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.
