1.1. Driver Trett
Type of Organization
The trading name of the organization is Driver Consult LLC, which is a member of Driver Group plc. It was established in the UAE in 2006 as limited liability company. However, Driver Group plc was formed in 1978 in the UK, and is currently a publicly owned cooperation and float on the London Stock Market in October 2005. Even though stakeholders own the company, the board is responsible for effecting overall strategy and financial performance of the company. The Board also considers the appointment of directors and senior managers in running it on behalf of the Board, which mainly consists of Country and Regional managers.
Size of the Organization
The first half of 2015 was characterized by investments, with various acquisitions and restructuring of the business. The operating loss was approximated £1.8m while in 2014, the company made a profit of £3.1m. Even though there was revenue loss in the first half of the year, in 2015 it grew by 23% in the second half to reach £48m from £39.1m in 2014. The company increased its headcount in 2015 from 150 to 518, which is a massive 41%.
Customer base/Services offered
Driver Trett is mainly a B2B company and currently works for the largest property management, contracting, and utility companies, as well as government bodies and law firms globally. It provides a range of construction consultancy services around the globe. These are claims management, dispute resolution, training, seminars, lectures, and workshops, expert witness services, project management, planning, and programming, as well as quantity surveying and commercial management. The services offered can be used in all project life cycle phases while also bridging the gap between legal, construction, and financial sectors.
Main Competitors
While all businesses face competition, Driver Trett faces significant competition in the Middle East where the main competitors are FTI Consulting, Hill International, GMCS, D&A Consult, HLP Consulting, KEO International Consultants, and Systech International.
1.2. Evaluate performance using marketing metrics
According to Amber (2000), there exists a fundamental problem when it comes to measuring the marketing performance of a company, which is mainly correlated to identifying and defining both the best practice and best metrics. Even so, Llonch, Eusebio, Ambler, 2002 assert that marketing metrics can be divided into six basic groups. These are financial indicators, measurement of the market, measurement of customer behavior, measuring the movement of clients, measurement of direct customers, as well as measuring innovation. Driver Trett uses a variety of marketing metrics about the external environment.
The external environment of the company include the macro environment and the microenvironment. The company uses PESTEL analysis to analyse the macro-environment, which according to Yüksel (2012) analyses the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal aspects of the business. Driver Trett understands the importance of identifying the key factors from the uncontrollable macro-environment that might affect the company. As such, Driver Trett uses the following marketing metrics and measurement to monitor the macro-environment:
1. Local newspaper subscription: Gulf News UAE. It allows the company to understand and comprehend the political environment, as well as any technological developments that the company can capitalize on, such as new oil drilling technologies. It also enables the company to analyse economic aspects of the country, such as pinning down new investors who might need construction of their business premises.
2. The Oath Magazine is a source of legal information in the country. The magazine allows the company to identify and be aware of the latest changes in the UAE Laws regarding to construction or oil prices. In effect, it gives the company a better understanding of the political and social situation on the daily basis. It also allows the company to identify any trading agreements between different businesses, and therefore, allow to gauge the level of competition or any upcoming potential agreements that the company can capitalize to better its businesses with potential or existing business partners.
3. UAE Annual online Economic reports Exchange rates, Rate of inflation. It is an important source of economic environment data. Importantly, the company operates globally, and thus, exchange rates are vital in understanding the implications of the exchange rates on the company’s profitability. In essence, it allows the company to understand the financial implications of the exchange rates. In addition, comprehending the rate of inflation allows the company to adjust the price of the products and services.
4. The UAE vision 2021 allows the company to understand the rate of development of the company based on the various industries, and thus, allow the company to identify potential clients, such as governmental institutions. In effect, it allows the company to predict how the different sectors will develop, and thus, identify what marketing strategies can be used.
5. Financial Metrics: Some of the Key Performance Indicators the company uses include financial and operational KPIs, as well as the level of investment. The company clearly stipulates that the KPIs from H1 to H2 have yielded benefits characterized by a solid second half (H2) performance. In essence, there was an increase in utilization levels from 73% in H1 to 79% in H2 in 2015 and the fee rates grew by 5% in 2014. In effect, the gross margin increased from 19% in H1 to 25% in H2 of 2015. The underlying operating profit percentage also gained significantly, by increasing from -2% in the first half to 6% in the second half. For this reason, this indicated that the marketing endeavors were succeeding in the various market the company has operations in the U.A.E. Even so, the overhead costs increased significantly. Since this provides a negative marketing metric, it was attributed to the relocation of the overhead from what was previously allocated in cost of sales, and secondly, due to the increase of cost in support of the Four-Year Growth Targets & Strategic Plan. The company also uses revenues and profitability as a source of marketing metrics where positive strategies in marketing are characterized of positive and growth in revenues.
6. The company also aims at controlling and understanding the micro-environment. Considering the type of the industry within which Driver Trett operates, the company particularly interested in their target markets, including clients, as well as the direct and indirect competitors. Among the customer/client metrics that Driver Trett currently uses to monitor the micro-environment are:
1. Market Share: This is an important metric that enables the company to determine the level of competitiveness in the industry relative to its competitors. It allows the company to identify which companies are performing better within the industry. In addition, it allows the company to gauge individual competitors, including FTI Consulting, Hill International, GMCS, D&A Consult, HLP Consulting, KEO International Consultants, and Systech International to identify areas the company needs to improve.
2. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score allows the company to identify the satisfaction rate of the clients. As such, it allows the company to identify the areas that need improvement, and in particular, those characterized by high levels of dissatisfaction. Higher scores signify effectiveness in marketing strategies and vice versa.
3. Customer Retention Rates. The metric is a measure of how loyal the clients are. If the clients have a low retention rate, then the marketing strategies in the microenvironment are not working.
4. Porter Five Forces Analysis. The company also capitalizes on five forces analysis. According to Porter (2008), there are five forces that can affect the macro environment. These are rivalry among existing competitors, threat of substitute products, bargaining power of buyers, threat of new entrants, and bargaining power of suppliers. The company closely monitors these forces to enable it to strategize on marketing to curb rivalry among the competitors.
