Copy Websites (Yours & Your Competitors')

Make copies of websites.

Building product manufacturers should make copies of their websites and other online assets. Having off-line copies will be helpful:

• In case your website crashes and your webmaster forgot to save on offline version.
• To preserve a record of your marketing claims to use in preparing a product liability defense.
• To preserve your company's history for future reference.
• You can refer to your website even when off line, such as during air travel, on a jobsite, or to make presentations at a prospect's office without having to access their internet service.

Also consider making copies of your competitors; online assets; you may be able to glean valuable intelligence by observing changes in a competitor's presentation.

A useful tool for copying websites is www.SiteSucker.us. For your archiving to be successful, you will need the discipline to download sites on a regular basis and save them to a permanent storage device.

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These presentations from Hanley Wood's recent Foundations conference provide eye-opening research, challenge conventional wisdom, and will give you plenty to think about as you plan your next move:

The New Now: Marketing and Media for Construction

Frank Anton, CEO, Hanley Wood, LLC

Charting the Course of a Nonresidential Construction Recovery
Kermit Baker, Chief Economist, The American Institute of Architects

Housing Hits Bottom
Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics

The Chaos Scenario
Bob Garfield, Editor at Large, “Advertising Age”; Co-host “On the Media” produced by WNYC and distributed by NPR; Author, “The Chaos Scenario”

Hanley Wood Housing 360: Insights Into Home Ownership
Kent W. Colton, President, The Colton Housing Group and Senior Fellow, Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies

Hanley Wood Housing 360: Insights Into Home Ownership Executive Summary
The Colton Housing Group, Kent W. Colton, Ph.D., Gopal Ahluwalia and Jay Shackford

5 Trends in Commercial Design
Ned Cramer, Editorial Director – Commercial Design Group, Hanley Wood, LLC

Residential Design Trends
Boyce Thompson, Editorial Director – Residential New Construction Group, Hanley Wood, LLC

Hot and Not: The Latest Trends in Housing
Jonathan Smoke, Executive Director - Research, Hanley Wood, LLC

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Carbon Neutral Shipping

Did you know that UPS can calculate the carbon footprint of of your shipment, so you can buy carbon offsets to neutralize the environmental impact of your shipping?

TRI-KES, recently implemented a program to do just that with 31,000 sample shipments.  (see their website)  They are a distributor of interior finishes, so samples are a big deal.  They claim to be the first company in the architecture and interior design industry to do this.

We hope there will be more.

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Are You Ready for World of Concrete?

World of Concrete 2012 kicks off just 4 months from now.  When are you going to start getting ready?

A little planning now saves big headaches at the show!

If you're exhibiting at WOC, now is the time to be putting the pieces in place, so you can make World of Concrete work for you to its maximum potential.

* Is your booth designed?
* Is your sales collateral up-to-date?
* Have you written, shot, and edited the videos you're going to show in your booth?
* Do you have an up-to-date press kit to put in the Press Room, so trade magazine editors can learn about your products and your news?
* Have you booked a press conference to tell the world about your new products and innovations?
* If you're giving a seminar or continuing education presentation, is it written and designed?
* Are you going to do anything to encourage customers and prospects to visit your booth -- like direct mail, pre-show advertising, or at-show sponsorships?
* Who will be staffing your booth? Are they trained in booth skills?

Light a fire under your people, so they can tackle these issues bit by bit during their downtime, and not cut into business later with a big last minute crunch.

Exhibiting at any tradeshow is a big investment.  Support it with the proper prep, so you can make it pay off.  (And if you need help, don't hesitate to call on Chusid Associates.)

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Fearless Publicity

They say that even bad publicity is good publicity.  Nonetheless, few companies paying for PR want to go telling uncomplimentary stories about themselves.

On the other hand, the story of a problem, and how to fix it, can make compelling reading. It takes a little courage to admit that there could ever, possibly be a problem in any way connected with your peerless product. But everyone knows problems happen, and the details of how they can be overcome are valuable information. That's 'news you can use.'

We recently wrote up a case study about a concrete coloring project where the color – made with our client's product – came out wrong. A skillful contractor fixed it - again using our client's product. The product does not seem to have been at fault - some damaging agent apparently leaked onto the slab - but it was still a gutsy move to tell the story. And the president of the company is quoted extensively, so it's obvious when reading the article that the manufacturer is 'on board' with telling this tale.

Many business people would have turned off the whole notion of telling about it, without considering the value. It's a reaction to negativity that's like an allergy. They think, what possible good can I do my product by associating it with failure?

So what is the positive value?

