Cwmbran-based ERH Group has been shortlisted for the prestigious Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards, hosted annually by The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

This year Canmol, meaning ‘to praise’ in Welsh, introduced sector-based categories for the first time, ranging from tourism to technology. A total of 24 marketing entries have been shortlisted across eight categories.

ERH Group is one of the country's leading privately-owned building and civil engineering contractors, with offices based in Cwmbran, Conwy and Yate. The group consists of ERH Communications, ERH Construction, E R Hemmings Building and HemTech Systems, and offers a broad range of solutions within the construction, civil utilities and highway technology sectors.

In order for the company to meet its ambitious growth plans, it developed a construction-focused customer relationship management (CRM) system, which has enabled group wide access to all project pipeline data, not dependent on individually held data.

The project has significantly increased customer data transparency across the group, with key account management principles and strategic selling models also being incorporated to create a truly powerful client management tool. It has also added data to the knowledge pool, proving useful for the assessment process for future bids and in turn, helped to increase effectiveness of the bid management process.

In 2012, ERH Group reported its turnover rose to £42m – an increase of more than 50 per cent compared to the previous year. The profit before tax rose sharply to £1m, following a re-organisation of the group’s activities in a drive for greater efficiency.

Denise O'Leary, marketing director at ERH Group, shared her delight at being shortlisted for a Canmol award: “Being nominated for this prestigious award within Wales highlights the strategic influence of marketing in the construction and civils industry, which is particularly valuable during recent turbulent market conditions.

“This nomination raises the profile of CRM as a strategic business decision making tool and the skills of the marketing team able to design its structure, enabling us to implement and deliver bespoke campaigns tailored to each audience.

“The ERH marketing team has a broad range of experience, from someone just starting their CIM Professional Certificate through to those holding Post Graduate Diplomas. For our work to be recognised within the industry is a huge motivator, demonstrating how innovation, strong marketing practice and an ethos of competing through quality can deliver results.”

The final winners, along with the individual ‘Outstanding Contribution’ and ‘New Marketer’ awards, will be announced at a glittering awards dinner, held at Cardiff City Hall on Wednesday 02 October 2013.

A panel of 15 business and marketing experts were responsible for judging the entries under the chairmanship of Dr Jonathan Deacon, South Wales Business School, University of South Wales and member of the CIM Board of Trustees.

Dr Deacon said: “There are a great deal of SMEs represented in the shortlist as well as the established brands, which goes to show that excellent marketing can be achieved on any budget. The Canmol finalists truly demonstrate the wealth of marketing talent that we have here in Wales.”

Richard Houdmont, director for Wales of The Chartered Institute of Marketing, added: “Canmol is a celebration of excellent business results achieved through innovative, creative and professional marketing. CIM is committed to setting standards within the marketing industry and Canmol helps those who enter to benchmark themselves against top marketers in the country and share best practice among their peers.”