Business Development Group Report

Published: 5th February 2017 | Issue 40

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Adding Value, Finding More Business

2016 was a busy year for the newly formed Business Development (BD) Group. The group’s raison d'être was changed from the historic “Marketing Group” and we quickly transitioned to our new role, with some quick wins.

We now focus on adding value to our members with initiatives designed to help them find more business.

Firstly, the group and BVAA as a whole wish to thank John Hancill for his many years of service. John has retired from Emerson and left the BD Group end of 2016. We would like to welcome to our group Dave Godfrey from Rotork – Dave was one of the stars of the BVAA Future Leaders Programme and we’re sure he’ll make a great asset.

In other personnel news – the BVAA has engaged ex Cameron Sales Manager Rob Boycott as BVAA’s BD professional. Rob is working on a consultancy basis specifically to open up opportunities for Desktops with target companies, in many sectors not just O&G. Rob started in January and already his plans are starting to take shape.

Desktops

It was a quiet year for Desktops with O&G companies still adjusting to the lower oil price and one assumes the immediate shock of the “Brexit” vote. We still managed a successful return to Bechtel and also held a smaller event at ConocoPhillips. Both were well attended and feedback was excellent. The plan for 2017 is to get at least 6 desktops in a number of sectors to reflect shifting market trends and member focus.

British Valves Website

Q4 2016 saw the launch of www.britishvalves.com. This is a direct replacement for the DVD which contained members’ brochures, with the added benefit now of having a truly global reach! Members are encouraged to add up-todate brochures themselves as soon as possible, as this is a live website indexed by Google. To ensure no coverage is lost, instead of the DVD we will be giving away at trade shows and exhibitions USB-based business Cards that feature a QR code and the website address.

New Market Forecast

As readers may be aware 2016 was the last year in which we received the EIF Global Valve Forecast from Vivian Woodward. This left us with a large gap to fill as we recognise that a lot of our members rely on information from this report for their business plans. We spent 7 months negotiating with the hugely respected economic reporting company, Oxford Economics. Concurrently we conferred with some of our members and we have specified the reports we need in the countries and sectors required, including a “Deep Dive” into the UK Market, which will be a separate report. We recognise a large proportion of our members serve only the UK so hopefully this will be of real use to them.

The first OEF report is due for release early in Q2 2017 and we also have OEF’s representative speaking at our Spring conference in May 2017. Crucially, despite the huge investment required, both reports will remain as free-issue items, exclusive to BVAA members – a massive membership benefit.

Exhibitions

Valve World 2016 in November in Dusseldorf was another tremendous success. Several BVAA members fledged our Group Stand ‘nest’ this year, taking their own stands, but the BVAA presence was as impressive as ever with several members co-exhibiting on our booths, as did our USA colleagues, the VMA. Despite the market downturn, the show was fully-booked and spread over three full halls. And BVAA once again hosted a convivial British Reception at the end of the first day.

We also had a productive week at the Fluid Power Show at the NEC last year, something we’re keen to explore again.

Offshore Europe 2017 is eagerly anticipated and BVAA will have its usual stand. The 2015 event was somewhat muted, and since then the oil price has tanked, and then risen to a more reassuring level.

The job losses in the sector have however been humbling. We await the show with considerable interest.

Protel Project Tracking Tool

In 2016 we worked with the Project Tracking specialists, Protel. With our help they designed a data visualisation tool that can show how many projects, and of what value, have been signed off in any single or combined geographical area, over a specifiable period. BVAA Members have free access to this information and take up so far has been excellent. Members report it really helps them make BD decisions and assists their sales teams in deciding what sectors and locations to focus upon. The BVAA have also negotiated a Member discount to take up the full Protel service which contains project-specific data, such as company and contact names for the live projects. A really valuable tool!

Telephone:	01295 221270
Email:	enquiry@bvaa.org.uk
Website:	www.bvaa.org.uk
	More information on the British Valve and Actuator Association BVAA Member Directory Page

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