Repositioning a Small Company in the Market
By Rebecca Standish
How do you position such a dynamic and well-integrated company within the Edinburgh Architectural industry? What is uniquely interesting about BLOCK NINE ARCHITECTS is that they are already quite well-known and established within the professional networks across the Scotland and UK community, having undertaken numerous projects over a number of years with an exceptional standard of work and delivery. The current positioning of the company was based solely on existing or previous client knowledge, with somewhat little scope for new clients to be aware of BLOCK NINE.
Implementing a re-branding initiative together with an updated website, monitoring SEO optimization and developing an advertising strategy has brought the company back into the minds of people who require or are looking for architectural services in Edinburgh, Scotland and the UK.
Going forwards, we will be moving on to the next stage of actively reaching out, analysing and selecting the types of people we would like to work with - positioning ourselves within the framework of a community that we want to help build, be a part of and can be actively engaged in.
Here are some ways to go about repositioning a small company:
Speak to your customers
Find out what it is they like about what you do and how you can do it better. How do your customers see you and is it different to the story you tell or image your brand shows?
Be Unique
Find that one thing that makes you stand out, which is different to your competitors and offers a service to your customer base in a way which no one else can.
What are you changing?
Where are you going and why? Do you want to bring a fresh look to your company? Do you want to attract a different type of customer? Do you want to broaden your scope and range of service into a new location, sector or customer group? Do you have a new product range or service you want to tell people about? These will all affect your decision making process on where you want to now position your company within your market.
Be Brave
Be bold and honest about where you have been, where you are now, and where you would like to take your company. Does your current brand clearly represent this desire? Set out clear, definitive goals and objectives, revisit your company’s mission statement and create an active repositioning statement to guide your efforts to reposition your company within the industry and minds of your consumer.
Small companies have the ability to actively create meaningful work in everything they do, stretch and grow the people who work within them and have the versatility to become what the project, task or client asks from them. Clear communication, brilliant organisational tools and effective marketing communication methods help smaller companies to continually innovate and grow in their industry.
