to make sure that you know enough about your client’s business to be able to develop the sort of relationship where it is unthinkable for him to go to anyone else.

== Summary: ==
*Your key client plan should be as brief as possible make sure that it is workable for you.
*The simplest key client plan includes the strategy or aims and objectives for the client.

= Conclusion =

Mobilising Key Client Management effectively and getting the benefits are dependent on having identified your Key Clients, the person responsible for the relationship and having defined the membership of the team that delivers services to the client. In practice, you also need to have identified a person who will provide the dedicated marketing support to allow your Client Managers and Client Teams to manage Key Client Management activity alongside project delivery.

Having defined who are your Crown Jewels, Key Clients and Valued Clients, you should revisit your client list annually to assess whether you have a valued client that is growing enough to become a key client, or indeed whether one of your key clients is now working with someone else (after a take-over for example).

Whilst events that cause demotions are likely to be high profile, you should watch your valued clients to see if they now meet the criteria you have set.

To effectively manage your key clients, you need regular contact with them that is relationship focused rather than project-focussed. The Client Manager should be meeting with them to discuss their future strategic needs, assess their current opportunities and threats and to discuss ways that your company can help them to achieve their objectives.

The Client Team should also review the relationship with the key client on an annual basis, using tools that measure the strength of the relationship to drive out actions to improve it. A review may also be kicked off by a major change within the client, for example, a change in personnel with the influence to affect buying decisions.

You need to make sure that your key clients are happy with the work that you do for them and that you understand what it is about your service that they value most. To do that, you need to carry out regular Client Satisfaction Surveys and most importantly to act on the information that they provide. You will also get valuable information about what your clients’ value about the work that you do for them. Use this information to make your marketing more compelling.

The end of every project should be finished with project closedown that celebrates the success of what went well, identifies what you would do differently and develops useful case studies, signed off by the client. The close-down meeting can also be an opportunity to examine if there are any other services that your client needs for the next stage of their development.

Embedding successful key client management in the construction industry

2013-11-21T09:34:45Z

Philip Collard: Created page with " = Introduction = Typically 80% of turnover comes from 20% of clients and crucially 95% of profitability comes from that 20%. Your entire business is built on client relationshi..."

= Introduction =

Typically 80% of turnover comes from 20% of clients and crucially 95% of profitability comes from that 20%. Your entire business is built on client relationships and how you deal with your existing clients will determine your company's future.

The key to success is effective leadership. Someone has to decide that managing the client base more effectively is essential to the future of your company, or that if the current way of managing clients doesn’t change, then the company is at risk.

Then, to implement a key client management programme, you’ll need to apply energy and commitment to achieve buy-in throughout the company. Most professionals will see the value, but what invariably happens is that when they get back behind the desk, client management issues get put onto tomorrow’s to do list. In fact, achieving the key client management actions may be in conflict with achieving today’s objectives. You need to commit some additional resource and time to key client management, to achieve significant results.

= [http://marketingworks.co.uk/uploads/media/Key_Client_Relationship_Survey.pdf Current clients] vs. new clients =

Historically firms place a high value on winning new work from new clients, but conversely you should only pursue new clients when:
* Current relationships are so strong they guarantee us new work
*They always include us in any new work discussions
*We have identified all the opportunities likely to occur in their future
*We have examined every area where we can sell capabilities within existing client

Very few firms can claim to have fulfilled the criteria above. Work won from existing clients is more likely to be more profitable for two reasons:

#Selling costs are likely to be much lower.
#Profit is a factor of margin and volume.

= What are the risks of implementation? =
*Being over-ambitious and trying to do too much. (This has a serious impact as previous attempts may have lacked realism and subsequently future attempts lack credibility.)
*Failing to up-skill practitioners and to embed culture change. (Once a programme has been introduced, unless a sustained focus on embedding the new culture is made, old habits will creep back in and the momentum will dissipate.)

So the advice is that you ‘Keep it Simple’.

= Developing Relationships =

Having a clear view of the type and characteristics of the relationship that you currently have and wish to have with each of your clients is crucial to success. There may be some relationships that offer long-term potential; others provide steady levels of low margin income.

The construction industry is a highly project-focused environment, yet it is the relationships that occur within the project team that lead to success. Developing and building these relationships for the future is sometimes haphazard, not least because the construction market is also highly competitive.

