Enthusiasm for Testimonials

This new product's sales literature publishes testimonials from contractors, whom they cleverly call "enthusiasts," while upping the ante by giving the enthusiasts' phone numbers for further verification of their products' quality. They extend their market by including a Spanish version of "Entusiasta" testimonials on the reverse side.

The literature exposes upbeat reviews of their product such as:

"Eisenwall saves me time and money... I'm finished in one day." - John Hughes, Senior Estimator, Walter N. Coffman, Inc., (xxx) xxx-xxxx

"I use Eisenwall to expedite the owner's schedule, and because it's so crack resistant." - Rick Greene, Vice President, R.A. Greene Corp. (xxx) xxx-xxxx

The placing of the enthusiasts' phone numbers has already been successful as many contractors have called the numbers listed and discussed the product. Brilliant!

Worst Marketing Communication of the Week

Messaging - the noun - is a popular term in marketing. It is, indeed, important to "get your messaging right," but this includes more than just the words you choose. It's not just what you say, it's the way that you say it. Everything you offer in a marketing communication becomes part of your messaging, like it or not.

Case in Point:

This sign - freehanded in magic marker on a piece of corrugated plastic - was stuck among the weeds alongside a freeway entrance ramp that serves two of the most upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles. During my first, brief impression of it, I was not filled with confidence that the advertiser knew anything about making big money. Even if I had been able to stop laughing before the car behind me started honking, I would not have written down the phone number.

The advertiser chose the right audience: plenty of people using that entrance ramp have money to invest.

However, a crucial piece of his messaging goes counter to his message.

Getting all the pieces right requires both insight and wide vision. It's easy to get wrapped up in crafting the message and get seduced into any of a number of pitfalls: publicity articles that strike the wrong tone because they're selling too hard; ads that try to be clever for a product that really needs to convey honesty and transparency; and websites so carefully designed to control User experience that they make access to information difficult or irritating.

Professional marketing people have to develop the ability to stand outside the work occasionally and see how it looks to the target. Unless they know how to make Big Money In Real Estate.

Flushing Branding Down the Drain

Can a company simultaneously promote water conservation and conspicuous consumption? Kohler Company has done an admirable job of developing and promoting plumbing fixtures and trim that help conserve water, including flushometer tank toilets and waterless urinals. And, they have worked hard to make water conservation part of their company's branding. At last fall's GreenBuild show, a banner above the Kohler booth proclaimed the company as, "The Water Conservation Company".

A similar theme is visible in the recent ad on the right, proclaiming, "Bold. Conservation." But while this ad ran in National Geographic, the ad on the left, showing a shower system with very high water consumption, ran in Wired.

I respect niche marketing, but I also respect integrity. To my way of thinking, their water conservation positioning goes down the drain when they also promote such wasteful showering.

Let us know what you think. And for further discussion, see EcoGeek.

Green Code Asking for Comment

We've been keeping an eye on the ICC's development of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). A new version was released March 15, and the ICC is soliciting feedback and support.

Click here to visit the IGCC download and comment page. A free registration is required.

For building product manufacturers, it's very important to understand and anticipate the impact this model code may have on your products. (See our post "How Will the International Green Construction Code Affect Your Product?" for background.) In the current edition, the code is defined enough that you can easily see the intent, but still has many reviews ahead of it. If you haven't yet read it, now may be the perfect time.

Comments on the current version are due May 14. A public hearing will be held in Chicago in August. The final version is scheduled for publication in early 2012.

Are Toll-Free Phone Numbers Obsolete?

A toll-free phone number used to be vital for most building product businesses. Long distance charges were high, so the free call made it easier for out-of-town prospects to dial in. Having an 800 number was also perceived as a red carpet that made customers feel welcome.

But times have changed. Competition among long distance providers have caused prices to tumble. Many callers have unlimited service plans that do not charge extra for long distance. Voice Over Internet Protocols (VOIP), Skype, and other internet-based telephones are virtually free. An increasing number of sales inquiries come via e-mail rather than by phone. And toll-free numbers aren't useful in for calls from international clients - an increasingly important part of the construction business.

With this in mind, one of my clients just eliminated their toll-free number from their website.

What do you think? Is it still important for a building product company to publish a toll-free number?

I would love to hear from readers with thoughts about this.

How a 100-year-old company learns new tricks

Fast Company's interview with Newell Rubbermaid's E-Business leader Bert DuMars contains some interesting ideas that could work for building product marketing. (Check out the full article here.) DuMars markets a company with many brands, from consumer products Rubbermaid and Sharpie to commercial brands like Kirsch window treatments and Irwin Tools. Here, he describes letting one brand run ahead and try new things:

In the case of social media marketing and community building, our pioneer brand was Graco Baby products. Once the pioneer brand has shown success we internally communicate how they approached the opportunity and the tactics and strategies they used. To continue the learning from the pioneer brand effort, we hold monthly, weekly and sometimes more often small, internal teleconferences with several of our brands to discuss questions, new ideas and any issues we run into.

DuMars has the advantage of a huge number of potential pioneers, each with a consumer audience. Any company can learn from the concept, though. By identifying one product or technique that has good traction in the market, then learning to press that advantage, a company can bring those lessons back home to apply to other products.

And here, DuMars talks about using online consumer reviews to discover and overcome problems.

