An overview to Leading Edge's construction industry and marketing experience.

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Leading Edge Capability Document

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Contents
1. Our services – helping you better understand your customers & markets
2. Our track record – giving our clients peace of mind
3. Case study examples – how our clients benefit from working with us
4. Our client base – see who we have worked with

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1. Our services and markets
“helping you better understand your customers &
markets”

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Our core services
Market, customer & competitor research
– eg identifying a product’s potential, understanding why customers buy from
you or your competitors
Market analysis
– eg assessment of a new market’s size and barriers to entry
Marketing strategy & planning
– eg one day workshop, full strategic review
Market and sales forecasting
– eg developing a sales forecast model, identifying growth markets
Customer service measurement and benchmarking
– eg competitor comparison, continual assessment of customer services
Marketing communications
– eg developing a customer communications plan, researching which
communications channels are most effective

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Our core markets
Construction industry
Construction products
Environmental & utilities

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Construction and environmental products : we have
experience in the following areas
Aggregates
Air pollution control
Block paving
Bricks
Building chemicals
Ceiling systems
Cement
Cladding systems
Concrete - ready mixed
Concrete - precast
Doors
Ducting
Flooring - vinyl, wood, laminate, carpet, resin
Flooring - adhesives and smoothing compounds
Heating
Insulation and insulated panels
Landscaping
Lift systems
Lighting
Monitoring and Instrumentation
Paints
Paving
Plant hire
Plasterboard and drylining
Pressure sensors
Rainwater
Roof tiles
Soil & waste
Steel
Sheet materials
Timber
Tool hire
Underground drainage systems
Waterproofing
Wood pellets

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Environmental Services: we have experience in the following
areas
Energy supply
Laboratory Services
– Foods
– Oils
– Soils
– Waters
Remediation services
Waste management services
– Hazardous waste management
– Healthcare waste management
– Non-Hazardous (Municipal) waste management
Water and wastewater services
– Potable water supply
– Wastewater and effluent treatment.

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2. Our track record
“giving our clients peace of mind”

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Testimonials from our recent clients
Over 250 projects and 100
clients in last 10 years
“Leading Edge helped us to
identify the initial way
forward for our marketing
activities and put in place a
marketing plan with specific
objectives as well as
highlighting a number of
potential opportunities. We
would be happy to work with
them again”.–
Philip Mohan, Sales
Director, Siderise
“It was a pleasure working with the staff at
Leading Edge. Their expertise in the
construction sector was a significant benefit as
they assisted our organisation in evaluating our
market position and develop a proactive
marketing strategy moving forward. I have no
hesitation in recommending their services.” -
Warren Muschialli, Director, John Newton
“The Leading Edge team
were very professional and
kept to an extremely
restricted delivery date. The
results of the research have
proved to be very helpful and
insightful in moving our
projects forward”. –
Susan Allder, BRE
Marketing
“Thank you for a great piece of research
on the UK Timber sector. The quality and
depth of the work by the Leading Edge
team on a complex task fully vindicated
my recommendation for using you at the
outset. I look forward to working with
them again soon.” –
John Hunt, Business Advisor,
Enterprise Ireland
“Leading Edge carried out
an important research
project for us and the
results of the research will
be fed directly into our
marketing strategy. The
project met all our
objectives and as a result
we have commissioned
them to carry out further
research projects for us.” -
Natasha Kyriakou,
Marketing Manager,
MITIE Property Services
“The Leading Edge team
were highly knowledgeable
about forecasting in the
construction sector with the
necessary expertise and
insight to add real value to
our business. They
provided an excellent
service all round.” –
Mark Heston, Market
Insight Manager,
Openreach

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Benefits from using Leading Edge
Benefits you get from working
with us
Why you can trust us to improve
your business
You will be working with a team who already
understands your key issues in the construction and
environmental industry
All consultants have operational marketing
experience in the construction sector,
including director level positions, so we can hit
the ground running
You get senior director level contact from start to
finish to ensure the project’s success
Our clients value the fact they work with the
same consultant throughout the project and
who is available to provide continuous support
You get a team who can suggest appropriate, cost
effective solutions to meet the project brief
With over 250 projects completed in the last
10 years we have recent experience of all the
research techniques and tools to deliver the
insights you need
You receive a high quality output to support your
objectives
Over 60% of our business is from clients who
we have worked with for over 4 years
You get strategic recommendations and actionable
market insights to improve your business
performance
All senior consultants have over 10 years
consultancy experience with our lead director,
Mel Budd, having a track record at PWC