Contractors and consultants often complain that some clients will always base their selection decision on price. As a result this negates the value of the expertise and the hard work that has been put into developing these relationships and the insight that enables the team to craft a solution that they believe is better than that of its competition.

However, it could also be that the client does not understand why and how this solution is better in terms of meeting their needs. It is often the case that your team does not position and project the added value, or how they could continue to create that added value on future projects. Construction organisations don’t themselves fully appreciate the added value they actually deliver.

If construction firms do not understand & communicate where they can add value to a project and do not differentiate themselves from the competition, then the client can only judge them on the lowest common denominator. And this is often the price.

To move the focus away from (exclusively) price, we need to understand why our existing clients keep coming back. A part of this is through understanding where, who and how we added value to their business during the last project(s).

Why not ask them? Better still get a third party to ask them and get the warts and all. Your clients will be impressed that you care enough to ask where they want your service to improve; but don’t then forget to change what they said isn’t working.

In situations where the service that clients receive doesn’t meet their minimum expectation, this will fuel their price sensitivity. You need to know if this is the case. This can then be married with your own understanding of the relationships that you have with the client. You may find that your views are aligned, or that they are significantly different – each informing your future plans and actions.

What may emerge from this feedback are actions to improve the quality and focus of the service that the client receives. These may relate to technical solutions or management processes, but equally they may concern some of the background issues, not least

= Setting & meeting expectations =

If you want to develop a successful relationship you must meet or exceed your clients’ expectations. It is your responsibility to do what it takes to understand what the client expects. You play a role in influencing clients’ expectations through the commitments that you made during the business development process and typically client-focused organisations under-promise and over-deliver.

Managing client expectations successfully depends on understanding, influencing, setting and agreeing those expectations at every stage of the relationship:

*When discussing new projects
*When negotiating fees
*At the start of a new project
*At regular stages during the delivery programme
*At the end of the project

Frustration on both sides is often caused, not by a failure to agree the technical specification, but by the soft issues. For example:

*How the two sides are going to work together
*How they will communicate
*Who the client should speak to if they have a concern about progress
*How can we keep critical momentum on a project without seeming to be authoritarian
*How information should be presented in reports

Everyone in the client team must know exactly what the formula is for delivering to this client’s satisfaction. Meeting client expectations is as much about the management and motivation of people as it is about producing a report on time.

Little issues like not receiving information on time or not finding it that easy to deal with a member of the team may not provoke a complaint, but will influence the decision on whether to appoint us on future projects.

Therefore it is vital that at regular stages we establish our performance against the client’s criteria. All those influenced by our work need to be questioned, and with sincerity. We need to record their views and check that our understanding of them is accurate and then we need to do something about them.

If the service you are selling in the market place is perceived to be the same as others or a commodity where the only differentiator is price, then you may want to look at two contrasting strategies:

•Your service can become the ‘low cost producer’ in the market. This can mean developing and combining more efficient ways of working, reducing headcount, paying lower salaries and getting people to work harder than they do now.

•The alternative is to constantly invest in developing new expertise that adds greater value for the clients. Focus on innovation and on selling better, more leading edge services for better returns. It then becomes possible to differentiate by delivering a totally tailored service that consistently exceeds clients’ expectations. This will enable you to generate the optimum level of work from those clients, achieving attractive rates and building a reputation that allows you to secure new clients who will pay well for the service that you provide.

The correct strategy depends on what your clients and potential clients see as valuable to them.

Create time to carry out these actions and if time is taken up, decide what not to do. If not we will end up with a wish-list that doesn’t get completed and the client will get the same old service that they can get from a number of our competitors.

= Selling to Existing Clients =

‘The best source of new work is our existing client base’ is a common statement in this industry and it couldn’t be truer. Our people are onsite or in the offices of clients the whole time, yet it is rare for them to find additional opportunities for work. If they see an opening to which they can directly relate the objectives and chosen strategy of the client organisation, two things will happen:

#They will recognise the opportunity.
#They should feel confident enough to pursue the opportunity, raising it either with their own people or directly with the client.

A surprising number of delivery team members do not know the business objectives of their clients. We recommend that you test how much real understanding your people have of their clients and their marketplaces.