When we launched our Produce Saver food storage product the first 7 reviews came back as two 5-Star and five 1-Star reviews. That is quite a difference but good to know. We contacted the five 1-Star reviewers and found out they were not following the instructions on how to use the product. We immediately put additional instruction information on the product page and wrote a blog post on how to use Produce Saver for best results.

While a building product company can't rely on end-user reviews for feedback the way Newell Rubbermaid can, this technique does carry lessons for us. Could you test a new product with trusted installers? How would you gather their experience and use it to improve future projects' performance? Would your installers appreciate an online forum with product reviews and tips?

Chusid Associates can help you pioneer a new idea or gather and use product feedback. Inspired? Give us a call.

"Scriptio Continua" Online Addresses

When telling someone about this website, I explain the address is, "building product marketing dot com, written as one word without spaces or punctuation."

"Written as one word without spaces or punctuation" has become common in daily language as we exchange e-mail and website addresses. To my ear and tongue, the phrase sounds and feels clumsy and inefficient.

Fortunately, there is a more elegant way to say, "written as one word without spaces or punctuation," and that is the Latin phrase "scriptio continua."

"Scriptio continua" means "continuous script" and is a writing style used in ancient Greek, Latin, and other languages. For example,

THISISWRITTENINSCRIPTIOCONTINUA

(This is written in scriptio continua.)

I believe it its time to bring back the term. It allows me to say, simply and concisely, "Visit my website at building product marketing dot com, scriptio continua."

My proposal will not work, however, if I have to explain "scriptio continua" every time I use the phrase. One person, alone, cannot change the language or reinvigorate an archaic term. But working together, it can happen very quickly.

If you feel my proposal has any merit, I invite you to embrace and use "scriptio continua" in your spoken communications. More importantly, please use the power of social media to spread the word about "scriptio continua."

Repost this on your blogs and facebook page, twit it, digg it, share it with the other tools of cybermedia to make "scriptio continua" part of our common language.

THANKYOUVERYMUCHFORYOURCOLLABORATION

P.S. A Google search on "scriptio continua" today returns about 24,300 hits. I will report changes in this result from time to time on this blog.

My First Sales Presentation on an iPhone

This may be old news for many of you, but a watershed event for me occured yesterday.

A building product sales rep said, "Let me show you how my product works." He then handed me his iPhone on which a video about his product was being shown. The screen was large enough, and the resolution high enough, that several people were able to see it simultaneously. The one minute video was well produced and provided a convincing demonstration of his product's performance.

Welcome to the brave, new world.

The Aluminum Show

This is a fantastic way to repurpose a building product and change the public's perception about a common material.

Are Trade Show Dynamics Changing?

Are trade shows dying or not? CSI’s Product Representation Practice Group took up this question in a recent meeting. Their answer seemed to be, “maybe.” Trade shows will fail if they don’t adjust to today’s audience and leverage the thing they do best: face-to-face contact with a rep and a product.

Practice group members agreed that there’s no shortage of trade shows right now, so they choose their venues carefully. “We could attend a trade show just about every day,” said Practice Group leader Alana Grifith, FCSI, Lifetime Member, CCPR.Hear a recording of this meeting.

Reasons for going to a trade show, even in this economy, include:

Checking out the competition: Where else will you get a guided tour of the other guy’s product?
It’d be noticeable if we weren’t there: Part of maintaining a reputation in the industry is being seen in a well-appointed booth.
A tradeshow is a big trip that replaces a lot of small trips: You can see contacts in one visit instead of booking a series of trips to an area, which makes it a greener, cheaper choice.
Leads, leads, leads: Any opportunity to shake a hand and meet a potential client is valuable.

But the big reason to attend a construction industry trade show, whether it’s a national event or a local table-top display, is touch. The web may provide reams of data about a product, but construction people prefer to touch a material and understand it with their fingers as well as their minds.

“There’s an intangible but very real difference between a relationship formed over the phone and one established in person, and definitely between a gadget you’ve only seen pictures of and one you’ve held in your hands,” according to a blog entry Griffith quoted. “(People) will understand things in a tactile way by using all five sense that they may not have understood by using only one or two.”

"If you're in more of a textile business, how do you do it if you're not going to a traditional tradeshow?” one participant asked. “They figure they can Google the word 'dry wall' -- but it doesn't mean those products are available, or available for through distributors you trust."

"This is a tactile industry,” Stirling Morris, CSI, CDT, said. “There's a lot of great information on line, but trade shows won't go the way of the dinosaurs for construction."

"Is the next trend in trade shows to be bigger & better?” Griffith said. “It really could shape our industry."

The challenge for product reps is to understand how the value of a trade show is shifting, and to adjust their goals for an event accordingly. Although LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networking platforms have made it easier to stay in touch (as have cell phones and laptops), trade shows still have the advantage when it comes to eye contact and handshakes.

If a rep can make the booth work smoothly with the company website, it’s even better. Products with comprehensive websites and responsive, knowledgeable product reps get spec’d, Griffith said.

"A lot of it comes down to how we expect to resource information,” a rep said. “I've got offices with architects who don't want literature anymore. How do we show value to these people face-to-face?"

“We need to identify with a new audience,” Griffith said. “They don’t want the same old trade show experience.”

Leads
Several group members reported they still expect to generate leads at a trade show.

"When I'm in my booth, I usually get quite a few,” one rep said. “There's always people there I haven't met."

