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Top 8 Ways to Onboard Rookies to the Building Products Industry

30 May

Does this remind you of your company’s onboarding process?
Dilbert comic linked from Dilbert.com

How do you get new people up to speed on this industry they’ve entered?

Last week, I talked about the aging workforce of the building products industry and the personality differences of the milennial generation that is the future of our business. Beyond those things, however, there’s another fundamental challenge: getting to know the ins and outs of this business.

They’re a generation that does less work with their hands than their parents or grandparents did so, overall, there’s going to be a fundamental challenge of understanding the tools and processes that go into building and remodeling. Then, there’s the dynamics of a a multi-channel business like ours: the manufacturer>distributor>dealer>pro>homeowner sales process isn’t the same as the manufacturer>retailer>consumer one most of them may have an understanding of.

With all that in mind, I came up with this list of the Top 8 Ways to Onboard Rookies to the Building Products Industry. This list may not apply for all businesses, but I’ve focused on manufacturers in creating it:

  1. Send them to the International Builders’ Show (IBS), and not just for the exhibits. Send them for 3-4 days and get them to attend a variety of seminars, like this one I attended on panelized homes, for example.
  2. Ensure they’re subscribed to a range of publications. By that, I mean they should be reading a dealer-focused one (ProSales or LBM Journal), as well as at least one publication each targeted to builders, remodelers, architects and consumers.
  3. Put them in the passenger seat with one of your territory sales reps. Let them see the dynamics of a sales rep’s daily interactions, and see what a sales rep does each day.
  4. Put them behind the counter. Whether you sell through a distributor or not, your product is almost certainly being sold behind the counter of a lumberyard, big box or hardware store. Get your rookie there for a day to see what that’s like.
  5. Go build a house with Habitat for Humanity. What better way to understand how a house gets built then to do it yourself?
  6. Let them own a topic. Milennials love to “own” something at work, so give them the chance to dive it and get smart about a topic your team might be lacking for knowledge in.
  7. Put them on a committee. If there’s an opportunity for them to interact with people outside their department via an internal committee, let them try that.
  8. Put them on the line. Rookies should know how your product is made – the best way to learn that is to go to the plant and even work somewhere on the line if possible.

While it probably isn’t possible to invest in all these things for each new employee, keep them in mind as you bring on people new to the building industry. Just being able to do a few of them might make the difference in your employee embracing this industry and becoming a future star, and that employee moving on to greener pastures.

Gray Hairs Everywhere in the Building Products Industry!

24 May

Image linked from msnbc.com

Our industry is aging rapidly; how can we overcome this challenge?

Have you ever thought about how our industry is aging? Over the last several years, many people have been “right-sized” out of the building material industry, as well as made the decision to leave. Take a look at your organization including your outside sales forces, GMs, product managers, marketers; do you have a good mix of ages spread throughout? The sad fact is many younger people were forced out of our industry over the past five years, and now many organizations need to bring in younger people and train their future leaders.

So, if you believe we need new blood infused throughout our organizations to revitalize the future, what does that look like? What does that generation need and what motivates them to take the industry to the next level of success? And how does that group want and need to be managed to be successful? Let’s start with that.

First off, what the heck is a Millennial? It is an abbreviation for the Millennial Generation, a term used by demographers to describe a segment of the population born between 1980 and 2000 (approximately). Sometimes referred to in the media as “Generation Y”, Millennials are the children of the post-WWII baby boomer generation.

A few facts about this group:

  • There are about 76 million Millennials in the United States (based on research using the years 1978-2000).
  • Millennials are the last generation born in the 20th century.
  • 20% have at least one immigrant parent.
  • A number of studies, including one by the Center for American Progress, anticipate that Millennials will be the first American generation to do less well economically than their parents.
  • They’re the most-diverse generation of Americans yet, with over 40% being non-white. And their children will be even more diverse, as American being the “melting pot” of the world continues.

