Marketing for Architects and Engineers

A new approach

Brian Richardson

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2003
• ISBN:
  9781135820343
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Professional services marketing is a relatively new form of marketing that has been recogonized only since the late 1980s. Most of the attempts to write about marketing for professional services have been a regurgitation of the traditional marketing approach that has evolved since the 1960s and have concentrated on minor differences and adjustments. In many ways, what is needed is a fresh approach which takes into account the complex political, social, economic, legislative and cultural backdrop and provides a way for design professionals, such as architects and engineers, to look to the future. This book does just that.

1

Introduction

If architects and engineers are to face the challenges and changes of the construction marketplace in the next century, they will need to develop a marketing agenda which can be supported and reinforced at every level. The aim of this book therefore is to develop a coherent and comprehensive marketing discipline that is relevant and applicable to both small and large practices. The intention is not only to improve the day to day marketing function within practices but also to develop a long-term view of organizations and their relationship with the market.

The idea of adapting and adopting existing marketing disciplines used in other fields to cover the provision of design services presents many challenges. Indeed, Neil Morgan [1] feels that:

the professional service context is a peculiar one. It deserves a book about the peculiarities, irrationalities and idiosyncrasies of professional services marketing as a unique and different type of marketing rather than simply writing about the areas in which marketing is similar in the professional service context to other types of marketing.

In the case of design professionals, i.e. architects and engineers, my view is that their visionary and creative mind set does not respond well to the retrospective analytical tools of traditional marketing. This is especially true when they are asked to reperceive their position in the marketplace. The first challenge is to convince architects and engineers that the adoption of a marketing approach will prove beneficial. In a world of increasing competition, this can only be achieved by demonstrating an improvement in comparative business advantage (the improved performance of a business compared with others) and by showing that they can have more influence over changing events. Each chapter therefore describes why the proposed measures should be taken and what improvements are likely to result.

Fig. 1.1 The marketing overview.

The techniques of marketing for architects and engineers described in this book are chosen to resonate with the outlook and views of design professionals. For this reason, the two approaches of scenario planning and synthesis marketing are combined to suit the needs and operation of design practices. The aim is to create a vision of what practices will look like in the long term using scenario planning methods and to plan how subsequent relationships with individual customers and the related sectoral infrastructure will develop using a synthesis marketing approach. The sectoral infrastructure is defined as ‘every organisation and individual that can influence client perception’ (McKenna [2]). The infrastructure of any sector can include trade organizations, trade press, client associations, sectoral institutions, governing bodies or consumer groups. A diagrammatic overview of the marketing process is provided in Fig. 1.1.

In the early 1990s, architects and engineers were having to look carefully at the process of identification and contact with new clients and had to re-examine their relationship with existing clients. As a result the marketing philosophy and approach came into confrontation with the close-held tenets of the other professions. Questions were being asked on both sides of the apparent divide [3]. How well did design professionals understand the operation of the construction marketplace? What was wrong with the existing, valued relationship that they had with clients? Would the apparent commercialism of marketing and marketers undermine the integrity and standards of professional service provision? What value did marketing have for a practice? Chapter 2 looks at these fundamental issues and identifies the basics of markets and marketing that will be discussed and referred to in more detail in later chapters.

If marketing is to be adapted and adopted by practices, the most significant hurdle to be overcome is the internally generated barrier of resistance to cultural change. This resistance is represented partly by common misperceptions and misunderstandings about marketing but also by a reluctance to adapt to social and economic changes that are taking place globally and within economic regions such as Europe. These misperceptions and misunderstandings are listed and discussed in Chapter 2.

The role and position of design professionals varies considerably in different countries. For example, at the time of writing, almost a half of British architects are either unemployed or underemployed following the longest period of recession since the Second World War. This is in stark contrast to the position in Germany where unemployment among architects is low and architects are afforded a level of protection and status that was accorded to British architects twenty years earlier. However, despite the social, economic and organizational complexities, it is possible to take a long-term view of how and where your practice will market its services. The intention is to describe what you would like your practice to look like in ten years time. Paradoxically, a long-term view is required as an antidote to short-term fluctuation and variation. The long-term view can be achieved by using the flexible and adaptable techniques of scenario planning described in Chapter 3. These techniques are applicable to large and small practices operating at regional, national and international levels.

Building up a long-term relationship with clients, institutions and organizations in a selected market or markets, however defined, is seen as an increasingly important marketing objective. If the aim is to have a stable future for your company, the client base needs to be cultivated, maintained and protected. This is especially true of design service provision in which architects and engineers are engaged in a working relationship with an individual client over a long period of time. A synthesis marketing approach is described in detail in Chapter 4.