Generating the right kind of leads can be tricky. A gimmick, such as a prize-drawing, may draw attention, but the people dropping their cards in the fish bowl who aren’t potential clients are getting between the rep and a person who could be.

One rep reported that she now produces cheaper versions of her literature so that she has something to hand to someone who is not a good lead, but who wants the material.

Reps also have to be prepped for booth work. They need to know:

How to engage: "A lot of people aren't stepping out and engaging the professionals,” a designer said. "I can hit four or five rows before someone says something to me."
How to focus: Chatting on cell phones and with the guy in the next booth can keep a rep from talking to a genuine lead.
How to eat: Don’t eat in the booth if you can help it. Schedule breaks for booth staff.
How to behave: "It's our job as professionals to be warm and friendly and to communicate about our products,” a participant said.
Where to put the furniture: A booth should always feel open. Setting a table at the front for you to stand behind just makes it harder for traffic to wander in and out.
How to set the stage: Use giant, beautiful images of the product; looping videos of real construction projects; samples that lift, swing, open and shut; education sessions and demonstrations that answer questions; and booths made out of the product. A California caller recalled a company that sold security doors, and kept a steel door in the booth that had been shot with various weapons to prove their point. "That was the only thing in their booth, and it showed what different weapons do to their product. I can still remember it years later."

"It's like being in a storefront window, and you're the mannequin,” Griffith said. “If you're inattentive or not zoning in on what they're looking for, that's pretty bad branding for what you pay for a trade show."

Morris recommended holding a meeting of the reps that will be in the booth to discuss how to effectively work the booth. Exhibit organizers can help, too, by holding a meeting of all the exhibitors to discuss booth do’s and don’ts.

"You can do a lot in a booth if it's done well,” Griffith said. “It's all in how you display your product and how you engage the traffic that's walking by."

The Product Representation Practice Group’s next meeting will be April 12.

Got an idea for a session? Send it to CSI Education Manager Erica Cox at ecox@csinet.org.

CSI’s Product Representation Practice Group is a community for people working in product representation, whether they represent one manufacturer or several. The group also welcomes any design professional, specifier, or others to join us if they have an interest in these issues. Join the group! It’s free!

CSI is now planning the 2011 Product Representative Academy, to be held in Dallas in February. If you’re interested in the PRA, join the Product Representation Practice Group to make sure you’re getting the scoop about this event.

Chusid Associates will be speaking on trade shows at Construct 2010.

View our archived article on trade shows.

*This article was reposted from http://blog.csinet.org/default.asp?Display=204*

Publicity Directory for the A/E/C Industry

The Publicity Directory was conceived as a one-stop resource of the publications that cover the built environment. Now in its 18th edition, the 2010 directory includes over 200 trade magazines, webzines, and regional business publications. It remains the only comprehensive guide to getting published in design and professional industry publications.

The research-based publication – on CD – is market-focused and is published by the Fuessler Group Inc., a Boston-based 25-year-old marketing communications and public relations consulting firm. The markets covered in the directory include education, healthcare, corporate, environmental, real estate, governmental, residential, transportation, design, construction and cultural among others. It is a great tool for marketers who are developing a publicity strategy for their firms and want to know what editors look for.

The benefit of the directory is that firm marketing departments can save hours of time researching information about publications. Each listing includes an editorial calendar, submission requirements, editor preferences and, with the increased focused on web content, each magazine’s on-line content strategy.

Subscribers receive each year’s directory on December 1st and three updates during the year in February, May and August. The directory also includes a section on how to work with the media, and the Publisher Rolf Fuessler, APR, FSMPS is available for free telephone/email consultation on media relations issues and publication strategies.

The cost of the 2010 Directory is $260 for new subscribers. Information on the Publicity Directory, a sample page, and an order form can be viewed on-line at www.fuessler.com/pub.html. The publisher can be reached at 617.522.0550.

Suggestion for New Lighting Fixtures

Architectural Lighting Online asked its readers to suggest "Lighting Product Areas in Need of Further Development". Here are two ideas I suggested:

1. Illuminated signage and exit lights built into the body of doors, entrances, and storefronts. With LED lamps, reduced fixture thickness and lower power requirements should make this feasible. In retail, there are great merchandising opportunities for illuminated signage right at the point of entrance and exiting. Integrated into emergency systems, programmable fixture could offer up to the moment information about the safety, for example, of using a door. I see other opportunities in hotels to illuminate corridors and provide room identification.

2. Automatically tracking spotlights for ballrooms and lecture rooms. As a frequent presenter at industry conferences, I am frustrated that I can not readily aim fixtures to suit my required room layout. Please give me spots that I can aim without calling on building maintenance. There are already lights that can be refocus this way for use in surgical suites; the surgeon uses an "infrared wand" to aim the light fixtures. This may suggest a way to accomplish this.

Chusid Associates has worked with many lighting fixture manufacturers to develop and launch new products like these. Call me if you would like to discuss these suggestions.

As an aside, this type of question can also be posed by building product manufacturers as a way to engage with customers. It is a great form of social media.

R+D to Watch: Bacteria to Repair Concrete

Today's laboratory research can become tomorrow's building product. This is part of a continuing series of posts about technologies with exciting potential.

