A North
East construction firm is targeting expansion after completing a marketing
project with students from Northumbria University Business Clinic.
Newcastle-headquartered
Aptus Construction asked the students to develop a comprehensive marketing
strategy to increase awareness of the company, showcase its expertise in
fit-out and refurbishment projects and expand its client base across Yorkshire
and the North East. The company provides construction, refurbishment, fit-out
and design consultancy services to the heritage, education, leisure,
healthcare, retail and residential sectors.
Led by
student project leader Josh Robson, the students interviewed Aptus staff and
other construction industry professionals to get an idea of how Aptus is
perceived internally and externally. They also conducted a thorough SWOT
analysis of the company to understand the opportunities and challenges to its
future expansion, as well as a comprehensive review of the construction sector
and key Aptus competitors.
The
findings revealed that although Aptus is well-established in the North East, it
could improve awareness of its brand in Yorkshire. The students also identified
a need to revamp the company’s website, use case studies as testimonials to highlight
the range of expertise within the business, and introduce key performance
indicators that could track the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
Student
project leader Josh Robson, who worked on the project with fellow marketing
students Holly Roberts, Roland Pascual and Terry Davison, said: “Our top
recommendation was to revamp the website so Aptus could use it as a key
marketing tool to promote the business. We also thought that the company could
create compelling long-form and short-form content, including blogs, thought
leadership articles, videos, case studies and social media posts, to showcase
its expertise in a way that speaks directly to clients.
“Our third key
recommendation was to encourage Aptus staff to attend trade shows and events.
This would get the company in front of key decision-makers and build visibility
and trust, particularly in target regions such as Yorkshire. The project was really
worthwhile as it gave us the opportunity to solve real-world business
challenges.”
Ellie
Redwood, new business director at Aptus Construction, said: “Having
previously hired Northumbria University graduates who had been involved in the
Business Clinic, we were well aware of the value to our business. We knew we
needed to expand our marketing function and thought that linking up with the
university provided an excellent opportunity for us and the
students.
“We’ll definitely use the students’ report as a foundation
to redevelop our website. They’ve also given us real direction and ideas on
style, content and SEO. Their report has given us momentum to make changes we
already knew that we needed and thanks to their excellent work we now have a
much clearer roadmap to follow.”
Students work at the Business Clinic in their final year of
study, offering clients a full consultancy experience that encompasses
activities as diverse as feasibility studies, including finance, investment and
growth; HR including recruitment, retention and diversity; marketing including
branding and digital; business analytics; logistics and supply chain
management. The aim of each project is to undertake research and make recommendations
that will benefit organisations in the short and long term.
Rebecca
Dutson, acting director of the Business Clinic, said: “It is wonderful to see the positive impact that the
students’ consultancy recommendations have had on Aptus and their expansion
plans. Our proven experiential learning model has benefitted many organisations
and given our students invaluable experience which will support them in their
future career progression.”
The
Business Clinic has delivered 870 consultancy projects involving more than
3,500 students across all business subjects since it was founded in 2013. It offers pro-bono consultancy support to SMEs, multi-national organisations,
charitable organisations, educational trusts and social enterprises that
operate across a wide range of sectors, both in the North East of England as
well as further afield in the UK and overseas.