As a general rule, they have a “can-do” attitude about tasks at work and look for feedback about how they are doing frequently, even daily. They crave a variety of tasks and expect they will accomplish every one of them. Positive and confident, millennials are ready to take on the world. So, here are 8 tips for managing this diverse population:

  1. Provide structure. Goals are clearly stated and progress assessed. Define assignments and success factors.
  2. Provide leadership and guidance. Millennials want to look up to you, learn from you, and receive daily feedback from you. They want “in” on the whole picture and to know the scoop. Plan to spend a lot of time teaching and coaching and be aware of this commitment before you hire them.
  3. Encourage the Millennial’s self-assuredness, “can-do” attitude, and positive personal self-image. They are ready to take on the world. Their parents told them they can do it – they can. Encourage – don’t squash or contain them.
  4. Take advantage of their comfort with teams. They are used to working in groups and teams. This is different than earlier generations with a Lone Ranger mentality. Develop team environments and watch them thrive.
  5. Listen. Your millennial employees are used to loving parents who scheduled their lives around their children’s activities. Because of this child-centric upbringing, they need their opinions and ideas to be heard.
  6. Create a challenge. Boring is bad! They seek ever-changing tasks within their work. Don’t bore them, ignore them, or trivialize their contribution.
  7. Celebrate their multi-tasking ability. These employees can talk on the phone, send emails, text, answer a question . . . all at the same time. It’s multi-tasking to a whole new level.
  8. Provide a fun, employee-centered workplace. Millennials want to enjoy their work. They want to enjoy their workplace. They want to make friends in their workplace. Worry if your millennial employees aren’t laughing, going out with friends for lunch, and helping plan the next company event or committee.

By some recent counts, 75,000,000 Millennials are preparing to join or joining the workforce. Think about how they could impact your building products company and what fresh thinking they could bring to your organization. Get ready for them. They will impact our future in a positive way!

Where does Innovation come from for Building Product Industry Marketers?

15 May

Linked from InnovationPOV.com

How can you drive creative thinking, which leads to innovation, in your organization?

As building product marketers, most of us are hard-core product marketers that have seen flashes of innovation over the years either in products, service offerings or unique marketing programs. But, how do you translate innovation and innovative thinking into everything?

First off, creative thinking drives innovation, but at this point, it’s important to define creativity. According to Dictionary.com, it’s “the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.” According to a study by Adobe, a vast majority of people around the world know creativity is crucial to economic expansion, the development of society, and their personal growth. Yet, only 1 in 4 actually feel they are living up to their creative potential. What’s the cause of this “creativity gap”? Let’s explore the key findings.

  1. Creativity is important: 80% of the people surveyed believe creativity is key to economic growth and 64% believe it is valuable to society. And 75% feel that being creative enables them to make a difference in their own lives, while another two-third believe it helps them make a difference in the lives of others. In a world in which innovation drives the economy and in which more people than ever have the opportunity to be creative, this is not surprising. And it’s good news. But here’s the rub.
  2. Creativity is not happening as often as it could or should: While 80% of respondents felt we all have the potential to be creative, they also stated that they spend only a third of their time being creative and only 25% felt they were living up to their creative potential. So what are the inhibitors to creativity?
  3. Organizational behavior is one key constraint: 2 institutions, schools and businesses, both have a tendency to inhibit creativity. Almost 60% felt creativity was stifled in our educational systems. And while a slight majority of people felt companies were demanding more creativity, 75% felt pressure to be productive was limiting creative potential in the workplace.
  4. Daily pressures and habits are the other limiting factor – by this I mean a lack of time and money. 1 contributing factor to lack of “creative” time is the increase in the amount of time we spend online. So what can be done?
  5. Provide the time, training, tools, and environment to enable creativity: these were the items the study found as most helpful towards increasing creativity. For those of us in leadership roles at business, if we truly demand creativity, we must empower our people to be creative by ensuring they have the means and permission to actually do so.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we, as individuals, must not use the limits of organizations as an excuse to not be creative. It is up to each of us to get inspired, make the time, equip ourselves with the means and provide an environment to allow our creativity to flourish. It’s crucial to our own well being and the well being of the building materials industry in the next decade. Creativity that leads to innovation will be what creates the new norm for our industry and maybe help us all stop talking about the “old days” before the recession.

Further Reading

How can Building Product Marketers create their own “World-Wide Rave?”

11 May

Image linked from CalTech.edu

6 Core Rules to help you get people talking about your ideas from David Meerman Scott.

I read a book a few years back and thought the ideas were powerful enough to pick it up and review again. The book is World Wide RAVE by David Meerman Scott. The basic idea behind the book is to create triggers that get millions of people to spread your ideas and share your stories. In the world of building product marketing, we know how important relationships are, and years ago we called this “word of mouth” marketing. With technology, those basic ideas can be infused with steroids and put into overdrive. It may sound obvious but, in order for people to share your ideas and stories on the web, you must make something worth sharing.

