Conference Programme

Registration and refreshments

Opening welcome from the Chair

Quick poll:

• What tools is the industry currently using for marketing?
• Is your marketing budget shrinking or growing at the moment?
• Providing food for thought: understanding the aims of the day

THE ECONOMY

Market Forecast: recognising future opportunities in the construction industry

• What is the outlook for public sector schemes?
• Outlining how the private sector is coping: are ‘green shoots’ appearing?
• Anticipating which sectors will recover first
• Understanding how the industry will change after the recession
• How will tighter financial regulation affect construction?

Marketing your way through the recession

• Improving account management to help client retention:
• Deciding which clients to focus on
• Best practice guidance
• Collating information on your customers and responding to customer feedback
• Capitalising on the information in your CRM system
• Communicating with multiple audiences using appropriate and engaging tools
• Gaining market shares through sustained marketing during the recession
• Justifying continued or increased marketing spend during a difficult economic climate

Coping with budget cuts: maximising marketing spend

• Focussing your money and skills on playing to your strengths
• Successfully increasing your ROI from your marketing activity
• Integrating your marketing plan globally
• Low-cost marketing tactics: what’s out there?

Delegate discussion

Question and answer session

Morning refreshments

CAPITALISING ON E-MEDIA

Making the most of online marketing in the construction industry

• Which forms of online marketing typically return the best responses?
• Boosting organic traffic to your website through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay Per Clicks (PPC)
• Turning website analytics into a strategic decision -making tool
• How digital video and smartphones are changing the marketing landscape

Social Media: is it practical for construction marketing?

• The Business Case: is it worth investing in social media?
• Is social media the answer to having a smaller marketing budget?
• From nothing to something: how a business can grow it’s social networking presence into a powerful marketing tool
• Lessons from other sectors: adopting proven strategies for your organisation
• Best practice examples of how social media can be used to broadcast your message

Delegate discussion

Question and answer session

Speed Networking – Bring your business cards!

Lunch

BID MANAGEMENT

Panel discussion: refining your approach to procurement processes

• Is the name of the game just about lowering your price?
• Tips and tricks for making your PQQ stand out in the crowd
• Successful approaches to PFI
• How can you tender for fewer jobs, but bid more effectively?
• Partnering during a recession: are clients still interested?
• Examples of saving yourself time in bid submissions
• Highlighting your USPs in bids

Dragon’s Den: improving your presentation skills

Do you want feedback on your presentations from clients?

Enter our dragon’s den, present a short role-play bid, then receive detailed comments on your presentation and style. Back in the office, you can consider how to apply some of the feedback in your next presentation.

Delegates can benefit from seeing how others present and reflect on the feedback given to participants.

The Rules
The scenario: you have to explain who your company is, and why people should work with you.

• You’ll have 5 minutes to give your presentation
• Introduce yourself, then focus on why you should win the bid and your USPs
• No slides are permitted – engage your audience with your speaking style and props
• The ‘Dragons’ will give you constructive feedback on your presentation to help you for the future

Afternoon refreshments

IMPROVING YOUR PUBLIC RELATIONS

Using PR effectively in your marketing strategy

• Understanding why there is a growing trend away from print advertising, towards a focus on corporate communications
• Improving your company literature to generate leads and build better brand identify
• Strategies for using PR to enhance your marketing campaigns

Question and answer session

The Editors Panel: utilising the media to broaden your exposure

• How can you increase your profile by getting involved in the trade press?
• How can media be used to launch new products?
• The good, the bad and the ugly: favourite examples of press releases
• What attracts an editor to a product/announcement which makes them decide to run a story?

Awards Panel: Increasing your marketing toolkit by entering and winning awards

Hear from both the winners and the judges from the 2009 Built Environment Marketing Awards.

• Clarify what you need to do to be shortlisted
• Find out what the judges look for
• Discover how winning has enabled firms to boost their profile

Chair’s summary: key learning points from the day to take back to the office