5 Big Myths About Building Product Branding

What you don’t know could be hurting yours

Brand is a fun topic and lots of people have opinions about it. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of bad information out there and that makes it more complicated than it should be, not to mention the fact that many people throw the term “brand” around without really understanding it. So here’s a short list of five simple myths about brand that every building products marketer should know:

#1 – Brand is a name or logo

Well, kinda. Those are certainly things a brand is associated with, basically the trigger for a brand, what identifies one brand from another. But to understand brand, we need to go deeper. My favorite explanation of brand comes from Marty Neumeier, who suggests brand is “a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization.” And that’s an important distinction to make, especially when we consider Myth #2…

#2 – You own a brand

Nope…and that is completely counter-intuitive. You see, you might own a name or logo, plus a tagline, website content, etc., but those “gut feelings” people have are uniquely theirs. You can’t own that, and yet that is the essence of a brand. So what you CAN own is the elements that impact the experience people have with your product or service—and you should, because it’s exactly what everyone else is using to develop their perception of your brand. From obvious things like quality and innovation to subtler items like website design and on-hold wait times, the elements that impact your brand are all around you.

#3 – Branding is putting our name or logo on things

It’s certainly a part of it, but only a small one. Want to know the biggest, baddest, most impactful way to build a successful brand? Here it is, free of charge: Make the experience match the expectation. There it is, the Golden Ticket to developing your very own Google or Apple (or Therma Tru or Masonite, for that matter). Of course, knowing it and doing it are completely different challenges. But the fact is Apple is known for innovation, Google is associated with results, and Amazon is trusted, not by accident, but because way more often than not, those brands have delighted people by delivering beyond expectation. That’s a positive experience consistently delivered, which builds trust, which builds brand.

#4 – Branding is the same as marketing

They are certainly related, but definitely not the same. Think of it this way: marketing is about delivering the message to your audience; branding is about delivering TO the message FOR your audience. In fact, an effective way to think about branding is “experience control”—all the work, effort, and strategy to ensure that what people experience is on target. That can be everything from how CSRs answer the phone to the quality of paper used in sales collateral. Consider that no matter how slick and new an airliner may be, the company logo sparkling on the bulkhead, that isn’t the airline’s brand; the surly flight attendant who snaps at you and screws up your drink order, for you, THAT is the brand. Ultimately, everything in the brand experience needs to deliver to a single message to build trust and preference.

#5 – There’s no such thing as bad press

This lazy approach to branding has seen some impressive names disappear over the years, even more so with the emergence of social media and the easy sharing of experiences. Today, unrestricted by any professional oversight, every blogger, every Yelp star, every Google “+1” is all potentially a part of what people think (and feel!) about your brand. And the worst thing to do when something negative is shared is to do nothing at all, hoping the problem will go away. It won’t. So it’s important to keep the experiences and the conversations focused on the positive.

So what does this mean for you and your brand? Well, awareness is the first (and biggest) step. Always consider your brand from the audience perspective; not by what you’re doing, but by what they are experiencing. Knowing and understanding that perspective is critical to building a brand experience that can meet the expectations of those who will build—and talk about—your brand.

What the Pro Should Want From a Building Materials Manufacturer

Know the pro and separate yourself from the competition

As a manufacturer of building products you provide solutions for the home owner that get delivered, installed, and most importantly sold by someone you don’t know.

Oh sure, you ‘know’ who the builder or remodelers are. You read the trade publications, you go to conferences, you subscribe to newsletters, heck you even have an analyst in the marketing department. But do you really know what that person needs from your company?

While you have spent all that money on your brand, your website, your amazing new iPad app, does it mean anything to the person down the channel? This person may be sitting across the dining room table, on the job-site or in the model home making purchasing decisions with the homeowner. What does it mean to them?

Many times, the professional builder or remodeler has the ultimate power over the homeowner and what are they armed with? Their own marketing materials. Maybe they use your brochure, but in the end people buy from people they know, like and trust. No one trusts a brochure or an iPad app.

