Over the years, I've seen all sorts of Capability Statements cross mydesk. Usually, they're provided as a starting point when we're working with anew construction client.
And some are quite an eye-opener.
Not because the businesses lack experience or capability. Quite theopposite. Many are established contractors with impressive project histories,specialist equipment and excellent reputations.
The problem? You'd never know it from their Capability Statement.
The Company Brochure
Beautiful photography, generous white space, plenty of pages and a fileso large you hesitate before emailing it.
It looks impressive, but there's very little substance. The reader seeswhat the business looks like, but not necessarily what it can deliver or why itshould be considered.
The Self-Promotion Exercise
We're industry-leading, innovative, dynamic, passionate,customer-focused and committed to excellence.
Wonderful. But what does any of that actually tell a potential client?
It's remarkable how many words can be used to say absolutely nothing.
The Scattergun Approach
This business does everything for everyone.
Every service is listed, every possible market mentioned, and thedocument tries to appeal to commercial builders, government agencies andhomeowners simultaneously.
The message is essentially: Here are all our services. You work outwhat we can do for you.
Unfortunately, that's asking the reader to do the hard work.
A client once forwarded me a Capability Statement from a large,established manufacturing business.
His accompanying email simply said:
"These guys need your help."
He wasn't wrong.
It was a single-page letterhead document that looked more like someone'sfirst résumé than the credentials of an experienced manufacturer.
The business clearly had capability. What it didn't have was a way ofcommunicating it.
I don't know how many opportunities that document may have cost them.But I do know it cost them the business of the person who forwarded it to me.
That's the commercial importance of a first impression.
A Capability Statement becomes a genuine business development tool whenit's developed around the opportunities a business wants to attract.
Before we start designing, we need to understand the intended reader.
What's important to them?
It might be emergency response, an experienced team, in-house plant,geographical coverage, scalability or a single point of accountability.
They may need reassurance that you can work alongside other trades,manage complex site requirements or deliver within agreed scope and budget.
And they'll want evidence.
That's where the substance comes in:
Branding and presentation matter too. They're part of how a potentialclient judges your professionalism before they've even spoken to you.
There's no cookie-cutter approach.
A civil contractor pursuing government infrastructure projects may needa different document from the one used to approach commercial developers.
A business working across telecommunications, utilities and maintenancemay benefit from separate Capability Statements for each discipline, supportedby a Group overview.
Opportunities change too. Infrastructure and defence spending, demandfor data centres, emerging technologies and shifts in construction activity canall create reasons to reposition existing capabilities.
Sometimes the opportunity isn't about developing a new service. It'sabout presenting an established capability to a different market.
So here's the question:
If a potential client received your Capability Statement tomorrow, wouldthey understand what you can deliver, why you're credible and where you fitinto their next project?
Or would they simply see another company brochure?
Because the real value of a Capability Statement isn't in how many pagesit has. It's in the opportunities it helps your business pursue.
For more information and strategy advice, contactarticle author and construction specialist, Susan Jones, director of LivingLines branding agency on 0410 590 737.
Receive our quarterly news and branding best practice
42a Burnell Street,
Russell Lea, NSW 2046 Australia
Submit a quote request form and leave the rest to us.