Selling skills training is the first step in enabling people to spot opportunities. Give them the knowledge, understanding and confidence about their clients business so they can recognise how something they perceive as an opportunity can fit into and support the client’s business direction.

= Cross selling to Existing Clients =

Organisations often work in silos where there may be a significant lack of integration between business units/ core services and/or local offices and this influences the clients’ perceptions of what we can deliver. What we are as a firm is what each individual client perceives us to be.

Yet, multidisciplinary, client-orientated teams provide the right environment for cross selling and truly client-facing organisations organise themselves in this way.

Without this client-oriented organisation structure, the risk is that professionals do not recommend other parts of their company; they may even recommend external professionals in whom they have trust and confidence. Today, companies realise that their fee growth ambitions can only be met by selling further services to their client base.

Despite this, directors and partners keep their colleagues from other disciplines at arm’s length from their clients. Unfortunately these represent typical examples of silo behaviour, exacerbated by silo organisational structures.

People must be encouraged to work together. To create the right environment for cross selling we have to have people who are:

*Prepared to share and delegate
*Recognised or even rewarded on the number of introductions they provide to others within the company

Real team working is a major facilitator of regular cross selling. Companies must have team objectives. There are often fundamental, structural, cultural, organisational, motivational and behavioural issues that need to be addressed if there is to be any hope of realising the full potential of cross selling opportunities.

If a company wishes to cross sell effectively it has to ensure its people have sufficient current knowledge of the company’s services to be able to immediately advise the client if they have the capability to assist.

= Success factors in key client planning =

In this section, the focus is on the development of workable key client plans that can be managed on an on-going basis. An effective client plan can be an extremely powerful tool in the hands of an organisation that is committed to becoming truly client focused.

The key client plan should be designed to match the needs of the client team and should suit the client that it has been written to serve. It may be as simple as a single piece of paper, or far more complicated, spanning financial, organisational, project and contact information. It may be written by one person, or coordinated by a single person from the contributions of people across the company. But to make sure that it is workable, it should start from the premise that the plan should contain the minimum information needed to focus on the client and add value to their business through the benefits offered by your company’s services.

== Project Management and Key Client Management ==

The construction industry makes good use of Project Management disciplines in their everyday work. These skills work extremely well as a way of keeping control of client management plans.

== Using tools to develop a list of actions ==

There are a number of tools (developed by The Pace Partnership),that you can use to help identify the actions that should for a part of your key client plan. They focus on helping you to identify the state of your relationship with the client: how many people you know in the client organisation, how well you know them and how to protect those relationships against your competitors. In other words assessing both quality and quantity of the relationship.

Although it is highly desirable to keep your Key Client Management Plan short and simple, there is some information which should be collected to make sure that you know enough about your client’s business to be able to develop the sort of relationship where it is unthinkable for him to go to anyone else.

== Summary: ==

*Your key client plan should be as brief as possible make sure that it is workable for you.

*The simplest key client plan includes the strategy or aims and objectives for the client.

= Conclusion =

Mobilising Key Client Management effectively and getting the benefits are dependent on having identified your Key Clients, the person responsible for the relationship and having defined the membership of the team that delivers services to the client. In practice, you also need to have identified a person who will provide the dedicated marketing support to allow your Client Managers and Client Teams to manage Key Client Management activity alongside project delivery.

Having defined who are your Crown Jewels, Key Clients and Valued Clients, you should revisit your client list annually to assess whether you have a valued client that is growing enough to become a key client, or indeed whether one of your key clients is now working with someone else (after a take-over for example).

Whilst events that cause demotions are likely to be high profile, you should watch your valued clients to see if they now meet the criteria you have set.

To effectively manage your key clients, you need regular contact with them that is relationship focused rather than project-focussed. The Client Manager should be meeting with them to discuss their future strategic needs, assess their current opportunities and threats and to discuss ways that your company can help them to achieve their objectives.

The Client Team should also review the relationship with the key client on an annual basis, using tools that measure the strength of the relationship to drive out actions to improve it. A review may also be kicked off by a major change within the client, for example, a change in personnel with the influence to affect buying decisions.

You need to make sure that your key clients are happy with the work that you do for them and that you understand what it is about your service that they value most. To do that, you need to carry out regular Client Satisfaction Surveys and most importantly to act on the information that they provide. You will also get valuable information about what your clients’ value about the work that you do for them. Use this information to make your marketing more compelling.