As budgets become available now that the recovery is here, be sure to include all the stops on your sales channel. Remember to equip everyone with what they need to help the next stop on the channel. What your one-step distributer/dealer needs is very different from a two-step wholesale selling to lumberyards selling to the pro.

Make the effort to understand that pro. Research them. Sit with them at the table with the homeowner. Put the time in to see how they use your cool new gadgets vs what they are comfortable using. You might be surprised at the wide range of options you need to provide.

You also have to think about how your brand message is delivered. It is the last stop in the funnel. Think about how you enable the sales process to occur as easily as possible. Are you making it easy for the pro to sell your products?

Some thoughts to ponder as you really look at the customer that sells your products for you. Always keep them in mind. While not directly your customer, they are often not given the full access to the manufacturer to help them. Those that have figured it out, and there are many, are separating themselves from the competition.

5 Building Product Trends In the New Housing Market

The Housing Market is Evolving – Be Ready

As we move into 2013, I think everyone is in agreement, the housing market is recovering. In some places, it’s recovered, others sill have excess inventory or foreclosures, but overall – we are through the worst time our industry has ever seen (or wants to see).

So as we look forward to this ‘new’ normal what will the housing market look like? What trends do we think will occur or impact our business? the home buyer? the manufacturer? the lumberyards?

Heres my take on 5 things this ‘new’ normal means to our industry

1. We all have to remember what we have gone through these past few years. It’s human nature to only remember the good things and let those bad memories fade away. We can’t let that happen this time. We need to manage inventories, not simply look for the quick buck and actually manage our businesses with the long-term in mind. Too many bad decisions combined with bad business practices left too many companies out of business.
2. People will continue to stay in the homes longer. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like homeowners have also learned some hard lessons. Too many people bought a home they couldn’t afford and then wondered why they couldn’t make that huge payout after 2 years. There’s enough hedge funds buying up real estate. People need to buy a home they can afford.
3. Universal design and aging in place will explode. As a component of #2, people are aging in their homes. Some because they love the house they have lived in, but for many, it’s a very easy financial decision. The cost to make your home more accessible and useable as you age far outweighs the cost to sell your home and move; especially to any assisted living facility. Manufacturers and pros need to look at this as a huge opportunity.
4. Multi-generational living isn’t going away. While initially people saw this as the Millennial generation moving home after college, it’s much more than that. In a growing number of family’s, the older generation is moving in with their ‘kids’. These homes typically were the primary home and may have kids off in college and now the grandparent(s) are living with the family. Again this becomes a financial, but also a great emotional, challenge for the entire family. Creating homes and products that work, in some cases, for three generations will be key.
5. Millennials are in no rush to buy a home. For most of us, buying a home was something you wanted to do. It meant you had arrived. You were an adult. We need to understand that’s not at all how the Millennial generation approaches home ownership. That’s part of their contentment with living at home into their mid 20s. As an industry we need to realize that constant stream of new buyers may take a hit for a few years. Although there are plenty of hard working, financially stable 26-32 year olds, they simply don’t feel the need to buy a home right away.

So the housing market is really coming back, but it will be different and we all must learn from the past, and be prepared for the future.

Multigenerational Living Shifts How Building Products Are Marketed

Building product marketers must look at products differently to target this growing audience

While multigenerational living has been a common occurrence in other countries for centuries, it is now becoming increasingly relevant in the US. In fact, since 1990 the number of multigenerational households has increased by 60%. It’s no secret that the economy has been hit hard and the housing crisis has had a dramatic impact on multigenerational living. This affects families in many different ways, including Baby Boomers and college students moving back in with family:

Baby Boomers moving in

• Due to the current economic state, Baby Boomers face many obstacles as they try to retire – from weakening pensions to a faulty Social Security system and ever-increasing healthcare costs. Many of these Baby Boomers are opting to move in with their adult children to save money.