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Key credentials
Marketing and research consultancy, founded in 1988
Specialists in the construction, building products and environmental sectors
Over 250 projects and 100 clients in last 10 years
Members of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) & Chartered Institute
of Marketing’s Construction Industry Group
Market research is carried out in compliance with the Market Research
Society’s (MRS) code of conduct
Quality, environmental and social responsibility policies can be seen on
request.

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Meet the team
Mel Budd – Director / consultant
Nick Hollaway - Consultant
Chris Hadley – Consultant
Doug Green – Consultant
John Ellis – Consultant
Eleanor Cousin – Researcher
Claire Schlag - Researcher
Heather Wearn - Researcher
Daren Carter – Researcher
Operational experience
in the construction
industry and significant
research expertise
All researchers have
extensive experience
of interviewing in the
construction and
environmental
industries and are
familiar with the
terminology used

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Our specialist research team
The telephone research team is based at our office in Hartley Wintney. This
improves the quality control compared to home based or call centre based
interviewers used by many agencies. In particular, this set-up provides
advantages for our clients as our project consultants:
– can easily monitor any questions or issues as they arise during the survey
– are able to quickly resolve any unexpected issues arising as the survey unfolds,
which is important in relatively complicated sectors
All members of our interview team have significant experience in the
construction and environmental industry and are familiar with the terminology
used. They have previously carried out interviews with contractors, architects,
quantity surveyors, clients, specialist sub contractors and suppliers
We pay our researchers per hour and not per completed interview. Again, we
believe this improves the quality and accuracy of the data collected as there is
no incentive to rush through the interview. Many researchers working from
home are paid on a completed interview basis.

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3. Case study examples –
“how our clients benefit from working with us”

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Case Study – customer insight research for a national
contractor
Client benefits
A list of key action points for improving service levels
Identified common areas of weakness on certain types of contracts
Highlighted cross-selling opportunities for other services
Numerous customer testimonials collected for use in marketing company’s services.
Project objective
Improve understanding of the way
customers viewed the company’s
service performance
Identify areas for service improvement
Key achievements
Completed over 50 in-depth interviews
with customers
Provided recommendations on brand
strategy and customer service
improvements
Additional worked commissioned due to
success of project
“Leading Edge carried out an important research
project and the results will be fed directly into our
marketing strategy. The large amount of quality
feedback collected will help influence the way we
build relationships with our customers at all
levels.” -
Natasha Kyriakou, Marketing Manager,
MITIE Property Services

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Case Study – market share tracking for a trade association
Client benefits
Measures effectiveness of marketing strategy
Data informs strategy development for defending / growing share of core target markets
Market data supports marketing communications to drive product sales.
Project objective
Market share tracking
against competitor building
materials
Key achievements
Worked with client for 5
years to track the
performance of concrete
and project still ongoing
Undertake an extensive
market research
programme – around 700
interviews pa
“Leading Edge has a very good knowledge of the construction and
cementitious markets and have consistently produced the required
output on time and within budget. I would certainly recommend
them.”– Andrew Minson, Director, The Concrete Centre
Market share by material
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2007Q1 2007Q2 2007Q3 2007Q4 2008Q1 2008Q2 2008Q3 2008Q4 2009H1 2009H2 2010H1 2010H2
Rolling12monthsmarketshareby
material
Material A Competitor 1 Competitor 2

