Marketing for the project: project marketing by the contractor

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the marketing practices adopted by contractors in project-based industries to win new business and maintain relationships with existing clients. Design/methodology/approach The authors interviewed eight such contractors, and used activity theory as a lens to analyze the results. The authors investigated project marketing activities at four stages of the project contract life cycle, and against four enablers of collaboration. Findings The authors have identified that the service-dominant logic pervades project marketing. Through the project contract life cycle the marketing activity starts with a strategic focus, becomes tactical, then operational and returns to strategic. Project marketing involves executive managers, marketing, client or account managers and project managers. Project managers have a key responsibility for project marketing. The four enablers of collaboration, relationships, communication, going-with and trust, support each other and the entire project marketing activity. Research limitations/implications As a contribution to theory, the authors have identified the practices adopted by contractors in project-based industries to market their competencies to clients to win new work and maintain relationships with existing clients. The authors have identified practices throughout the contract life cycle, and practices to develop collaboration. The next step will be to explain these practices in terms of traditional marketing theory. Practical implications The results provide guidelines to contractors in project-based industries who wish to improve their marketing activity to achieve sustainable performance. Industry may also find it useful to train or coach their project managers to be conscious of their marketing role. Originality/value Previous work has been conceptual in nature and has speculated on the nature of the project marketing performed by contractors to win new projects, and set it against marketing done by the project. This research has empirically investigated the actual marketing practices adopted by project contracting organizations, shown how it varies through the project life cycle and shown how responsibility passes from senior management to the account team and then to project managers. It has also investigated the application of the four enablers of collaboration: relationships, communication, going-with and trust.

Relationship Between Marketing and Project Management Success Through Cognitive Process Lens

“…On the other hand, it was also used implicit attitude towards Project Marketing, which is defined by the authors of this study as the individual's unconscious assessment of the relationship between Marketing and Projects. This view follows another epistemological paradigm that proposes a reconciliation between marketing and PM [8], disregarded for some researchers in PM [43], but considered necessary for project-based organizations [59], being recently brought to discussion again [60]. We clarify that this view was measured unconsciously, using an instrument called project marketing IAT, that is, the Implicit Association Test for Project Marketing, based on the model of Greenwald, Mcghee, and Schwartz study [24].…”

“…Cova, Ghauri, and Salle [9] point out that Project Marketing is a complex transaction covering a package of products, services, and labor, specially developed to create capital assets, which produce benefits for a buyer over an extended period. Turner, Lecoeuvre, and Sankaran [60] claim that Project Marketing considers marketing orientation and philosophy from the perspective of projects, including projects in a broader and business context. In this sense, we can argue that synergistically incorporating marketing assumptions into the project can contribute to success in PM.…”

Client Experience on Projects

“…Nobody cited the marketing literature on the topic, but several authors have written about relevant elements. Turner et al (2019) come the closest. They are talking about the interaction between the client and contractor from the contractor's perspective, but when talking about project marketing they suggest how the contractor can influence the client experience.…”

“…We saw above, that in retail Howard and Sheth (1969) suggested a three-stage customer journey. For projects, Lecoeuvre and Deshayes (2006) and Turner et al (2019) identified a four-stage cycle:…”

Interpersonal practice in project marketing: how institutional logics condition and change them

“…In line with the observations made by Cova and Salle (2000), informants argue that interpersonal practice has shifted in emphasis from transactional toward a wider span of activities. However, the transactional practice and bidding especially, still represent a major activity for many marketers operating in project business (Turner et al, 2018).…”