Basically, Meerman contends there are 6 core rules:

  1. Nobody cares about your products (except you). Yes, sad but true. People care about themselves and ways to solve their problems.
  2. No coercion required. You don’t have to trick people to engage with free or % off deals, engage them with relevant content – no coercion required.
  3. Lose control. You have to be willing to lose control of your messages for this concept to even have a chance of success.
  4. Put down roots. It’s simple and the same here as in the off-line world. If you want to receive a letter, you need to send one to someone first. If you want your ideas to spread, you need to be involved in online communities of people who actively share.
  5. Create triggers that encourage people to share. Your content needs to solve someone’s problem, be interesting, or funny, or even outrageous to gain traction.
  6. Point the world to your virtual doorstep. Engaging content drives better search results.

Simple right? And, if it is, why are so many organizations still not doing this? Well, Scott offers up 26 different challenges to us to get past the logjam; some of my favorites:

  1. You have to answer the questions—what is interesting about you and your organization? Why do people like to do business with you? How are you and your organization unique?
  2. Never talk about your products and services again. Focus on your buyer personae and how you can solve problems for them.
  3. How can you push the envelope of what is tried and true in your market? What can you talk about that others are too scared to touch?
  4. Every company has something fascinating or unique that can be turned into a video that people want to share.
  5. What proprietary data and metrics do you have that would be valuable to others? Publish them.
  6. Think about how your organization can do work with bloggers or other influential online contributors such as podcasters and video bloggers. Include them in your press conferences, schedule interviews with them along with any traditional media journalists or include them in your product tests.

Just think about the last time you were at the stadium watching your favorite sports team – one person stood up and started the wave and it quickly spread to thousands. Get out there and create your “rave.”

Monitoring Your Competitors in the Building Products Industry – Great Quotes Series

24 Apr

Henry Ford in 1919. Linked from Wikipedia Commons

“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.”

- Henry Ford

This is the first in an ongoing series of posts using great quotes and applying them to the building products industry. We hope you enjoy the series!

As marketers, no doubt you’ve talked with the CEO or other leader of your organization and been told, “Competitor X is doing Action Y; why aren’t we doing that yet?”

In recent years, those conversations many times are related to technology like mobile websites/apps or social media. All too often, companies in all segments of business fall into the “me too” trap of simply copying what their competitors are doing, rather than examining their business and developing product or service solutions that truly move the customer forward.

Developing those solutions is the theme for blogs, conferences and books all over the world because it’s such a critical need for all organizations, but it’s incredibly hard to do at the same time because there are so many factors involved. However, I don’t think any single factor is more important in the building products industry than engaging the people out in the field (field reps, territory sales reps, territory managers, etc).

Why?

  • They’re with your customers every day.
  • They’re frequently younger and closer to the technology that drives so much innovation today.
  • Because they’re out in the field and younger, they’re less likely to be bogged down by organizational structure and history, which can both be barriers to innovation.

So what’s the best way to engage them? Here’s five ways to start:

  1. Take the focus off sales (momentarily). While those field people are many times salespeople, they need to understand what a difference they can make for the organization, beyond just hitting their quotas.
  2. Shut Up and Listen. Building off #1 – by understanding & engaging with a customer’s business, they can understand what a customer means, not just hear what they say – your field people need to embrace that.
  3. Get them together. How often do your field teams have the chance to get together and figure out how to move the customer forward? You’ve probably got sales meetings, but do those meetings include time to brainstorm and discuss ways to improve the overall business?
  4. Empower them. As the CMO, people in the field may not be direct reports for you, and it’s easy for great ideas to get lost in the chain of command. Empower those people to contact you directly or develop a system to bring ideas to the forefront, such as a forum/message board on your company Intranet.
  5. Reward them. It doesn’t have to just be cold hard cash, though that’s great too. People need to feel valued and appreciated, especially if their idea is the big one.

Further Reading:

Signs of Life for Building Products Marketers

19 Apr

We are constantly adapting to the ebbs and flow of the housing and building industry.  DIY customers are reportedly buying more and remodelers are getting their hands dirty again. As a CMO, we need to consider how these changes affect our marketing strategy and spending.

Strong spending on gardening equipment, furniture, and building materials in March could mean homeowners are busily preparing to make their homes more attractive to buyers. Retail and food service sales rose 0.8% from February to a seasonally adjusted $411.07 billion, the Commerce Department reported. But while overall sales were up 6.5% year-over-year, building material and garden equipment jumped over 14%. That bodes well for the housing market, says Susan M. Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania on a recent SmartMoney post. “These retail sales are another an indicator of better home sales ahead,” she says.

