The Research Team have practical experience gained working for building products manufacturers, suppliers and contractors in both a sales and a marketing capacity. This means we understand your issues and recognise business opportunities.
The Competitive Advantage Research team has built up significant experience working with the different types of decision maker in the industry:-
Builders Merchants, Distributors, small and large Contractors, Estimators, Architects, Engineers, Clients, Project Managers and Quantity Surveyors.
Our experience in researching includes:-
Electrical, Heating, Cladding, Brick & Block, Flooring, Ceilings, Glazing, Wall Boards, Ceramic Tiles, Thermal Insulation, Fire Protection and Acoustics, as well as General Contracting and Interior Fit-Out.
When conducting research, we will also provide immediate feed-back on issues of importance, so that they can be addressed immediately.
We try to provide a tailored service, which is more than simply reporting on findings - drawing on past experience to identify key issues and recommend actions.
The team operates within the Market Research Society's Code of Conduct
The Research Team
Chris Ashworth
Before founding Competitive Advantage in 1999, Chris worked for twenty years in the construction industry for blue chip manufacturers; Chubb, Cape and Saint-Gobain. He has held senior sales and marketing roles and has extensive international experience. He holds regular training courses on marketing and sales and has developed a reputation for an expertise in specification selling.
Chris has project managed all of Competitive Advantage's research projects, giving him a wide understanding of industry issues.
Rachel Ward
A language graduate, Rachel is fluent in French. She held a variety of sales and marketing positions with Saint-Gobain Glass where she worked for 11 years. She joined Competitive Advantage as an Associate in 2005.
Rachel's research experience includes glazing, external claddings, decorative products and heating products. She has also worked on projects requiring a technical understanding of acoustics, thermal insulation and fire protection.
Nichola Martland
Nichola started her career as a business trainee with Pirelli Cables in 2000 where she worked as a Marketing Co-ordinator and an Internal Sales Co-ordinator. Upon completing her training at the end of 2001, she joined the Competitive Advantage team where she is now our principal researcher.
She has extensive experience of interviewing all roles in the construction sector including clients, house builders, engineers, architects, designers, quantity surveyors, builders merchants, wholesalers, large and small contractors. Her experience allows her to understand the issues facing these groups and to talk in their language.
Marianne Barrow
Marianne graduated from the University of the West of England with a BA (Hons) Degree in Business Studies in 1993. She worked for various market research agencies as Researcher and Field Controller, responsible for data collection and focus groups facilitation, working on both qualitative and quantitative research projects.
In 2001 she gave up full time employment to become a full time mother, joining Competitive Advantage as a researcher on a part-time basis in 2008.
Research Case Studies:
Case Study 3: Recovering lost customers
A manufacturer had neglected its specialist retailer channel which was traditionally handled by distributors. With increased penetration from exports sales into that channel had fallen significantly.
Case Study 6: Offer benefits to hold price
Increasing competition from low cost imports meant a manufacturer's Utility customers were only interested in buying at the lowest price. The company believed it could offer service and support with the potential to provide cost savings to its customers, but the customers were not interested.
Case Study 7: Literature research
A member of an international group was due to be re-named and had the opportunity to change the form and style of its literature. It needed to understand what specifiers considered important in literature.
Case Study 9: Understand Housebuilder needs
A brick manufacturer wanted to develop an added value approach to its house builder customers.
Case Study 10: Customer & supplier perception study
Following a reorganisation and re-branding a contractor wanted to know how their customers and suppliers felt about the changes.
Case Study 11: Regular measurement of customer satisfaction
Through regular measurement of customer satisfaction a company can improve customer service and monitor competitor performance.
Case Study 12: Customer profiling
A Land Surveyor wanted to identify potential clients so that it could adopt a targeted approach to promoting its services.
Case Study 13: International market research
An international manufacturer wished to ensure its spend on samples was providing a good return in each of its European markets.
Competitive Advantage Consultancy Limited Tel: 0844 6698728 Email: info@cadvantage.co.uk
|