Repairing and extending the durability of concrete structures is a multi-billion dollar industry, Researchers at Ghent University have proposed the use of microbes to repair cracks in concrete:

As synthetic polymers, currently used for concrete repair, may be harmful to the environment, the use of a biological repair technique is investigated in this study. Ureolytic bacteria such as Bacillus sphaericus are able to precipitate CaCO₃ in their micro-environment by conversion of urea into ammonium and carbonate. The bacterial degradation of urea locally increases the pH and promotes the microbial deposition of carbonate as calcium carbonate in a calcium rich environment. These precipitated crystals can thus fill the cracks. The crack healing potential of bacteria and traditional repair techniques are compared in this research by means of water permeability tests, ultrasound transmission measurements and visual examination. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that bacteria were able to precipitate CaCO₃ crystals inside the cracks. It was seen that pure bacteria cultures were not able to bridge the cracks. However, when bacteria were protected in silica gel, cracks were filled completely.

FORECAST: Watch for biological processes such as this coming to a bridge near you before the end of the decade.

Enhanced Online Magazine Edition

I have yet to see an online edition of a print magazine that is easy to read. Sure, digital editions are useful for retrieving specific articles, but my notebook computer's small screen does not duplicate the experience of being able to see an overall layout of a story and focus in on the text or individual elements.

Still, digital editions continue to increase in circulation, and publishers are finding ways to add features to enhance the experience. For example, Interiors & Sources magazines has announced that:

Beginning in April every print issue will also be accompanied by an enhanced digital edition. Ours is not like other digital editions you might be familiar with. We're pushing the envelope. It will include everything from the print issue, with oodles of additional project photos, product information, and other content to give our readers and your customers the sort of design inspiration they desire. Editorial and advertising can be enhanced with video and rich media content. The reader experience will be enhanced and readers will consume the content in the format of their choosing.

Advertisers and publicists need to take note, and be prepared to offer this additional content when submitting an ad or story.

Easier for Tradeshow Attendees to Follow-Up

When a tradeshow attendee "swipes" his or her identity card at a tradeshow, the information goes into a database that exhibitors can use to do follow-up. Now, the same database is being used to send attendees a list of the booths they visit.

Hanley Wood introduced this innovation after this year's World of Concrete show. Calling it, "a valuable and important experience, they sent attendees an email saying:

To help you gain the maximum value from the event, we invite you to make use of a new attendee service – ExpoCard Visit Tracker – which contains the contact information for the exhibitors you visited. This information was compiled from your use of the ExpoCard during the show.

This service will allow you to be proactive in following up with those exhibitors you spoke to during the event. This service is brought to you free of charge.

All you need to do is click here to access this private information. Use this link whenever you want to view your information.

This is a great service to attendees. After shows, I frequently have a hard time recalling who I met with; this provides a refresher, plus website addresses.

It is even better service for exhibitors -- providing you with one more exposure to prospects and inquiries that might otherwise have gotten lost.

It is also part of a trend to blend social media with trade shows, a phenomena that will be covered elsewhere in this blog.

Chusid Associates will be presenting workshops on tradeshow selling at Construct 2010. Watch for further details or contact me for additional information.

Ads with Long Copy

There is a common perception that customers won't read advertising with long copy. In my experience, that is not always the case. If you can get prospect interested, they will read extended copy, and the more they read, the more likely they are to buy.

Here is a great case in point. Lots of words, but lots of punch. (click on image to enlarge).

Market Movers Discuss Green Products

Recently, three thought leaders in sustainable design discussed green products. The American Society of Landscape Architects' blog "The Dirt", reports on the conversation.

How should ”green” values in building construction products be measured – should firms look at the carbon miles traveled by product components, or total GHG emissions? How should green be defined — is it about energy efficient manufacturing processes, or eliminating toxicity? How do we avoid green washing? These questions were asked in the National Building Museum’s latest For the Greener Good lecture on “Greening the Supply Chain.”

Kirsten Richie, Director of Sustainability, Gensler, Nadav Malin, President, BuildingGreen and Gwen Davidow, Director, Corporate Programs, World Environment Center, all provided their thoughts, while Ken Langer, President, Architectural Energy Corporation, moderated the event.

Although the conversation was by no means definitive, all three agreed that certification and regulation are needed to help designers and consumers easily and confidently identify green products. Disclosure by manufacturers also received emphasis.

Richie: Our goal is to ensure every building product is green, so you won’t even need to examine the details. You’ll just know. However, this doesn’t exist yet.

A big building project can include 10,000 line items. We can’t check the environmental impact details on every product. We need shortcuts — products need to be certified against standards. You should be able to buy a certain brand and know you are getting a sustainable product.

Davidow: Green needs to be a part of the product. It can’t be a niche product offered among others. Green needs to be embedded into the product. ... Green base lines in products will need to be regulated and certified if we are going to reach green product ubiquity.

Malin: There should be green labeling in construction projects. 3rd party certification is needed. Labels equal regulation.

The most important thing to notice is that the people in the conversation are in a position to make their opinions become reality. Their advocacy for environmental declaration standards, legislation, and life cycle assessments carry real weight, because they represent owners, designers, and industry publications. Together, they're moving markets.

Water Usage in Buildings

While the efficiency of plumbing fixtures comes immediately to mind when thinking about water conservation, concerns about water usage affect many other categories of building products. Just as many buildings attempt to go off the power grid by generating electricity on site, designers are now looking for ways to take buildings off the water grid by collecting and reusing water on site. Roofing, wall cladding, and sitework must all be re-evaluated in terms of their use in water systems. On-site water storage and processing requires new types of tanks and structural systems. And surfaces that are self-cleaning or otherwise reduce the amount of water used for maintenance are being introduced.