Lowe’s recently announced a 13% spike in sales to $11.63 billion helped by an unusually mild winter and better cost control, while Home Depot’s fourth-quarter earnings rose 32% to $774 million. Wachter says the double-digit sales increase in Lowe’s other items like kitchen and bathroom cabinets – typically a big consideration for house-hunters — and new flooring further shows that homeowners may be preparing to increase the appeal of their homes.

Others say home improvers may be biding their time. From the same mentioned SmartMoney post mentioned above, “Lawn care and showcasing nice furniture are always an important aspect of trying to sell a home,” says David Abuaf, chief investment officer at Hefty Wealth Partners in Auburn, Ind. “But I think the March retail figures are driven more by maintenance and upkeep rather than a desire to sell immediately.”

But there have been several other encouraging signs that the housing market may be regaining its pep. Existing home sales recorded the strongest February in five years, according to the National Association of Realtors and, according to the most recent Commerce Department figures, the number of new single-unit houses authorized for construction rose nearly 5% in February. “We expect to see gains through the all-important summer months,” he says. And for homeowners, Wachter says, “It’s better to fluff now to attract buyers.”

Our industry is contingent on the economy and the fickle supply and demand of our customers. We have to make sure we are prepared from season to season, and with the increase of sales at two of the largest building product retailers in our country, we can expect demand to rise as well.

Sources:

Curb Appeal Splurging

Videos and How They Can Go Viral for Building Product Marketers

12 Apr

Image linked from Gaebler.com

Just make it go viral! We hear that all the time from building product marketers that want to gain exposure, early adoption and excitement around product launches. Just shoot a video, post it on YouTube and let’s wait for the millions of views we are going to receive. If only it were that easy!

Because of a few well-publicized success stories like Orabrush, “viral video” has become a common term used throughout the marketing world, and it’s promoted the misconception that putting a video online equals a viral video. That’s no different from saying you want a “sales-driving print ad” or a “ROI-generating sales promotion.” We can plan a strategy around that desired result but calling it “viral” won’t make it so – only your audience can do it. However, there are tactics we can employ to up the probability of it.

Understand what really makes a video go viral
At the South by Southwest panel “Viral is a Dirty Word,” Ogilvy’s Robert John Davis and Jeremy Sanchez explained that distribution and promotion are still critical to the process as well as having a plan for the creative execution. Here’s some of the high points:

1. Have a plan. No one is going to magically stumble across a video that no one put any effort into planning and producing — much less watch and share it. Start by pulling trending words from Google and look for “trigger” terms that will help craft a message your audience will find valuable. When coming up with your concept, look to target specific groups of people, rather than try to pull off a concept you think appeals to everyone. Keep in mind that most viewers who start your video won’t finish it, so don’t put a URL or call to action during the last few seconds. Get them in early. Lastly, think about the platforms your audience views your videos on, because the aesthetic quality will change from desktop, to tablet, to mobile. The Multi-Channel Funnel feature of Google Analytics  is a great way to harvest this data.

2. Don’t forget about distribution and promotion. We tend to think that “viral” means free. Not the case. Videos take time to catch fire, and if you want them to make their way around the Web, you have to remember to do more than just tagging and posting to social networks.

3. There are 3 kinds of media you can use to complete the promotion circle: paid, earned and owned. Paid media is the most important to marketers, because regardless of the creativity behind your video, there’s a 99% chance that it will not reach a fraction of the audience you have in mind unless you pay to promote it. You can also use promotions and content partnerships to your advantage if you’ve got the budget to fit them in. Earned comes from sharing, blog features and embeds on YouTube, which is a direct result of proper tagging, relevant content and a little of the paid stuff paying off. Of course, owned media is you promoting through your own channels.

So, we know videos work. We know great content can get momentum behind it and gain exposure, but remember to think about it as one more part of the puzzle of your campaign launch and deploy sound marketing logic to get the exposure you crave.

Building Product Companies on LinkedIn

10 Apr

LinkedIn is a powerful tool for individuals and creating a company page can create the same kind of connections

Most of us are familiar with LinkedIn on an individual level – it’s a great way to connect with other professionals and organizations. It’s so popular that the network has 150 million members worldwide in over 200 countries and territories and is adding 10 new members every 5 seconds. I’ve personally found it to be a great tool to connect with old co-workers, colleagues and business partners.