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Case Study – sales forecasting for an equipment distributor
Client benefits
Models provide more confidence for business and resource
planning - both nationally and regionally
Sales forecasts are now used when preparing official
reports to the city.
Project objective
Develop model to forecast
construction output and
product sales by sector so
that the company could
look at various scenarios
for the future
Key achievements
Developed 2 forecasting
models. One to forecast
total UK construction
output by sector and the
other to forecast sales by
product group
Historical fit was accurate
and the client now uses
both models as key inputs
to its planning process
“We were extremely pleased with the work and we would definitely
recommend using Leading Edge, they have added significant value to
our forecasting process.” –
Sarah Keedy, Marketing Director, Speedy Hire
All product sales - example graph
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
2005Q1
2005Q2
2005Q3
2005Q4
2006Q1
2006Q2
2006Q3
2006Q4
2007Q1
2007Q2
2007Q3
2007Q4
2008Q1
2008Q2
2008Q3
2008Q4
2009Q1
2009Q2
2009Q3
2009Q4
2010Q1
2010Q2
2010Q3
2010Q4
2011Q1
2011Q2
2011Q3
2011Q4
2012Q1
2012Q2
2012Q3
2012Q4
All products: Actual / Example :Forecast / Example

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Case Study – brand strategy review for a building
products manufacturer
Client benefits
Research revealed competitor acquisition strategy to be the most effective route to
increase customer sales
Identified areas for back office cost savings to improve profitability
Improved knowledge of customers will allow more targeted marketing and an improved
pricing structure to be developed.
Project objective
Identify the branding route
most likely to lead to the
company meeting its
profitability and market share
objectives.
Key achievements
Carried out 180 telephone
interviews to improve market
& competitor knowledge
Drew out the key conclusions
from data and provided
recommendations on brand
strategy
Brand 2
Competitor B
Competitor A
Brand
1
Competitor
C
Narrow High
Low
Wide
Perceived product prices
Productrange
Narrow High
Low
Wide
Perceived product prices
Productrange
Brand map from research
highlighted that the
company’s brands were in
danger of losing relevance
in the market.

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Case Study – assessing the market potential for a new
product for a building products manufacturer
Client benefits
Market and competitor analysis provided insight into the potential market size and the
scale of the opportunity and a list of the barriers to entry that needed to be overcome
Research suggested there is a market potential for the new product, but the timing for
market entry needed further consideration
Project objective
To provide an initial
assessment of the UK non
residential market for a new
product to provide
recommendations on the
level of investment in
manufacturing and marketing
Key achievement
Desk research plus a
combination of face-to-face
and telephone discussions
with key industry executives
to provide a full market
analysis
“We have used Leading Edge a number of times before and went to
them to help us evaluate a potential new product sector for the
building products market. As with previous research we were more
than happy with the results and would definitely use them again.” -
Malcolm Stamper, SAS International
New
commercial New public Total % change
2005 prices 2005 prices 2005 prices
2000 17,050 6,735 23,785
2001 16,906 6,794 23,699 -0.4
2002 17,103 8,355 25,458 7.4
2003 16,297 10,120 26,417 3.8
2004 17,191 11,197 28,388 7.5
2005 17,369 10,191 27,560 -2.9
2006 19,695 9,679 29,374 6.6
2007 22,178 9,205 31,383 6.8
2008 22,529 10,603 33,132 5.6
2009 16,120 11,457 27,577 -16.8
2010 14,060 10,251 24,311 -11.8
2011 14,096 8,893 22,989 -5.4

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Case Study – market research for a national contractor
Client benefits
Research provided comprehensive briefing for web designers
New website well received by internal staff and other stakeholders
Project objective
Re-launch website to
differentiate company from
competition and
communicate market
strengths to the target
audiences more effectively
Key achievement
Completed over 100
interviews in 4 weeks
using 5 questionnaires
delivering valuable insights
from stakeholder groups
Use of on-line research
technique kept project
costs low for the client
“Leading Edge delivered an excellent piece of research for HBG's new
website. The analysis and report were excellent.” –
Mukesh Parmar, BAM Construction

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Projects for overseas companies looking to expand into the UK
Analysed wood pellet market in GB; analysed wood pellet market in
Ireland
Developed a market entry strategy for a timber supplier
Analysed aggregates market and identified way forward to develop sales
for a specialist quarry
Identified suitable distributors for a flooring manufacturer
Assessed the HVAC market to identify suitability for new product launch
Analysed bark mulch market and developed key actions to develop sales.

