A methodology for evaluating the marketing function in the UK construction industry

The UK construction industry holds a major place in the British economy contributing an average of 6.2% of the total GDP for the UK and employs on average about 5.6% of the nation's employees in employment.. The industry is a complex interaction of a number of different types of organisations. At the hub of the industry are the professional (Designers) firms responsible for the technical and the engineering aspects of construction; and the Main Contractors, - the organisations that co-ordinate and execute construction projects. Like many non consumer based industries, the construction industry has been slow to adopt the marketing concept. Marketing concept suggests a totally new way of looking at a business and would mean a departure from the traditional approach management of these firms. This study was set out as an exploratory study to investigate management and practice of the marketing function in construction industry, with a view to identify a wide range of marketing activities currently being carried out by the firms and criteria for setting marketing objectives. The study identified a wide variety of marketing practices currently being employed in the industry, and a wide range of marketing objectives as set by firms. The survey also form that marketing is still poorly managed in the industry. The study identified a wide range of factors affecting effective marketing practice in the industry. Further to this a case study was conducted to provide some psychological explanation to many of the issues arising from the main survey. Up till now, no comprehensive quantitative model for evaluation of marketing function is available to assist the construction firms in assessing their marketing practices. This report presents a quantitative model based on elements of efficiency and effectiveness of marketing practices within the UK construction firms. Although it is still at a preliminary stage it hold a great potential as an effective instrument for evaluating marketing practices in construction. Three different approaches were adopted for testing of this model. First, to test the characteristic average grading function for the industry as given by the model in Chapter 8. Second, to demonstrate how to apply this model to a group of individual firms and the interpretation of results. Third, sensitivity analysis to to study the responses of grading function to changes in the variables of the model construct. The three steps show that this model can , with a high degree of accuracy show the marketing position of a firm and also detect any managerial and resource deficiencies concerning marketing practices within the firm. The tests re-echoed a general lack of commitment on the part of senior managements in the industry to marketing function.