But are you familiar with company pages? While company pages have been around for a while (we’ve had ours for several years), some changes late last year makes it even more relevant for building industry marketers like us.

LinkedIn Company Pages

Company pages are continuing to grow in importance and relevance for the network and for building product companies. In fact, more than 2 million businesses have a LinkedIn company page. Here are some of the reasons to consider adding a company page for your business today:

  1. Post a status update – Showcase important business information, new product news or relevant industry information
  2. Hire better employees – post about new positions on your company page and be able to directly review who’s applied for the position
  3. Set yourself up as a thought leader – utilize status updates and the page itself to set yourself up as a building products thought leader on the forefront of innovation
  4. Build followers for your company – whether it’s employees, industry peers, vendors or current or prospective customers – you can enhance your social presence
  5. Engage with people from other companies – LinkedIn is a great way to promote and refer companies you partner with or ones you would like to work with in the future

LinkedIn as Part of Your Social Media Strategy

Building product CMOs like you know the importance of having a social media strategy that supports your overall strategy and utilizing LinkedIn company pages is just another tool to do so.

-       Website: A LinkedIn widget can be added to your website to encourage followers

-       Twitter: LinkedIn can be set up to share posts on Twitter, although I’d recommend keeping these separate so you can ensure each message is targeted.

Think about getting your company page set up as one more communications channel for followers.

For more information on LinkedIn and their pages, visit:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-tips-for-creating-your-linkedin-company-page/#more-16113

Increased Potential of the Green Building Products Market

3 Apr

The Green Home Market Is Expected To Increase Five-Fold by 2016

It seems now more than ever, going green is important to consumers, which makes the building products industry a prime market to target. As a building products CMO, you are likely focused on this growing trend, but the key statistics from McGraw-Hill Construction give us even more of a reason to strive to reach the next level of eco-friendly products.

Going Green

The study showed much anticipation for green building products over the next few years.  It seems, homebuyers are going green for not only higher quality products, but also reduced energy costs. With the price to ‘go green’ declining, it is predicted the green home market is expected to grow from 17% in 2011 up to 38% in 2016 – a 21% increase in five years.

With homebuyers and homeowners wanting what’s best for the environment, it’s no surprise that a lot of builders and remodelers are starting to gear products towards green marketing, but should we all jump on the green building products’ bandwagon?

I think green marketing is the way to go with the green home market increasing and the benefits of going green being positive. 46% of builders and remodelers are finding it a competitive advantage to market themselves as green while 71% of green building firms report it easier to market in a down economy.

McGraw-Hill Construction Statistics

In addition, I think builders, and us alike, know consumers will pay more for green homes. The study shows by 2016 green builders and remodelers show much anticipation:

  • Builders expect to be dedicated to more than 90% of green building projects
  • 33% of builders predict to be dedicated to green work
  • 22% of remodelers speculate to be dedicated to green work, triple the 8% in 2011

With the green home market expected to increase five fold in the next few years, it’s essential to look into your strategic initiatives and ensure ‘green’ is a part of your plan.

To read more: Green Homes to Grow Five Fold

11 Crucial Niche Social Network Rules for Building Product Marketers – Part 2

29 Mar

Remember, think of these networks like a coffee shop or bar for the trade.

In a previous post, we covered the first 6 rules for participating in a building products niche social network, and here’s the remaining 5:

  1. DON’T participate only in discussions that can lead to you talking about your company’s products. I can’t emphasize this enough – everything shouldn’t lead back to your products. Everything should lead back to helping solve a challenge for another member of the network.
  2. DO use the network for research purposes, within reason. While talking about your products all the time is boring, giving network members a chance to give their opinion, try a prototype of a product or provide insight in another way is a great way to be involved, and many members will likely jump at the chance.
  3. DON’T believe this is a short-term initiative. If your company is going to participate, it needs to be a commitment – the best of these networks have been around for a decade or more, with many members involved throughout. Over time, you’ll learn more, become more trusted and, ultimately, get more return than if you only participate when there’s a new product to launch, or whenever you feel like it.
  4. DO have a plan in place for handling complaints or attacks. The US Air Force (a surprisingly progressive organization from a social standpoint) has their “Rules of Engagement” in an easy-to-follow diagram that is a great model for any company – see it by clicking here.
  5. DON’T forget that, like many things in life & business, 20% of the people do 80% of the work. By that, I mean every network has its core group that provides the best information, participates the most and stays involved the longest. If you have to prioritize responding and who to discuss with, those are the most important.

Further Reading:

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