College kids coming home

• The economy also makes it challenging to get on your feet after graduating college. Young adults must find a job and a place they can afford while also paying back looming student loans. Many of these young adults are opting to move back in with their parents for a few years until they get their feet on the ground and can be stable on there own.

Stuck in the middle

• For some adults, this means pressure from both sides of their lineage – from their parents needing support in retirement and their fresh-out-of-college children needing help getting started.

So what does this mean to building product marketers? While family units used to live independently from one another, now we need to look at Baby Boomers, recent college graduates and those stuck in the middle as unique and important customer segments. It means looking at your products in a different light and seeing them through the eyes of these new and emerging audiences.

As marketers we know that people seek out companies that share their beliefs and relate to them, so showcasing products that address these unique needs lets this growing segment know that your organization is familiar with them and creates the products they need. Consider featuring a separate living area in brochures, on your website and in other marketing material that appeal to these groups. Try showcasing a separate bedroom in the basement, a kitchenette with all the essentials, a secondary and more simple laundry room or a separate suite with its own entrance.

Whatever you do, don’t ignore this growing segment of Americans – chances are one of your competitors won’t make the same mistake and they’ll be the ones reaping the benefits.

Building Product Manufacturers & BIM

Kolbe Millwork’s New Collection of BIM files on Autodesk Seek

Are you prepared for the shift in technology to BIM?

For decades, blueprints have been the way houses are built. An architect or builder creates them. The future homeowner reviews and has changes. New blueprints are created again. Then, the trades all have their turn at reviewing, offering up suggestions and identifying conflicts as best as possible. As a manufacturer, you hope your products are specified by someone along the way, provided you have your products available in the right file format(s). By the time all the stakeholders have had their say, the blueprint can be, at worst, a confusing, conflicting mess and, at best, a huge time expense for the architect or builder.

Imagine this alternate scenario: an architect or builder creates the new home using 3D architectural software and outputs a single, simplified file. That file is sent to each of the trades and to the dealer for materials estimates. Using compatible software, each stakeholder identifies conflicts and offers their input in their area of expertise. All that input is utilized by the software and the architect or builder to get to a final, conflict-free design that is presented to the homeowner. Rather than having to imagine what their home will look like from 2D blueprints, the homeowner can virtually walk through the entire thing, offering their input and seeing their various options. The result: a single, simplified design file and a home built more efficiently, with less conflicts, less waste and on-the-job changes, and a happier homeowner.

That scenario may seem far off, but it’s not. It’s the way commercial buildings have been built for over a decade, and it’s finally starting to become reality for residential construction as well. It’s called Building Information Modeling (BIM), and here’s what you should be thinking about, as a manufacturer:

• Make sure your products are BIM-ready: This means having your products available in Autodesk® format files. As the dominant platform for BIM, Autodesk’s file format (DWG) is the one everyone has to conform to. Autodesk has also built a web resource called Autodesk Seek (http://seek.autodesk.com/) that serves as a BIM product library for architects, engineers and builders. The majority of products are commercial-focused currently, but manufacturers like Marvin Windows have their products in place.
• Make sure your customer service department is ready: You’ve got experienced customer service people on staff, but are they prepared to answer questions from architects about file formats and utilizing your products in BIM software?
• Actively marketing to architects? Besides the obvious, manufacturers can gain a lot of credibility with architects by offering continuing education units (CEUs). All architects need to get these to maintain certification, and it’s a great way for manufacturers to get in front of them. Presentations can be online or in person, but must be completely brand-neutral. Therma-Tru is a great example of a manufacturer that’s done this for years.

As great as all of this sounds, there’s still a lot of adoption that needs to be done prior to BIM being commonplace. It won’t surprise you to know that many builders, architects and other stakeholders aren’t ready to spend the time and money learning a very different way to design homes. However, the benefits from adopting BIM as part of the process are too great to ignore, and the market will shift, though slower than some would like. When that shift finally happens, do you want to be the manufacturer playing catch-up, or the one that is trained and ready to take full advantage?

