Promotional literature for competitive advantage in UK construction firms

This paper outlines the findings of an in-depth survey exploring the effective use of promotional brochures and other corporate literature in providing a competitive advantage in the marketing of contractual services in construction. The research project on which this paper is based involved surveys of major client organizations and their professional advisers, i.e. architects, engineers, project managers etc., who provided constructive criticism of the promotional efforts of contracting firms. The research also involved the senior marketing management responsible for promotion in construction firms, and promotional design consultants and agents employed by the industry to produce promotional brochures and other material. The principal findings are that construction firms need to give more attention to the careful targeting of their promotional literature to specific members of the client's team, tailoring material to the particular needs of the client and proposed project, and trimming material so that it concisely communicates a persuasive message concerning the firms' corporate image and the benefits of a clearly differentiated service. The paper presents practical recommendations based on the analysis for the more effective use of brochures and annual reports as part of the promotional strategies in the provision of construction contractual services.