Help with strategy, systems, planning and brand cohesion

About Active Building Management

Active Building Management is one of Auckland’s leading building management companies specialising in building management, maintenance, grounds, after-hours and cleaning services. Active’s owners, Brady and Kylee Williams, built the business around a philosophy of taking a proactive and highly responsive approach to building management, fuelled by their flair for problem-solving. 

The situation and challenges – maintaining consistency with a growing team

After sixteen years, the company had grown to the size where a management team was established to take care of day-to-day operations. It was clear to Brady and Kylee that with more team members involved, there was a greater need to put structures and systems in place to ensure that the vision they set could be delivered in a cohesive manner. Part of this vision is active marketing – in particular, a robust brand that continues to build authority over time and grows a network of Active advocates.

The challenge was introducing a marketing strategy and structure in a way that would be manageable for the small team that doesn’t have a dedicated in-house resource. The Sales Manager and others in the team, would need to be able to use the marketing strategy, tools and guidance provided to plan and implement a marketing calendar, take ownership, and become self-sufficient in the marketing function despite not having a background in this area.

The solution – a tailor-made outsourced marketing package

Flex Marketing was brought in to provide marketing expertise on a combination of strategic and hands-on marketing services. An outsourced marketing package was customised to cover these specific requirements.

From day one Brady and Kylee felt confident that they were going to get exactly the kind of help they needed. “Andie paid attention to our unique circumstances and pitched the information at the right level and at a pace that didn’t feel overwhelming. She jumped into developing some communications pieces – with these tangible solutions, it felt like we were immediately making progress. Alongside this practical help, she guided us through a strategic marketing process that eventually ticked off all the elements of a marketing plan”, commented Brady. “She was great at prioritising tasks so that they were tackled in a logical order without overloading anyone”, he added.

The output – unified branding and marketing foundations to support further growth  

Over the course of a year, Flex Marketing and relevant members of the Active team worked through the following marketing and design aspects via the package that incorporated a couple of workshops and monthly meetings:

• An initial marketing audit to identify where the gaps were and get to know the business 
• Active was provided with a marketing plan outline that served as a roadmap to see where they were heading
• Professional visual documentation of mission, vision and values for internal display
• Development of customer personas and buyer journeys to fully understand their target audiences and a brand story that captures the role that Active plays for their customers
• A brand script – written from a customer’s perspective, this can be used to induct new team members and bring to life the problems that Active helps customers overcome 
• The setting of marketing objectives, strategies/initiatives and smart targets through to the tactical actions needed to deliver those documented in a simple plan
• A simple audit of website content management system with recommendations, including better SEO practices
• The theory behind the marketing cycle of planning, implementing, analysing and adjusting and the importance of measurement and tracking
• A process to formalise the chosen marketing channels and help inform a marketing calendar and communications plan
• A formal brief was developed for refining and refreshing the branding, along with creating brand guidelines to ensure better consistency. Flex Marketing boosted resources by engaging a graphic designer for this work, conducting a brand analysis with recommendations, and managing the process throughout. The resulting graphics included artwork for, and help with, the following:
  • Sales proposal, including copywriting by Flex Marketing
  • Business cards, email signatures
  • Sub-brand logos and brand icons
  • Signage for inside buildings
  • Flyers to promote key services
  • Comprehensive brand guidelines document, including identification of wider colour palette, fonts and tone of voice
  • Establishment of email marketing platform and template for EDM
  • Establishment of a simple graphic design tool that could be used inhouse for social media along with the development of branded social media templates
  • Introduction of professional publication software that could be used in-house to edit and maintain newly designed artwork
  • Sourcing of professional imagery

The outcome – marketing milestones achieved through steady and continuous progress 

From the start, Brady accepted that outsourcing marketing for only a limited number of hours each week would involve taking a ‘slow and steady’ approach to chip away at various marketing projects. 

“Reflecting on how much we have learnt and achieved over the past year working with Flex Marketing, it highlights how over time, consistent action, no matter how small, adds up,” says Brady. “We have now established a solid foundation for our branding. All the necessary tools and assets are in place to project a stronger, more consistent brand voice and the team is empowered to undertake their own marketing with greater confidence because of the guidance and support provided.”

Brady further comments on the flexibility of the marketing services provided. “We never felt pressured to do any aspect of marketing – Andie presented the marketing plan outline as a way of suggesting what would be useful and typical to undertake through this process, however, we were free to ‘park’ anything that is not a priority for us right now.” 

“Excellent quality” is how Brady answered the question about the graphic design that was provided through Flex Marketing. “We are really happy with the overall look and feel of our brand visuals and feel that the professionalism of our materials has been lifted up a few notches.” He adds that having Andie’s combination of marketing and design talents was very handy and that he was impressed with how well-informed she kept them informed regarding progress on projects; “she’s highly organised and a great communicator; explaining things clearly and ensuring our team had the opportunity to give input throughout.”

“Even though the marketing reins have been handed over to our in-house team now, it is reassuring to know that Flex Marketing is able to provide ad-hoc marketing services if further support is needed in future,” concludes Brady.

If your branding could do with a refresh or your marketing needs to get ‘sorted’, get in touch with Andie at Flex Marketing to explore how outsource marketing services may help.