A conceptual study of a highrise designed to optimize rain collection illustrates the growing interest in water efficient architecture. Designed by architectural student:

they decided to design a tower, whose structure will allow for capturing and processing as much rainfall as possible to provide ... water for its inhabitants. ...we focused at shaping and modeling the surface of the roof to capture as much rainfall as possible. Under a roof's surface, there are water reservoirs in the form of a large funnel and reed fields, which serve as a hydro botanic water treatment unit. The unit processes water into usable water that is further transmitted to apartments.

A network of gutters on the external surfaces of the building is designed to capture rainfall flowing down the building. such flowing rainfall is transmitted to floors and its surplus is stored in a reservoir under the building. water captured and processed by the building may be used for flushing toilets, feeding washing machines, watering plants, cleaning floors and other domestic applications.

As is appropriate for a student project, the design is more of an exploration of ideas than a practical scheme for construction, but suggests where design may go when water becomes part of the design program. (For the record, one of my student projects, during the 1970's, also focused on water conservation and was equally idealistic. I became so wrapped up in the theoretical implications that I never finished the presentation drawings.)

For product managers looking into water-usage related opportunities, McGraw Hill has recently published:

Water Use in Buildings: Achieving Business Performance Benefits through Efficiency

This 40-page printed report (available as hard copy or PDF) reviews the role of water efficiency in buildings. Among other topics, the report covers: involvement and importance of water efficiency, business benefits of water-efficient practices and methods, drivers and obstacles to water efficiency, types of water-efficient products and methods and sources of information behind product selection and use.

Charts throughout the report demonstrate detailed information and successful strategies in order to take advantage of opportunities in the water-efficiency market. For example, the top two motivators to the incorporation of water-efficient practices & products are illustrated in chart form. Energy use reduction is the number one motivator at 78%, and operating cost reduction is 84%. High-efficiency toilets, water-saving sinks, and waterless urinals are all products associated with these cost reductions.

The link between energy and water continues to become transparent and widespread. Both government drivers and the desire to lower energy costs are expected to lead to faster adoption of water-efficiency products and practices. This report finds that 85% of industry players rank water efficiency as a very important part of a green building in 2013, up from 69% in 2008. Overall, the report research finds that water-efficient products and practices have been embraced for the green buildings of tomorrow.

Ask for Testimonials (We Did!)

Testimonials from satisfied clients can play an important role in building product marketing. Plus, they feel really good to get.

While testimonials sometimes appear in the mail unsolicited, the best way is to ask for them.

Asking for testimonials has been honed to a high art by LinkedIn. After signing into your account, go to the LinkedIn "Profile" tab, click on "Recommendations," select "Request Recommendations," and use the social media platform to reach out to your contacts to ask for recommendations.

Most of your contacts will be happy to give you a recommendation; doing so enhances their relationship with you, and increases their visibility in the social media platform. (Of course, they might ask for an endorsement in return. Give it to them; it increases your visibility)

Here, for example, is an endorsement I received through LinkIn:

“Michael and I worked on a technology transfer program for a mutual client in the building materials area, with great results. Michael is an inventive individual, with out-of-the-box ideas that get the job done in creative ways.” Raymond Hemmings, Founder and President, Hemmings & Associates, LLC

Old fashioned, face-to-face networking also works. For example, a client recently told me how pleased he was with the work Chusid Associates had done for his business. I thanked him for his compliment, then asked if he would be willing to put his sentiments into a letter I could use. Here is what he sent:

"Chusid Associates made critical contributions to successfully bringing Lythic Solutions to the marketplace. With their knowledge of our industry niche, they worked to helped shape our message and make a conceptual strategy for branding. Their PR articles in trade publications generated contacts from specifiers and contractors from around the world and led to sales. The Chusid Team’s ability to produce effective marketing literature and collateral sales materials, based on our knowledge and advanced technology products, leveraged us into market prominence quickly and with credibility. Collaboration with Chusid Associates has made it possible for Lythic Solutions to build its brand, on an international scale, in a faster time frame than we had anticipated before finding them." Brad Sleeper, General Manager, Lythic Solutions.

I have tried to demonstrate in this post that testimonials work best if they are shared publicly. Make sure the writer has given you permission to use his or her name, then place the testimonials on your website or work them into your advertising.

And be sure to pass the favorable comments along to the employees, reps, and other team members that helped build and maintain the client relationship.

Hidden Text in Guide Specifications

When I write a guide specification for a building product manufacturer, I usually include "Notes to the Specifier", text that guides the specifier through the specification writing process. There can be dozens of notes throughout a guide specification, and they all have to be removed before the project specification is published.

I use the word processing "Hidden Text" function for the notes, allowing the specifier to hide all of the notes at the same time. This eliminates the nuisance of having to delete each note individually. I also include a preliminary note, not written in hidden text, that advises the specifier to turn on the hidden text function if notes to the specifier are not visible.

Arcat, an online directory of building product information, does the same thing in the guide specs they publish. However, they add a feature about which I hadn't thought: At the beginning of their word processing-formatted spec sections, they insert a link with instructions for those that may be unfamiliar with the hidden text feature of their word processor:

Display hidden notes to specifier.

(Don't know how? Click Here)

Adding this link is a great idea, and I will incorporate it into future guide specs I write.

