Start-up to Divestment in 5 years!
Another stephenSMITH Client Acquired!
Construction industry supply chain compliance & PQQ information provider Builders Profile was successfully divested, to Fortius, at the beginning of March 2020. stephenSMITH provided the outsource Marketing Director services in support of building Builders Profile’ success over the past five years.
Builder’s Profile is a cloud-based construction-industry focused compliance & PQQ solution that collates, improves and maintains supply-chain information. This enthusiastic acquisition by Fortius (Align Bidco Limited), vindicates Builders Profile’ view that a well-marketed, simple-to-use, ‘open’ application designed to easily integrate with other industry platforms would be a winner. And for the past five years stephenSMITH has provided the full spectrum strategic & tactical ‘virtual’ marketing Director & Department support that has helped fuel this success.
Builders Profile’s focus has always been to “help the construction industry improve efficiency, reduce administrative overheads and lower cost through the use of its smart software” says MD Paul Long. In developing its carefully benchmarked open-access Common Database – the ‘software’ platform that provides the service – Builders Profile knew it was onto a winner. The next question was ‘how to go-to-market?”. In 2015 the company asked stephenSMITH to undertake a Marketing Scoping Project and then to come onboard and deliver its recommendations.
The Scoping Project delivered a 5 Year Strategic Marketing Plan architected to take the business from ‘start-up-with-traction’ posture, to profitable ‘respected Construction Industry player’. It ‘looked’ at: business objectives, the market, inhouse marketing assets, SWOT study and then presented a set of realistic deliverables that balanced ambition with available budget. The Marketing Communications Plan recommended: careful Positioning, Messaging & Branding; Digital including website, SEO and content-marketing; Content comprising: web-content, digital PR, eBrochures, videos, setup of the Builders Profile Marketing platform itself and staff mentoring.
The outcome? Since 2015, the business has developed strong branding, is clearly understood and has accelerated powerfully with an average growth of 31% pa, 2017 growth ‘peak’ of 45% and a market penetration of over 30% in UK construction companies employing ≥7 staff. And on the 2nd March 2020 was successfully divested to Align Bidco Limited (shortly rebranding to Fortius Group) to integrate as one of its companies serving the supply chain risk management industry.
This divestment illustrates the simple business sense of companies playing to their strengths. The in-house team had great understanding of their market’s needs, were very strong on the on the ability to develop & deliver an effective service platform, but recognised the advantages of using high-level outsource marketing services. stephenSMITH was able to deliver the right scalable mix of business expertise and full spectrum marketing services that the Builders Profile situation required.
Says Builders Profile MD Paul Long. “We’re all very excited having achieved our divestment goal and believe it couldn’t have been done so quickly, professionally or as cost effectively without Steve being part of the senior management team – thanks Steve!”. READ BUILDERS PROFILE PRESS RELEASE
About stephenSMITH
Stephen Smith is a marketing-focused business professional who’s provided a scalable full-spectrum ‘virtual marketing agency’ proposition since 2007. Stephen and the ‘team’ take enterprise-level best-practise techniques: Strategy, Digital, Design & Branding, PR & Social Media and Content. And pragmatically apply them to Strategies & Plans that balance ambition with budget to deliver business transformation and growth.