The end of every project should be finished with project closedown that celebrates the success of what went well, identifies what you would do differently and develops useful case studies, signed off by the client. The close-down meeting can also be an opportunity to examine if there are any other services that your client needs for the next stage of their development.

User:Philip Collard

2013-11-21T09:25:05Z

Philip Collard:

MarketingWorks, a leading Work Winning construction industry management consultancy, has helped numerous construction organisations to embed work winning best practice, helping them to move from reactive project-centricity to proactive client-centricity and thereby to win more work. MarketingWorks has provided services for over 1000 construction firms, including 9 of the top 20 contractors and 5 of the top 10 consultants.

Our range of services includes bespoke solutions for leaders who want to improve work winning behaviours (encompassing all aspects of the win work process) and tactical solutions through business development mentoring support and skills training.

= Leadership Support =

*Win Work Motivational Events 

*Revitalising Work

*Winning Capability

*Aligning Client Framework Behaviours

MarketingWorks helps our clients define and establish the organisational environment for long term success in work winning through delivering bespoke win work revitalisation programmes. Our methodology is based on a four-stage process:

*Diagnose

*Develop

*Deploy

*Implement

This approach is based on understanding where good work winning practice exists within an organisation across all stages of the work winning process (above) enhancing processes, skills, systems and tools, behaviours and results. It enables what works well within the organisation to be exploited and enhanced using the expertise of MarketingWorks consultants.

= Win Work Support & Mentoring =

*Opportunity & pipeline management tools & processes

*PQQ Review Go/No Go Selectivity Matrix

*Bid Mentoring

*Proposal Review

*Mobilising a Framework Event

*Mobilising a Sector Team Event

*Mobilising Key Client Teams

*Proposal Red Team Review

*Presentation Facilitation

*Presentation Red Team Reviews

= Research =

*Win Work Audit

*Senior Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Data Analysis

*Client Perspectives Survey

*Key Client Relationship Survey

*Win Work Healthcheck

= Skills Refreshment Workshops =

*How to Sell High Value Services and Convert New Business

*Critical Success Factors in Bid Management

*Winning Business with Winning proposals

*Delivering Successful Presentations at Tender Interview

*Work Winning Revitalisation Workshop

User:Philip Collard

2013-11-21T09:23:41Z

Philip Collard:

MarketingWorks, a leading Work Winning construction industry management consultancy, has helped numerous construction organisations to embed work winning best practice, helping them to move from reactive project-centricity to proactive client-centricity and thereby to win more work. MarketingWorks has provided services for over 1000 construction firms, including 9 of the top 20 contractors and 5 of the top 10 consultants.

Our range of services includes bespoke solutions for leaders who want to improve work winning behaviours (encompassing all aspects of the win work process) and tactical solutions through business development mentoring support and skills training.

Leadership Support

*Win Work Motivational Events 

*Revitalising Work

*Winning Capability

*Aligning Client Framework Behaviours

MarketingWorks helps our clients define and establish the organisational environment for long term success in work winning through delivering bespoke win work revitalisation programmes. Our methodology is based on a four-stage process:

*Diagnose

*Develop

*Deploy

*Implement

This approach is based on understanding where good work winning practice exists within an organisation across all stages of the work winning process (above) enhancing processes, skills, systems and tools, behaviours and results. It enables what works well within the organisation to be exploited and enhanced using the expertise of MarketingWorks consultants.

Win Work Support & Mentoring

*Opportunity & pipeline management tools & processes

*PQQ Review Go/No Go Selectivity Matrix

*Bid Mentoring

*Proposal Review

*Mobilising a Framework Event

*Mobilising a Sector Team Event

*Mobilising Key Client Teams

*Proposal Red Team Review

*Presentation Facilitation

*Presentation Red Team Reviews

Research

*Win Work Audit

*Senior Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Management Perspectives Survey

*Bid Data Analysis

*Client Perspectives Survey

*Key Client Relationship Survey

*Win Work Healthcheck

Skills Refreshment Workshops

*How to Sell High Value Services and Convert New Business

*Critical Success Factors in Bid Management

*Winning Business with Winning proposals

*Delivering Successful Presentations at Tender Interview

*Work Winning Revitalisation Workshop