For examples of guide specifications, see: http://chusid.com/specifications.htm.

202

Michael pointed out this morning that we had reached 200 posts; by the time we had noticed this milestone, we'd already passed it.

Thank you to all our readers for supporting us and making this possible. We're having a great time doing the blog, and are glad you've been a part of it.

What topics would you like to see in the next 200 posts? Let us know in the comments.

Recycle Old Product Samples

Upon entering the back room of any architectural or design firm, one will probably see thousands of product samples stacked under piles of dust. I know spring cleaning is right around the corner but Stop! Don't throw them away!

Save A Sample!, a company that was started in 1993, takes unwanted product samples from designers and gives them to design schools. Students at these design schools can therefore make great use of these samples in their lessons.

In order to improve your company's sustainability reputation, you may want to offer to pay the postage for architects to send old samples back to you. Alternatively, put a label on your sample kits suggesting they call Save A Sample! to recycle used samples. Another way to do this is to have your reps collect the old samples whenever they drop off new samples; the reps can bring them to local schools. While donating samples to design schools can help build brand awareness among neophyte designers, local elementary and secondary school teachers will also take samples of finish materials to use in art projects.

This year's Save A Sample! runs from April 20 - 22. For additional information, about Save A Sample!, visit www.specsimple.com.

For more information or to hold a Save A Sample! in your city, contact Suzanne Swift: (212) 352-2002 ext.12 or infoedge@specsimple.com.

World of Concrete 2011 is Earlier Than 2010

Heads up to potential World of Concrete 2011 exhibitors: start scrambling earlier. World of Concrete 2011 will be held January 18-21, 2011, a date more like the show’s previous schedule and two weeks earlier than the past two years. This means you have to start the mad scramble of show preparation earlier (or arrive at the show much more tired, ragged, and badly prepped).

Chusid Associates helped multiple clients prepare for WOC 2010 (six of our clients were at the show) so we know just how pressured it can become. Mark your calendar now, while you’re calm and rational, to set up a WOC prep gameplan that will get you to the show without ulcers or excessive overtime, or call us if you’d like help planning your show, executing your booth, scheduling and press conferences and speaking opportunities, and creating all the needed presentation and support materials.

Speaking of speaking opportunities, the deadline for topic and speaker proposals is April 9, 2010.

‘Connected’: Social Networks, Connection, and Contagion

Interested in a deeper understanding of social networks? Social networks are not just the online kind, but have been driving human behavior since well before those great patrons of architecture, the Medici family, ruled Florence. In today's Boston Globe, Michael Fitzgerald reviews Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler. Fitzgerald writes:

The book centers on two concepts: connection and contagion. Connections bring us together in myriad dynamic, constantly changing networks of people. Contagion happens when things - germs, of course, but also ideas or money - flow across our connections. They look at how our extended networks and our interactions with other networks influence our decisions, our health, our careers, our politics, and most other facets of life.

At Chusid Associates, we often talk about using social networking (the online kind) to augment and expand your human network. This book may help you think about that human network in new ways and understand how closely we are all Connected.

Connected offers a new way of thinking about social networks and the world - The Boston Globe

Will You Tweet This?

Today I witnessed a social media triumph for the building product industry.

I received an email press release from ACPA that contained blog and Twitter copy (aka a "tweet") after the main body of the press release.

The purpose of sending a press release is to create a viral re-posting of a news item among press outlets. By already customizing blog and Twitter copy, the company simplifies the re-posting process for press (and other online media sources).

Blogs and Twitter have become acclaimed news sources for the building product industry and we are excited to see this proof. Chusid Associates encourages you to include blog and Twitter copy in all of your future press releases.

The ACPA's sample blog and Twitter copy are below:

Sample Blog Note

The American Concrete Pavement Association announces its newest classroom and web-based education and training events. The Association’s 2010 program includes 18 webinars for agency officials and industry; a seminar for university professors; a modular concrete pavement seminar series for agencies and industry; and a modular airport pavement design course currently being developed. Go here: http://www.acpa.org/Events_and_Programs/Education_and_Training/index.asp.

Sample Tweet* on Twitter

Check out the American Concrete Pavement Association’s education & training events at http://www.acpa.org/Events_and_Programs/Education_and_Training/index.asp.

* The Twitter name, logo, Twitter T, Tweet, and Twitter blue bird are trademarks of Twitter, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

ASHRAE 90.1: Changes afoot

When you're watching the standards and regulations that affect your products, you're ahead of the changes, and possibly ahead of the competition, too. If your products affect building envelopes and systems, you'll want to stay abreast of ASHRAE 90.1 and the changes being proposed for the 2010 edition. Remember, too, that ASHRAE 90.1 is a standard for both building codes and LEED rating systems, so changes to it have far-reaching consequences for many projects.

Hot topics for our clients:

Performance requirements for air leakage of the opaque envelope (Addendum bf)
New 40 percent window wall area path within the Prescriptive Tables (Addendum cx)
Several lighting control provisions (Addenda cd, ce, cn, cu, and cz)

Each addendum has its own draft on ASHRAE's web site, so you may want to start at Eco-Intel for the summaries.

Email List Servers for Building Product Marketing

Word-of-mouth is a powerful marketing medium. This is also true in the online world; there are many places where the issues of your market segment are being discussed and where people are sharing their experience with or opinions about building products and manufacturers.