For more information on BIM, check out these resources:

• http://www.chiefarchitect.com/company/articles/bim-goes-residential.html
• ITWInstinct.com
• http://www.dwmmag.com/index.php/using-bim-to-bring-in-money/
• http://www.housingzone.com/software/bim-home-builders
• http://www.housingzone.com/design/how-bim-can-work-small-builders
• http://www.housingzone.com/building-technology/bim-pipe-dream-or-promised-land
• http://www.housingzone.com/building-technology/trenches-bim
• http://www.housingzone.com/design/defining-bim-vision-meets-reality
• AutoDesk Seek

The Baby Boomer Opportunity: What Building Product Marketers Can Do

NAHB’s CAPS program can be valuable for building product marketers

We all know the marketplace is constantly evolving. Our “Gray Hairs are Everywhere” blog post from earlier this year introduced us to the Millenial generation which is a term used to describe those born between 1980 and 2000. Also known as “Generation Y”, Millennials are the children of the Baby Boomer generation. We’ve discussed what these Millennials mean to your business, but what about their parents?

 Baby Boomers make up 42% of the adult population and according to the AARP this segment can make quite an impact on our companies:

• Boomers buy 45% of all consumer goods
• Boomers have 75% of the discretionary wealth in America
• 68% of them even give money to their adult children

And they’re not going anywhere. The Boomer population is growing 7x faster than the 18-49 segment and they will be the dominant demographic for the next 40 years.

We already know that older homeowners overwhelmingly prefer to age in place, 84% of them according to the AARP, which means they want to live in their homes safely, independently and comfortably, regardless of their age or ability level. This goal aligns with the building products industry perfectly. Boomers want to upgrade their homes to ensure they are accessible, safe and comfortable and we have the products to help them.

But what can you do to ensure you are positioning your products to appeal to this market? One way to do this is to check out your local NAHB chapter and see if they offer the Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (CAPS) program which is designed to address the growing needs of homeowners looking to stay in their homes longer. While most CAPS professionals are remodelers, even building product marketers can benefit from seeking this certification. By achieving your CAPS designation you will learn:

• The unique needs of the older adult population
• Aging-in-place home modifications
• Common remodeling projects
• Solutions to common barriers

Beyond that, you will network at the CAPS course with the people you try to reach everyday – potential customers that are self-seeking to learn more about this important market.

Baby Boomers: The Facts

• Today and every day for the next 18 years, another 10,000 people will turn age 65
• By 2050, the population of Americans aged 65 or older will be 88.5 million—more than double what it is now
• Americans aged 85 years or older will reach 19 million—triple what it is now
• 84% of Boomers are already 50+

To read more about CAPS and to find your local NAHB chapter, visit www.nahb.com.

The Housing Trend—Where Does Your Market Stand?

Image courtesy thedailygreen.com

Every month, we get the new housing stats. Stats about everything: starts, permits, vacancies, ownership levels, mortgage rates, foreclosures, and of course, inventory levels.

It seems there’s an entire segment of the industry, and especially the government, responsible for reporting all these statistics.  And those are the factual statistics. Just as often we hear ‘experts’ talking about all the trends and forecasting for the future. I heard someone talking about the expected housing starts in Canada for 2015. Really? Who cares? Aren’t we all trying to ensure that 2012 is actually the recovery year?

There are some interesting facts that we should pay attention to. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) seems like a reasonable indicator to how your market is doing. According to the HOI, nationwide housing affordability is at a record high. But tight lending conditions continue to create a significant roadblock for many homebuyers.

• 77.5 percent of all new and existing homes sold in this year’s first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $65,000.  This beats the previous record set in the final quarter of 2011, when 75.9 percent of homes sold were affordable to median-income earners.