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Typical contents page of a report for overseas company
1. Project objectives and research methodology
2. Summary of conclusions from research
3. The opportunity in the UK market
4. Potential issues for suppliers from the Republic of Ireland and barriers to entry
5. Actions required to exploit the opportunity
6. Detailed Research Findings:
I. Market size and trends
II. Forecasts for future demand
III. Route to market
IV. Potential customers
V. Competitors
VI. Competitor products
VII.Pricing and profitability
VIII.Legislation, taxation and certification
IX. Transport and sustainability

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4. Our client base
“ see who we have worked with”

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Over 90% of our clients are from the construction ,
environmental or related sectors
“A few of our clients
from recent years”

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Building product manufacturers
Akzo Nobel
Alumasc
Amtico
Ardex
Baggeridge Brick
Bostik
Building Adhesives Ltd
Caradon Stelrad
Castle Cement
Cemex
Chelwood Brick
Coillte
Coolrain
Ecocem
Gerflor
Gradus
Hanson
Howden
Hunter Plastics
Ibstock
Icopal
I R Security
John Lord
John Newton
Karndean
Knauf
Lafarge
Low & Bonar
Marley Eternit
Norman Hay
Portakabin
Ruberoid
Sandtoft
Sapa Profiles
SAS International
Siderise
Style
Tarkett
Tarmac
Tremco Illbruk
Upofloor
Urbis Lighting
Walsh Mechanical
Engineering

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Building contractors
Ashe Construction
BAM Construct
Beard Ltd
Bowmer & Kirkland
Bouygues
Colas
Cosmur Construction
Costain
EPS plc
ETSU Contracts
Geoffrey Osborne
Gratte Brothers
Imtech
Interserve Rail
John Lord
Kier Group
Leadbitter
MITIE
Morgan Est plc
Murray & Burrell
Pexhurst
ROK
SGB Contracts
Shanks Waste
Willmott Dixon

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Trade associations and professional bodies
Association of Consulting Engineers
Brick Development Association
British Cement Association
Builders Merchants Federation
Building Research Housing Group
Chartered Institute of Building
Constructing Excellence
The Concrete Centre
The Concrete Society
Interpave
Mineral Product Association

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Distributors
AEA Technology
Building Research Establishment
Constructing Excellence
East of England Development Agency
Enterprise Ireland
Environmental Technology Best
Practice Programme
Energy Technology Support Unit
Department of Transport & Regions
DTI
Environment Agency
Joint Environmental Markets Unit
NHS - including PCT’s
UKTI
Government and agencies
JT Atkinson & Sons Ltd
Lavendon Group plc
Enfield Timber Company
Hall & Co
Nationwide Access Ltd
Speedy Hire Plc
Travis Perkins plc

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Banks and financial
institutions
Avenue Capital
Camulos Capital
Deccan Value
Drew Newton
JefferiesGlenview
Capital
Oak Tree Capital
Och Ziff Capital Management
Octavian Advisers
Quadrangle Group
Redwood Capital
Select Equity
Sheffield Asset Management
Sterling Monaco
Varde Partners Europe
ALcontrol Laboratories
ALS Environmental
BT Retail
Claro Limited
Centrica
CRT Heaven
CPD Certification Service
Emap
Exova
Glenigan
Endat Standard Indexes
Frost & Sullivan
Openreach – BT Group company
Severn Trent Group
Shanks Group
Shield On Site Services
UCL Graduate School
Service providers

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What scores our clients gave us – customer feedback
questionnaire
Client scores out of 10 for last five completed projects
Client
The deliverables were
good value for money
You trust the
organisation and
would be happy to
use them again
You would be highly
likely to recommend
the organisation to
others if asked
A 8 8 8
B 10 10 10
C 10 10 10
D 8 9 8
E 9 10 10
Names are removed to protect client confidentiality

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www.lead-edge.co.uk
… delivering a better understanding of customers
and markets
Tel: 01252 279990
E-mail: leadingedge@lead-edge.co.uk