Chapman Consulting Newsletter Edition 2
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Newsletter Edition 2

A Real Diamond

As summer and the Olympic flame finally arrive in the UK, the nation is becoming engulfed in a sea of red, white and blue. But before Olympic fever truly takes a grip there is the small matter of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  Most would regard the Queen’s 60 year reign as quite an achievement. And for many people, particularly visitors to the UK, the monarchy is synonymous with what it means to be British.

Although in theory the Queen is simply a figurehead – after all, she has no overt influence in the way the country is run, her presence does have an effect. Does she have an effect on our industry I wondered?  What effect will the Jubilee celebrations have on the economy and surely the Jubilee celebrations must have netted a few construction projects?

London has certainly benefited – The Jubilee Gardens, a £5.5m project to redevelop the grassed area by the Southbank Centre is one example.

The borough of Greenwich has joined the ranks of the Royal Boroughs, an honour bestowed upon them by the Queen as part of her Jubilee celebrations.  Development projects in the borough include two new secondary schools and the £100 million regeneration of Greenwich Peninsula.  And 2012 has also seen the re-opening of the Cutty Sark, which was so badly damaged by fire in 2007. The £50m restoration project has included a stunning new visitors’ centre designed by Grimshaw and Youmeheshe Architects.

In terms of the boost to our tourism and retail industry, the Diamond Jubilee is expected to inject £10 billion into the British economy, as hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to London.  Britain’s tourist trade is booming.  In fact, London has seen the biggest influx of visitors since the turn of the century, with 12.7 million trips to the capital so far.

We should embrace this chance to welcome our overseas visitors and help them to enjoy spending money in our shops, dining in our restaurants and paying to visit our attractions. Ok, so public transport may be more overcrowded and the extra bank holiday could have a negative effect on the GDP figures for June, but the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will surely launch the most exciting three months our country has known, putting Great Britain firmly at the centre of the World stage. Yes, these are difficult times – there is economic uncertainty at home and in the Eurozone, but that shouldn’t stop us from celebrating an institution that has dealt with 156 global prime ministers, 12 UK prime ministers and 32 different commonwealth realms during the past six decades. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity here – let’s show Britain at it’s best.

As we enjoy our extra bank holiday, we shall certainly raise a glass or two to sixty glorious years.  

Strong foundations

On the advice of Chapman Consulting, our client decided to exhibit at this year’s HefmA National Conference.  Held at the Telford Conference Centre to a packed house of senior Healthcare Estates and Facilities managers; there was a real buzz around our client’s stand and it was satisfying to see them attract so much attention.  The opportunity to introduce a new audience to their quality products and to speak to key decision-makers within the Health sector, first-hand was invaluable to our strategy. Furthermore, as we secured three C-suite meetings directly from the event, we will be keen to take space again.

Are you Prepared for the Upturn?

A natural reaction during testing times is to hunker down, concentrate on the day-to-day running of the organisation and pare overheads down to the absolute minimum. As a consequence, marketing the company and planning for the upturn can easily be put on the back burner. Then, before you know it, business is on the rise and you find your competitors have stolen a march on you.

So, why is it so crucial to maintain a marketing programme, even when the storm clouds are gathering and the doom mongers are shouting from the rooftops?

At the start of this recession the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) published a White Paper entitled “Keep Calm and Carry on Marketing”. Now, three years on, the title might be a bit old hat, but the principles are still pretty sound – any organization which fails to address their marketing function, does so at their peril! I’ve pulled out a couple of key highlights:

Management Consultants, McKinsey and Co found that in the last recession, of the companies they sampled, those who performed in the top 25% had overspent on marketing compared with their weaker competition by just over 9%. Similar research revealed that organizations who increased their marketing spend through a recession recovered three times faster when the economy finally stabilized. And, as the report reminded me, if we go back to the great depression of the 1930’s there is no better example of the power of marketing during a recession than Coca-Cola. At that time a brand called Moxie led the field, but when the depression struck they felt it would be insensitive to advertise. Coca Cola were rather less reticent, plugged their brand as the perfect pick me-up and wiped out the opposition!

In times of uncertainty the organizations that thrive are those who can instill confidence, communicate effectively, retain customer loyalty and adapt, not only to changing customers’ needs, but also in the way they do business.

Now, here at Chapman Consulting, we recognize that for many companies within our industry, no matter how much they might want to prioritise their marketing effort, the reality is that they simply do not have the resources to devote to implementing an effective marketing programme. This is where we step in. With over twenty years experience of marketing within the construction sector our expertise is second to none. Our unique marketing audit tool enables us to assess your business then formulate and implement an effective marketing strategy. We conduct our audit and deliver a business development programme specifically tailored to your business within one month and at a fraction of the cost of retaining an in-house marketing function. With a strong team of associates, all of whom have extensive experience in their particular field, we will work with you along the way as you grow and develop your business.

As the key economic indicators suggest we may be leaving the darkest days of the downturn behind us then marketing and business development must be pushed to the top of the list in order to capitalize on the opportunities that are appearing. If you would like Chapman Consulting to guide you in growing your business then contact us to find out what we can do for you.