Last week ESP Projects were at SheffEx, Sheffield’s annual business exhibition held at Pond’s Forge. We have visited before, but this was our first time to exhibit. It was definitely a positive experience but perhaps not for the obvious reasons. What was interesting speaking with other stall-holders at SheffEx is that, for many of them, the main benefit of attending these events is not to make sales to visitors, but to swap notes and ideas (and possibly do business) with the other companies and organisations in attendance. It was really interesting to meet people from other businesses in the region and it is striking how much potential there is for these local companies to support one another.
Lots of people we spoke to at SheffEx were surprised to hear how big ESP Projects has got, and to learn of some of the clients we now look after. “Why haven’t we heard of you?” some would say, and the answer is that unless they have some connection with one of our many clients, so far there is no reason why they would have done.
We have never really pro-actively marketed ESP until very recently. Instead of marketing, we have been focussing on getting things right for our customers. On the back of this work has tended to come to us by way of recommendations. From a very strong foundation in the voluntary sector, where we remain the leading IT provider, we are starting to attract more commercial sector clients. This is a good thing, for as our capacity grows, so does our potential to deliver value for all our clients.
One thing is certain: ESP’s intrinsic character isn’t going to change because we have decided to market our business in one way or another. We will never forget our roots and we are first and foremost a company which is committed to delivering benefits to the community. The fact is we can do this better by growing, and if that means working harder at putting the word out about the good work of ESP, then so be it! We want more people to know about ESP Projects and we want the community to be more aware of the work that we do and the benefits we bring.
So.. see you at SheffEx 2016?