While new platforms such as Facebook and Twitter get more notice these days, the "automated mail list server," a concept first developed in the 1980s, is still an important medium. Google Groups and Yahoo Groups are types of list servers, and they exist in many other formats as well. When an email is addressed to a list serve mailing list, the email is automatically sent to everyone on the list. The result is similar to a newsgroup or forum, except that messages are transmitted as emails and are therefore available only to individuals on the list. The owner of the particular list server can determine whether inclusion in the list is open to anyone that subscribes or to only a controlled list.

EXAMPLE: I have subscribed to the ArtConcrete list server for many years.
Most of the subscribers are artists or artisans that use concrete in their work: sculptures, landscape installations, furnishings, and even jewelry. The moderator of the group, Andrew Goss, is the author of the seminal book, Concrete Handbook for Artists, making him an important figure at the nexus of art and concrete.

I joined because several of my clients make products for decorative concrete. While the total amount of material actually purchased by concrete artists is minuscule compared to the tonnage consumed in building or civil engineering construction, monitoring the group has provided valuable information and opportunities. I have:

Identified prospects for my clients.
Gotten early market intelligence about new products.
Learned about technologies and products not used in the US.
Heard concerns and about experiments that have stimulated new products, market niches, and distribution channels for my clients.
Discovered new uses for existing products.
Corrected misrepresentations about my clients' products, and provided an alternative perspective about competitors.
Found examples of "artistic" uses of my clients products that provided unique case studies and illustrations for our clients' sales collateral.
Gotten my clients' brands discussed by a global audience of "early adopters" and innovators.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Monitoring sites like this is an increasingly important part of an overall social media marketing strategy. I recommend you identify and monitor list servers that relate to your market sectors. Postings come right to your email box, so they are easily accessible. Depending on the amount of traffic on the list server, it may take only a few minutes a day to follow; if necessary, assign the task to someone on your team or to a marketing consultant.

List servers, generally, are not the place to be overtly commercial -- for example, don't post press releases here. Etiquette calls for peer-to-peer sharing. Within this guideline, however, I can join discussions about my clients' products, suggest solutions, refer people to information that is posted on my clients' websites.

I can also post requests for feedback, for example: "My company makes [is considering] a new product. We think it has X, Y, and Z benefits, but we don't have much experience in this regard. If you have any thoughts, I would love to hear from you, either via the list server or directly at my email."

How to Build a Business: Lessons from Architectural History

As an architect consulting to building product manufacturers, I often draw upon the rich legacy of architectural history for inspiration.

For example, when faced with a large, complex, and daunting project, such as launching a new building product, I remember Daniel Burnham (b. 1846 – d. 1912), an architect responsible for some of the first skyscrapers, major projects like the World's Columbian Exposition, and the planning document that played a major role in shaping Chicago.

Befitting his large and ambitious projects, he is remembered for his exhortation:

"Make no little plans.
They have no magic to stir men's blood
and probably will not themselves
be realized."

An earlier exponent of this philosophy was Abbot Suger, who initiated the 12th Century rebuilding of the great Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, in France, one of the first great Gothic buildings. He dared dream on a scale beyond his means to realize.

After the west facade and narthex was constructed, he skipped the nave that runs most of the length of the building, and moved on to the construction of the chancel at the eastern end of the projected building.

There was a considerable distance between the two ends, and the infill construction was not completed for another hundred years. Yet he had the vision that inspired the project, and has continued to inspire worshipers for over eight hundred years.

While building a business requires attention to a myriad of small details, it is the big audacious goal is also essential to the success of an enterprise.

Testing Laboratory Follies

Even the best testing laboratories are prone to make errors in their reports.

Today's Example:

I just saw a report for a flexural test conducted on a product that was only recently brought to market. The product is made of porcelain, a material that is relatively weak in tension. However, the back side of the porcelain was laminated with a fibrous reinforcing to give it tensile strength.

As a composite product, the flexural strength of the product is likely to vary, depending on which side of the test specimen was "up" in the test apparatus. Tested in one configuration, the fibers would be in tension and the composite would have a high flexural strength. Tested in the other configuration, the porcelain would be in tension and would fail at a lower value.

The test report did not indicate the configuration used for the testing.

The test was conducted by a respected lab affiliated with a national trade association. I do not question its integrity. However, tests like this are typically performed by a technician, then written up by another member of the lab -- neither of whom may know what is being tested nor the intended use of the test.

Testing is an investment. Make sure to review your product test reports carefully, and hire a consultant if you lack the in-house technical expertise to interpret the result.

International Technology Transfer

I recently had two encounters that remind me how difficult it is bringing a building product technology from one part of the world to another:

I had a discussion with a rep from a company that claims to be one of the leading European suppliers of accessories for planted, "green" roofs. The concept may be well established in Europe, but it is in its infancy in the US. The rep, taking clues from her European boss, had difficulty understanding that Americans want a roofing membrane manufacturer to warrant the planting accessories as part of a total roofing system. In Europe, apparently, the "waterproofing" and the "green roofing" are considered two completely separate trades, like we might consider the floor slab and carpeting to be almost completely separate. I tried to explain some of the differences, including a different legal system that assesses risk and liability differently.

Today, I went through the sales and technical literature of a Turkish company that has an innovative, thin ceramic sheet. While the bilingual documents were translated into "English", possibly into "American," they were still in a foreign dialect with regards to the language of American construction. I will forgive them the use of metric -- Americans should get their head out of the sand on that point. But the tools the related materials such as underlayments and sealants were unfamiliar, the types of assemblages, and even the drawing conventions used in their details were all "weird".