In Chapter 5, the strategic options available to practices are outlined and discussed and these options are then mapped out over the time period of the scenario plan. The strategic emphasis here is on choice and empowerment. For example, choosing to win work in specific markets rather than offering a general service to all comers is a strategic choice. The balance between sectoral preference and type of service is just one of a number of important choices. These issues and choices are at the heart of the marketing problem, and there is no quick ‘marketing fix’. Every issue needs careful consideration and needs to be addressed in terms that reflect the long-term view of your company and its corporate aspirations.

There would be no point in formulating strategic options for marketing design practices if the strategies could not be turned into results. Chapter 6 takes a looks at the practical aspects of marketing and is seen from the point of view of the person or persons responsible for making things happen.

Chapter 7 looks at architecture centres as a marketing platform for design professionals. This is an example of how to apply scenario planning and synthesis marketing methods in a complex marketing situation. The example draws together all the social, economic and cultural aspects of marketing discussed in earlier chapters. It looks in particular at the use of synthesis marketing methods to formulate a three-point marketing platform of ‘culture, community, construction’, i.e. the promotion of architecture as a physical manifestation of cultural values, as engagement with the general public, educators, students and the business community, and as support for the construction industry.

2

Markets an marketing

In the 1990s, marketing will do more than sell, It will define the way a company does business. (Regis McKenna [2])

2.1

The marketing function

Christian Grönroos [4] has defined the marketing function as ‘all resources that have a direct or even indirect impact on the establishment, maintenance, and strengthening of customer relationships, irrespective of where in the organization they are’. Everyone in the organization has contact with either clients, members of the industry or the general public and therefore all members of staff are part of the marketing effort. It is not desirable that only senior members of the company or a separate unit or person be responsible for marketing if the practice is to be market oriented. Many practices have a system of training young consultants in technical and design matters. They reward selected individuals with promotion and after many years, when they have reached a senior level, introduce them to the marketing issues that face the company. The marketing experience comes too late in the cycle. Young consultants should understand the marketing position of the company and its future marketing plans and aspirations at a very early stage if they are to make a marketing contribution now and become fully effective later in their career.

‘A number of key activities that are central to any professional services marketing function’ are listed by Neil Morgan [1].

These are:

researching and analysing the existing marketplaces for the firm’s service offerings;

identifying coherent segments in the marketplace that exhibit relatively similar need;

analysing the firm’s resources, personnel and areas of expertise;

designing service offerings which translate internal strengths into specific services that meet the needs of particular segments;

offering only those services and targeting only those market segments that enable the firm to achieve its long-term objectives;

communicating the service offerings to existing and potential clients; measuring client satisfaction with services and using this information within the firm.

The list is by no means comprehensive but gives some indication of the range of activities. Chapter 4 looks at how these activities should be undertaken within the framework of a synthesis marketing approach and looks at how they vary in the process from initiating contact through to winning repeat business from an existing client. Chapter 6 looks at some of the tactics and techniques that will ensure effective implementation.

In 1992 E.J.D.Warne CB [5] undertook a review of the Architects (Registration) Acts 1931–1969. He undertook the review as an independent assessor. The final comment in the executive summary of his report was that The future well-being of the profession should be assured by the talent which it attracts into membership, the long and rigorous education and training process before qualification, the central position which architects occupy in the building process, and above all the increasing awareness among architects of the disciplines of the market, i.e. the need not just to provide quality services but also to provide those services which the client or employer actually wants.’ This parting comment embodies the choices and questions that face not only the architectural profession but also all design professionals in the construction industry. What are the disciplines of the market relative to the provision of design services? What are the services which the client or employer actually wants? Is there a marketing discipline for architects and engineers that will answer these and other questions?

In October 1990, the RIBA published market research findings into how practices were addressing the need for marketing (the total survey size was 300 practices; a large practice was defined as having eleven or more full-time architectural staff):

43% of practices had someone with formal responsibility for marketing;

out of the 43%, 36% allocated marketing responsibility to an individual on a part-time basis. The other 7% of practices had a full-time marketing person;

49% had advertised their practice in the last year;

25% of large practices had a written strategy;

11% of all practices had a marketing strategy.

The national recession started after the second quarter of 1990 and was marked by a rapid drop in investment in the UK economy. The RIBA snapshot is therefore taken shortly after the onset of the recession and after the preceding rapid growth of the construction sector in the late 1980s. The research revealed a low level of emphasis on marketing and marketing effort. More than half the practices interviewed were not allocating marketing responsibility to a specific partner or dire...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Dedication
• Chapter 1 Introduction
• Chapter 2 Markets and marketing
• Chapter 3 Scenario planning
• Chapter 4 Synthesis marketing
• Chapter 5 Strategic mapping
• Chapter 6 A synthesis marketing programme
• Chapter 7 Architecture centres: a marketing case study
• Bibliography and references
• Index