UK Enterprise Awards 2018

SME NEWS / UK Enterprise Awards 2018 133 , Company: Scorpion Automotive Ltd Contact: Carl James Address: Scorpion House, Drumhead Road, Chorley, PR6 7DE, UK Phone: 01257 249 928 Website: www.scorpionauto.com Best Integrated Sales & Marketing Strategy 2018 Scorpion Automotive Ltd UKE18081 ScorpionAutomotive is theUK’s leadingdesignerandmanufacturerofvehicle tracking, telematics and security systems for a wide range of vehicles. We invited Carl James, Scorpion’s Head of Marketing and Sales Operations, to tell us more about the secrets behind the firm’s success. us unique in our industry and enables our customers and our own departments to seamlessly collaborate with each other. “The vast diversity of businesses we work with and vehicles they operate mean their telematics reporting requirements and security needs can vary tremendously. As we’re offering our own products as opposed to reselling someone else’s we’re able to accommodate these. An initial meeting with a customer may involve myself, an account manager and an engineer. We deeply engage with our customers to understand their exacting needs as well as using their feedback to drive continuous improvement and product development. “ “Once a solution is agreed, both prototype and volume manufacture is carried out in our in-house state of the art electronics manufacturing facility. In the case of our portfolio of tracking products, web and mobile app development is performed in-house too so custom requirements are often easily accommodated” “In addition to our telematics offering, we also provide Thatcham accredited, insurance approved 24/7 theft monitoring via our in-house team.” “In summary, Scorpion operates rather like a Formula One Racing Team, with our customer in the driving seat and our multi- disciplined yet cohesive team working tirelessly around them.” We asked Carl to offer tips to successful sales and marketing strategy formulation and achievement in such a complex organisation. “I believe it’s crucial that strategy makers visit the frontline to meet customers and to listen to their own salespeople. These people hear customer’s views first-hand, often have good awareness of competitor activity and identify emerging market trends. “Meet regularly with each of your departments to understand their daily challenges and how these may impact upon your revenue, profit and brand objectives. For me personally, opting to move into an open office ensures I’m visible to, and in ear-shot of our internal sales, customer service, tracking and technical teams. This gives me on-tap insight into the daily performance of our products, service delivery and everyday challenges of our customers, their needs, views and opinions. “ “In a fast moving and competitive environment, strategies should be dynamic. Feedback from staff across your business should inform the strategy as much as the strategy directs the efforts of those staff. In this way, you ‘keep it real’- since through engaging staff in the strategy’s development they’ve bought into it, understood it and agreed its viability. You therefore increase the likelihood of success.” Established in 1973, today Scorpion Automotive is a trusted provider to vehicle manufacturers, aftermarket dealers and all types of businesses operating fleets of vehicles including cars, vans, HGVs, plant and motorcycles. Operating across such a varied market means that Carl and his team have to often tailor both their product and service offering to individual client needs. He explores how the team goes about this and how it works to ensure that Scorpion creates a lasting impression on everyone it supports. “Scorpion’s sales and marketing success is largely attributable to its customer centric approach that’s made possible by our complete in-house capabilities. This makes