- Contractors learn how they can address problems
- Architects and specifiers learn that the product is versatile and problems can be resolved
- The manufacturer displays honesty
- The manufacturer's involvement and support of applicators is demonstrated
- The manufacturer shows that he's not afraid of the truth, because the product is good and worthy of his faith

What's more, readers in this industry will understand and appreciate the fearlessness of it.  The story is more compelling, more memorable, because it's obviously not the usual marketing sunshine.

When seeking publicity, consider sharing your troubles (and solutions) with the world. It might come out better than you think.

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Parliamentary Procedure is a Sales Tool

Robert's Rules of Order was compiled by an engineer.

"Henry Martyn Robert was an engineering officer in the regular Army. Without warning he was asked to preside over a public meeting being held in a church in his community and realized that he did not know how. He tried anyway and his embarrassment was supreme. This event, which may seem familiar to many readers, left him determined never to attend another meeting until he knew something of parliamentary law." (Robert's Rules of Order website)

Building product salesmen, like engineers, ought to be prepared to participate in "deliberative assemblies," to use Robert's elegant phrase for meetings where a group considers and democratically decides on a course of action or policy. As Robert's found, being able to conduct a business meeting effectively is a form of service to an organization. It can also enhance an individual's reputation and afford leadership opportunities that can aid one's career.

I am reflecting on this following the recent Annual Meeting of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). A simple motion from the floor devolved into confusion that delayed the meeting and frustrated members. This would not have been the case if the meeting had been assisted by an able parliamentarian or if the members had a better understanding of the rules of order.

Rules of order are similar in function to MasterFormat's Division 01 - General Requirements; both describe administrative and procedural requirements to be followed in order to achieve a goal. Conducting a meeting is far easier than managing a construction project.

"The application of parliamentary law is the best method yet devised to enable assemblies of any size, with due regard for every member’s opinion, to arrive at the general will on the maximum number of questions of varying complexity in a minimum amount of time and under all kinds of internal climate ranging from total harmony to hardened or impassioned division of opinion." (Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th ed., Introduction, p. xlviii)

While CSI's meeting was tumultuous, the members were still able to approve the motion in question, with a substantial majority voting in the affirmative.

Familiarity with parliamentary procedures will enhance your participation in professional and trade associations and committees and in community affairs. To learn parliamentary procedures, I recommend reading Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised IN BRIEF, a clear, concise, and correct guidebook that is complete enough for use most meetings. I also recommend The A-B-C's of Parliamentary Procedures, a pamphlet that explains basic rules and is priced so that copies can be affordably provided to all members of an organization.

Roberts worked with the US Army Corps of Engineers, eventually becoming its Chief of Engineers. Among his many civil engineering works were improvements to waterways. Yet his greatest achievement was to improve the flow of group decision making and to drain the swamps of debate. It is altogether fitting that contemporary members of the construction industry follow his lead.

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Greenwash On Wheels

It's a hot day in Tarzana, CA (where Chusid Associates has its headquarters) and I just saw a perfect symbol of greenwashing: a black Toyota with the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on.

No knock against Toyota or its Prius hybrid.  I'm thinking of the driver.  In this hot climate, what environmentally conscious person buys a heat-absorbing black Prius? 

Someone for whom the purchase is not really a sustainable choice, just a sustainable statement. 

When the weather heats up and she turns on the air conditioning, it becomes pretty obvious to anyone who thinks about it that her sustainability credibility is pretty thin.  Her black Prius is pure greenwash.

Every day, Chusid Associates helps building products manufacturers tell their “green” stories in websites, press releases, magazine articles, sales sheets, data sheets, guide specifications, trade show displays, continuing education, social media and more.  Green has become a major aspect of marketing.  This means that the consumers – in our case, design professionals, contractors, and building owners – have gotten and continue to get more sophisticated.

In the current environment, a green story gets attention, but increasingly, greenwash gets seen through.  Design professionals can smell it.  LEED AP’s are cropping up in every architectural office.  And they care.  Owners and even contractors are starting to know, and they’re starting to care.

Green is not a fad, it’s not going away.  As has been noted here before, it’s becoming standard.  Products that can’t meet the standard will see their markets shrink.

If you have a green story, now is the time to tell it. 

If you don’t know whether you’ve got a green story, now is the time to figure it out (we can help).

If your product has a green problem, now is the time to address it.  There are many avenues to tackling a green problem, and there are experts available.  Get some help, save your product, save the planet.

But don’t waste your time trying to greenwash a black Prius.

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Proofreading Perils

The ad was already on the presses when I realized it contained several copy errors:

1. "The system is panelized for rapid installation and access above-ceiling access."

2. "Using high speed, equipment, each part is made with precision..."

Can you spot the errors?

Fortunately, with the aid of the ad sales rep and the cooperation of the publisher, the correction was made before the ink was laid down.