Fortunately, Chusid Associates has had experience with many other off-shore building product manufactures coming to North American. We have been able to assist them to understand US markets and plot their best course.

In some cases, once they understood the market conditions here, they have decided to not risk coming to the US. But when they have decided the investment was worthwhile, we have been able to act as their guide through the maze of acculturation, testing and regulatory hurdles, and start-up.

Hate that Gray? Wash it Away!

Grey text can be difficult to read, as this excerpt from a window website demonstrates.

The use of gray type fonts is in vogue among many graphic designers. This, despite extensive research that demonstrates that contrast between characters and background is a key to readability. The challenges of using gray on paper is compounded when using gray text on a computer monitor, where background contrast is already diminished. To make matters worse, many designers use a medium gray font on a light gray background, further reducing contrast. Here is a simple demonstration:

The use of gray type fonts is in vogue among many graphic designers. This, despite extensive research that demonstrates that contrast between characters and background is a key to readability. The challenges of using gray on paper is compounded when using gray text on a computer monitor, where background contrast is already diminished. To make matters worse, many designers use a medium gray font on a light gray background, further reducing contrast. Here is a simple demonstration:

The use of gray type fonts is in vogue among many graphic designers. This, despite extensive research that demonstrates that contrast between characters and background is a key to readability. The challenges of using gray on paper is compounded when using gray text on a computer monitor, where background contrast is already diminished. To make matters worse, many designers use a medium gray font on a light gray background, further reducing contrast. Here is a simple demonstration:

The use of gray type fonts is in vogue among many graphic designers. This, despite extensive research that demonstrates that contrast between characters and background is a key to readability. The challenges of using gray on paper is compounded when using gray text on a computer monitor, where background contrast is already diminished. To make matters worse, many designers use a medium gray font on a light gray background, further reducing contrast. Here is a simple demonstration:

The use of gray type fonts is in vogue among many graphic designers. This, despite extensive research that demonstrates that contrast between characters and background is a key to readability. The challenges of using gray on paper is compounded when using gray text on a computer monitor, where background contrast is already diminished. To make matters worse, many designers use a medium gray font on a light gray background, further reducing contrast. Here is a simple demonstration:

Least you think I am overstating the trend, take a look at the excerpt above from a stylish but hard to read website.

Remember, please, that many senior designers, myself included, no longer have such keen eyesight.

---------------
UPDATE: White text against a light background is also difficult to read. For example, the following from www.MasterFormat.org:

---------------
FURTHER UPDATE: I just had cataract surgery and can now see most of the gray fonts used on websites. But still, I argue for use of higher contrast typography. In contemporary architecture, we are compelled to create buildings that are accessible by those with disabilities. The same standard should apply to access to information.

Green Building Products Coalition

Three organizations have come together to form the Green Building Products Coalition. Their website has the following introduction:

Welcome to the organizing site for a Green Building Products Coalition

Has your company committed to achieving a sustainability leadership position?
Are you struggling to understand what “green” really means for building products?
Do you think innovation and transparency are getting lost in the green marketing frenzy?
Are you frustrated by the proliferating number of product certification systems?
Do you need help deciding which industry standards directly apply to your business?
Are you confused about which product directory offers the best venue for your products?
Do you lay awake at night thinking about PCRs, LCAs and EPDs? (We hope not!)
Does your company have in-house expertise that could inform these discussions?

Do you want a prominent voice in the discussion about building products sustainability?

A Green Building Products Coalition would seek alignment through collaboration and leadership from withing the building products industry and its supply chain to address the industry's sustainability challenges and opportunities - head on!

Many organization are active in the area of building products and sustainability, and the Coalition invites collaboration. We seek to encourage constructive relationships that align our members' and other's activities to achieve hamonization of information and approach in support of long-term sustainability.

Purpose

The GBPC would give building product manufacturers the opportunity to leverage their collective expertise and develop a common framework for innovation and implementation. Its goal is to create a credible forum for the building products supply chain in which to discuss, define, reach consensus, take action on, and communicate about how product-level attribute improvements can support system-level sustainability.

Practical Solutions

The GBPC would connect the building products industry and its supply chains with environmental and health experts, government agencies, standards and certification bodies and other key stakeholders to provide education and create the resources and tools required to help the industry make better informed decisions; innovate product design, manufacturing, and communications; and integrate with the building team.

Potential Projects

GPBC members would determine what the Coalition works on, but potential projects might include:

Conducting research to identify and prioritize areas of environmental concern
Developing responsible building product design and disclosure guidelines
Creating/delivering workshops on relevant product assessment methodologies
Researching and writing building product materials environmental technical briefs
Developing product and enterprise level sustainability metrics and reporting formats

Path Forward

The Construction Specifications Institute, Environmental Protection and GreenBlue (founders of the successful Sustainable Packaging Coalition which would serve as a model of the GBPC) invite you to join us to explore the launch of a Green Building Products Coalition and determine its focus and direction.

ORGANIZING MEETING

MAY 11, 2010, 1:00-6:00PM

Prior to
Construct2010
Philadelphia Convention Center
Philadelphia, PA
March 12 - 14 2010

Sign up and register here.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, contact Chusid Associates to represent your interests there.

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