The Status of Marketing in Quantity Surveying Consultancy Firms

Abstract

There is an increasing recognition that marketing plays an indispensable role in enhancement of the professionals’ performance and the growth of their businesses in the midst of competition resulting from changes that are occurring in the construction industry. However, little research considers the level of adoption and implementation of marketing in the management of professional service organisations operating in the built environment consulting industry. This paper reports on a study carried out to investigate the status of marketing in the operations of a Quantity Surveying Consultancy (QSC) business in Ghana. The result should assist management in self evaluating their performance. A questionnaire survey of QSC firms was undertaken to investigate their current practice in terms of marketing organisation, marketing policy and marketing strategies being pursued by the QSC firms. Findings show that no department exist in the firms that are solely responsible for marketing functions. Regarding marketing policy and strategy, varying views exist in the firms as no particular trend can be traced in the responses; there is therefore a need for better understanding of marketing and the ways by which it can be implemented to achieve intended results.

Keywords: Quantity surveying, marketing, marketing strategy, marketing policy, Ghana.