But the near miss motivates me to share these proof reading techniques.

• Use a professional copy editor.
• Dial phone numbers in the proof to make sure they go where you intended.
• Don't wait until the last minute. It is amazing how many mistakes are caught after a night's sleep.

So what are the errors in these examples?
1. The word "access" is repeated.
2. There is a carelessly placed comma after "high speed".

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Encouragement!

For those of you struggling with the economy, take not -- some firms grow even during declines.  I received this today in an email from a client:

Sorry for the lack of communications from my end! We have been inundated with an unprecedented level of sales - forcing us to deal ONLY with the moment. We have set several sales records this summer, and we are poised for our largest sales year since 1927. We are on a recruitment drive for two new employees to start, and two more planned for later this fall. All good, but this leaves NO time for keeping pace with marketing and product development.

The foundation for their growth included repositioning the company into new markets, reducing operational costs, trimming unnecessary expenses, embracing digital media, and listening to their customers. I trust that their work with Chusid Associates was also a contributing factor.

Keep focused. Stay optimistic. Learn from businesses that are struggling, but learn even more from businesses that are growing.

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Greenwashing Doesn't Pay

Greenwashing is a bad practice (I'm sure we all agree on that) that hurts the credibility of the industry, and the perpetrator, when it's discovered.

Compounding the sin is Bad Greenwashing, which not only distorts the truth, but insults the reader's intelligence, as well.

I recently read a manufacturer's trade association paper that notes 35% of the manufacturing plants in this field "have investigated alternative energy sources."  (It refers to an historically energy-intensive process, and the chief sustainability knock against the product in question is energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions in its production.)

Decoded: 65% haven't even looked at the possibility of alternative energy.  To make matters worse, the other 35% merely have investigated, with no indication that any of them have done a blessed thing about actually changing.  

The statement was intended to provide reassurance that the industry is improving on its thorniest environmental problem.  But if you think about their argument for two seconds, it's so weak that it becomes an embarrassment.  The facts are bad. The attempt to greenwash them actually highlights how bad they are, and damages the credibility of the entire paper.  (Pity, too, since the paper raises some other honest points about the sustainable performance of the product.)

Greenwashing, like crime, doesn't pay.

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Pace of Innovation

First Polished Precast Concrete Building.

Click here for "Greenwashing does not pay,"

Ten years ago, polished concrete became a practical finish for concrete with the development of chemical densifiers and affordable polishing machines. It is now an is increasingly common for floors.

But what about polished concrete walls?

Five years ago, I predicted the polishing of precast and tilt-up concrete. Yet it has taken until now to see it in practice. A project at Ohio State University, designed by Ross Barney Architects, is being constructed of polished precast panels that reflect light from dichromic glass fins.

New technologies rise and fall on an annual cycle in some industries. But construction product innovations gain market acceptance at a slower pace. Now that one early adopter has taken the step, others will follow; architects watch what their peers do, and are trained to copy (i.e., take inspiration from) the work of others. But will any precasters or manufacturer of concrete densifiers take the lead in promoting the concept?

And for the next five years? Here are some predictions:

• Polished concrete floors are often stained for color and given ornamental treatment. The Ohio state university columbus ohiosame can be done with polished precast and tilt-up walls.
• Machinery to polish precast panels in-line during production, rather than as an after process.
• Precast and tilt-up concrete are polished while panels are horizontal; is it practical to create a polishing machine that creeps up and down the side of cast-in-place walls? (I have a sketch of such a machine if any equipment manufacturer is interested.)
• There are a few concrete masonry unit manufacturers that already make burnished CMU. I would love to see units with a high polish. They could be set in a wall so that each was at a slightly different angle, creating a wall that would sparkle in sunlight.

For more information about concrete densifiers, see: www.lythic.com and www.adcsc.com.

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Keep Thinking, Keep Greening

There are many real, substantial ways that you can green your products and operations.  Everyone thinks about recycled content and carbon footprints, but sustainability is a broad concept with many facets.

If you want to be greener - and evidence is mounting that it's good for your business as well as the planet – look at all aspects of your operations, your products, and what happens to your products after they leave your hands.

Some manufacturers in the brick industry, for example, are using an innovative method of packaging their products for shipment.  They've eliminated the palettes and the shrink wrap, and thereby significantly reduced jobsite waste.  That may contribute to a LEED point for their customers.

Photo courtesy of Boral Brick.

This palette-less cube of brick is held together by thin bands that create minimal waste.  Instead of wooden palettes to provide lift-points for the forklift tines, the cube has integral slots that a forklift can engage with.

(And just to make it cooler, these cubes were packed by robots.)

The first step to being green is thinking green.

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