Marketing to Housebuilders
Having suffered a cataclysmic decline in housing output in 2008 and 2009, the Construction Products Association is forecasting a 15% growth in 2010, a trend which will continue over the following years. Although this will not take us back to the levels of 2007, the housing sector is one of the few in construction offering growth.
But the market is now quite different from the past. We still have the private developers, although a number of the small and medium sized companies have gone. But the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) has become a significant influence on the market. In 2007 only 11% of new housing Starts were in public housing, this is forecast to be 24% in 2010 due to initiatives such as Kickstart and the Local Authority New Build Programme, with many private developers expecting a significant proportion of their work to come from the HCA. Consequently homes will need to be built to at least Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) with the HCA encouraging the adoption of Level 4.
Research conducted by Competitive Advantage in 2009 showed that most private developers were not building to the CSH unless it was for social housing, when they built to the easily achievable Level 3. Expect this to change, with increasing numbers of homes built to Level 4 or above. The revision of Document L of the Building Regulations, sometime in 2010, will also add to the pressure. Here lies the opportunity.
During the last two years the average housebuilder’s priority has been survival. They have shed many staff including those who had expertise in sustainability. As they look to design homes to Level 4 they will need help from manufacturers. If you can offer them products which can help them achieve Level 4 you are going to be welcomed. But you need to understand the organisation.
In the larger developers there will probably be two key decision makers you need to contact. The Technical Director is responsible for the standard designs used and he will brief an architect and possibly a sustainability consultant on design requirements. You need to be part of this team and may be able to identify these organisations via project leads.
On a local level the Construction Director will be involved, as he will be responsible for modification of designs to meet local planning requirements. He will be working with quantity surveyors who will also act as project managers on site.
Once they have defined their requirements it is the responsibility of procurement to implement this via the Purchasing Manager. The principal contact for many manufacturers, he is important, but if you do not get involved until this stage you may have left it too late.
In smaller organisations it is much easier as often one or two people will fulfil all of these roles. There will also be less competition as sales volumes are smaller.
So for 2010 why not target some of the design teams working within, and for, housebuilders with relevant CPD. Then build your relationships and start to specification sell.
|
Chris Ashworth, founder of Competitive Advantage Consultancy, provides strategic marketing, research and training services to the construction industry. He is a member of the organising committee for the Chartered Institute of Marketing Construction Industry Group (CIMCIG)
First Published: 9th February 2010, RIBA Enterprises Bulletin
View original article
|