Looking at what differentiates the truly iconic and great building products from the rest you will notice a trend towards offering expert advice, solutions and systems in an eye level conversation, instead of simply shouting and selling materials and products.
Just Care About your Customers
The companies which are able to design complete systems which solve problems tend to be standouts in their respective category. It is my assertion that the days of churning out a product line of widgets, printing out a few pages of thoughtless install instructions and specifications and sending customers on their way are coming to an end.
For Example . . .
Let’s say you were going to build out your closet with some custom organization, shelves and drawers and the like. You could grab a pencil, sketch out your design, take down measurements and head off to the big box home store where you would wander the aisles finding wood for the shelves, screws, wall anchors, tools,etc. You could take all that home and just figure it out on your own without any help at all.
Would your results be better if you were able to use a free tool online to hash out the design ahead of time? You would likely want to browse around for design ideas using yet more free online resources. Perhaps you could find one place online, or at a store where you could get these ideas, use a free design tool and get every part, piece and widget you would need all in one place and get great expert advice from someone who lives and breathes closets all day long? This is what building product manufacturers should be doing – packing products into systems and providing solutions coupled with great advice.
Be a Friend Who Can Help
The best building product reps, and sales people are problem solvers, service providers and teachers. In most industries, it is becoming the norm to engage customers with blogs, white papers, videos and other communication tools all aimed at providing valuable information far above and beyond simple installation instructions.
Taking a more helpful approach to building product marketing by anticipating the needs of your customers and filling those needs with useful tools, drawings, diagrams and videos can set you apart in the marketplace.
Real People, Real Problems, No Shouting
I think we are all learning to talk to our customers on a more personal level and at a shared level. What I mean by that is we are not standing on a pedestal and shouting down at them, nor are we placing them on a pedestal and begging them for our business. If we stay at eye level with them, realized that they are real people with real problems and just be there to help, we will all be better off.
Regards and I hope you find beauty today, even when it is not pretty.
-JY
About the Author :
Jason Yana has 2 decades of experience in architectural technology, 3d graphics and construction marketing. This unique combination provides highly-effective visual representations of building products that fuel marketing and support efforts.
His award-winning body of work informs, inspires and educates building product customers.