“Homes in this year’s first quarter were more affordable than they have been at any time in more than 20 years, yet many potential sales are not happening because of overly tight lending conditions that are keeping hardworking families from obtaining a suitable mortgage,” said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. “Without this significant hurdle, the housing and economic recovery could be proceeding at a much stronger pace.”

The most affordable major housing market was Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind., where 95.8 percent of homes sold during the period were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $66,900.

Also ranking among the most affordable major housing markets were:

• Dayton, Ohio
• Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
• Modesto, Calif.
• Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y

Among smaller housing markets, Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. topped the affordability chart. There, 99 percent of homes sold during the first quarter were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $53,000.

Other smaller housing markets at the top of the index include:

• Fairbanks, Alaska
• Wheeling, W.Va.
• Kokomo, Ind.
• Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill.

In New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., which retained the title of the least affordable major housing market for a 16th consecutive quarter, just 31.5 percent of homes sold in the first three months of this year were affordable to those earning the area’s median income of $68,200.

Other major metros at the bottom of the affordability chart included:

• San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.
• Honolulu
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.
• Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.

Ocean City, N.J., was the least affordable smaller housing market on the list, with 45.9 percent of homes sold in the first quarter affordable to families earning the median income of $71,100.

Other small metros at the bottom of the list included

• Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.
• San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif.
• Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.
• Laredo, Texas

So what does this mean to a building industry marketer? Focus on a few items that make sense.  This study looks at houses being built and their relative affordability in that specific market.  This tightly focused look at housing in a market is helpful.  Don’t get sidetracked on issues that you can’t impact or change.

Please visit www.nahb.org/hoi for tables, historic data and details.

Signs of Life for Building Products Marketers

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

Increased Potential of the Green Building Products Market

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

Panelized Homes: The Next Big Thing for the Building Industry?

An example of panelized construction (thanks to Blenker Companies for the image)

Can you really build 3x the amount of homes with the same labor force? Last week at the International Builders’ Show (IBS), I attended a presentation by Jason Blenker of Blenker Companies, Inc about panelized construction and it’s got me intrigued.

So we’re clear, here’s a good definition from Castlegate Homes of what panelized construction means:

The entire house super-structure or “shell” consisting of component parts (wall panels with integrated insulation, roof trusses, floor systems, and optional windows and exterior doors) are built and installed in a controlled, automated factory and then transported to the building site for final assembly according to the house blueprints.

This is different than modular construction (which I’ll cover in another post), but why is this any better than traditional stick-building? Jason’s analogy was this:

“Ford builds a good truck. But how good of quality would that truck be if they sent a mechanic to put it together in your driveway?”

Here’s a few additional reasons panelized construction makes so much sense for builders:

• Projects are planned in advance, usually using 3D BIM technology, which allows all parties involved to collaborate before the construction starts.
• A panel factory can cut lumber up to an accuracy as good as 1/16” – you won’t find many framers that can do that on a jobsite.
• A typical 2000 sq. ft., 3 bedroom, 2-car garage home can be completed, from digging the foundation to homeowner occupation, in as few as 62 days.
• That home can go from foundation-only to completely enclosed in 2.5 days with only a 3-man crew and a crane on the jobsite.
• The construction waste from those 2.5 days was small enough to fit in a 55 gallon garbage can.
• There’s no limit to how “custom” a home can be when you build with panelized. To prove that point, I saw photos of a 30,000 sq. ft., $20 million home that was built with panels from Blenker’s factory.
• The price is comparable to traditional stick framing, when all factors (materials, labor, waste, extra deliveries, time delays, weather-related issues, callbacks, etc.) are considered.

In 2010, less than 5% of new homes in the US were built with panelized construction. It seems this is a trend just perfect for the future of our industry. What’s stopping us from considering this different approach?

Additional Information:

• Blenker Companies website
• Fast Facts on Panelized Homes 
• Design Basics, Inc.