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Whether you’re in Sales, Marketing or Tendering, at ProTenders we’re always looking for ways to make your daily work lighter and more efficient. This was precisely the idea behind our latest Tag feature which was recently added due to popular demand.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: ProTenders, the leading construction intelligence and e-tendering company, announced today that they have been shortlisted for the Digital Business of the Year and Disruption of the Year categories for the Gulf Capital SME Awards 2018. The Awards, currently in its 7^th year, celebrate and recognize outstanding SMEs from the UAE that have shown promising growth and disruptive innovation in their industries.

The first quarter of 2018 has seen an upward trend when it comes to the construction industry in the GCC. Key investments are being made into the diversification of the oil economy across the region, primarily witnessed through the keen development of transport and social infrastructure projects that support the various GCC states’ visions. At the same time, the industry is also experiencing a number of challenges this 2018, and addressing these challenges will further open the doors of opportunity to industry players.

As history shows, its possible for sudden, disruptive and largely unpredictable technology shifts to occur. Renewable energy is one such technology shift that has in recent years been disrupting the oil economy to lead the charge when it comes to energy of the future. With plenty of sun to go around, solar has become one of the most viable energy sources evidenced by the recent spurt of multiple solar construction projects around the GCC region and the world.

Waste generated by construction does not just have a massively negative impact on the environment, it also comes with a huge economic price tag. According to a World Bank Report, construction waste from building materials accounts for half of the solid waste generated annually. Therefore, it pays for regional and global players in the construction industry to examine their waste disposal methods and make significant changes to create more sustainable ways of working.

Today, roughly half of the world’s population live in cities; over the next thirty years this figure is expected to increase to 66 percent and the Middle East is no exception. According to a report by PWC, the Middle East has played witness to one of the most rapidly advancing urban populations, with the GCC among the world’s highest urbanized regions where 85 percent of the population already live in cities. These trends have created increasing demands for sustainable construction with an emerging need to build upwards. As a result, players in the construction industry can no longer act in silos, and organizations throughout the region have a role in driving a sustainable agenda if we are to halt or slow the challenges of a growing population and changing environment. 

More than a year and a half after Saudi Arabia unveiled economic reforms under Vision 2030, the Kingdom appears to be making considerable headway in planning and launching key projects that will ultimately give a much-needed boost to its construction sector.

Marketing is a core strategic function for most B2B and B2C companies. However, in several construction SMEs, it unfortunately, tends to take a back seat. I’ve been to many meetings where Directors or GMs will say they 'ran an advertising campaign with no return', or that they 'need to raise their company profile to boost sales but without wanting to spend money'. No wonder many construction SMEs do not give marketing the attention it so rightly deserves. 

Here are three tips to see how you can prove the value of marketing in your company and leverage it to win more projects:

With almost two months officially down, 2018 is already underway and as we gather – it’s set out to be a year of innovation and growth for the construction industry for the region. 

As suggested by a top Khansaheb Civil Engineering official, when compared to last year, we should expect to see a ‘flood’ of new projects hitting the UAE construction market in the first quarter of 2018, followed by a smooth flow of orders throughout the rest of the year. Besides implying consistent growth, this means that when operating in an industry that is gaining momentum by the day, it remains crucial for all players to stay well informed on what changes may come their way and improve or disrupt their plans for the year.