05/28/2026
Founded in 2017, CodeNext operates in the specialized area of life safety consulting, including Building Code and Fire Code analysis, accessibility reviews, and the design of fire alarm and sprinkler systems. The firm supports architects, owners, and design teams on projects where regulatory compliance and public safety are critical.
Like many consulting engineering firms, CodeNext grew organically in its early years. Reputation, responsiveness, and relationships drove initial momentum. According to Gerry Bourne, P.Eng., Partner at CodeNext, the firm’s early success was built on being practical, accessible, and easy to work with.
“We really did rely on that in the beginning. One project would go well, and somehow that person would tell someone else.”
Industry events, particularly those attended by architects, played an important role. Building Code consulting is a niche discipline, but one that architects in major centres understand and turn to when projects become complex. Being visible and approachable allowed CodeNext to earn trust and build a steady stream of work.
This approach sustained the firm through its early growth. However, as CodeNext matured, its leadership began to recognize that organic growth alone was no longer sufficient.
When Organic Growth Was No Longer Enough
As the firm grew, CodeNext experimented with basic digital marketing, including maintaining a website and running Google Ads. While these efforts increased inbound inquiries, they also exposed a problem.
The volume of work generated from the Google Ads did not align with the type of projects the firm wanted to prioritize long-term. Much of the inbound work was transactional, smaller in scale, or misaligned with the expertise and ambitions of the team. Internally, this affected morale. Externally, it did little to position CodeNext as a firm capable of handling larger, more complex work.
A defining moment came when CodeNext attempted to pursue a major project where its internal expertise was strong, but its external perception fell short.
“We didn’t even get a seat at the table. We were seen as the smaller, newer firm that couldn’t handle it, which was the opposite of the truth.”
Despite having team members with direct experience in similar facilities as this project called for, CodeNext was excluded in favour of larger, more established firms. That experience forced a hard realization: technical capability alone was not enough. The firm’s external positioning was not accurately reflecting who it was or what it could do.
A Structured Entry Point into Marketing
The catalyst for change came through participation in the Canadian Digital Adoption Program (CDAP). Initially, Bourne viewed the program as a way to improve digital tools. Instead, the audit identified a more fundamental issue: the absence of a clear, articulated marketing strategy.
That recommendation reframed marketing from a tactical activity to a strategic one. CodeNext decided to engage external support to develop a deliberate, structured approach.
The selection process to find a suitable marketing firm was pragmatic rather than exhaustive. Gerry and his business partner (Megan Nicoletti) relied on a trusted recommendation rather than a formal procurement exercise.
“It was fit, vibes, and recommendation. I didn’t know enough about marketing to create a complicated decision matrix.”
At that stage, deep industry specialization in engineering was less important than trust, alignment, and a sense that the marketing firm understood how small professional services businesses grow.
Learning What Actually Made CodeNext Different
What distinguished the early stages of the engagement was not the production of visible marketing assets, but the depth of discovery the marketing team led that took place before any ex*****on decisions were made.
Rather than starting with a website or social media plan, the marketing team focused on understanding how CodeNext actually operated and how it was experienced by others. This work centred on structured employee interviews and client interviews conducted independently, without CodeNext leadership present.
These interviews were not validation exercises. They were designed to surface patterns in perception, language, and behaviour: why clients chose CodeNext, why they stayed, what should change, what could improve and what employees valued most about working there.
“We learned things about ourselves that we hadn’t taken the time to learn before.”
The interviews revealed that CodeNext was already differentiated in meaningful ways. Clients consistently described trust, responsiveness, and practical expertise. Employees reflected a strong cultural alignment around flexibility, professionalism, and respect. Importantly, many external stakeholders assumed CodeNext was larger and more established than it actually was.
Read the full case study: https://bit.ly/4wDgIss
