Masonry Magazine December 1996 Page. 12
Change or Die
Continued from page 11
sense to go where the big decisions are made? It's called top-down selling.
What is your selling proposition? The corporate construction manager of a national retail chain called his longstanding product vendor and told him the company was favoring a switch from concrete masonry wall systems to tiltwall. The decisionmaking committee was willing to give CMU a shot to keep the business. When did the manufacturer want to present his case? The vendor had nothing on hand to differentiate his product from tiltwall....compare features and benefits....quantify the advantages of masonry. No surprises here. Another national account loss for masonry.
How will you compete? In a fast-changing, highly-competitive market, no one is exempt. It's likely that you will have to change in order to survive and thrive. Because masonry is a componentized industry by nature, it's also likely that all masonry-related product and service providers will also have to change. What are your options?
Sell the same product to the same customers? - How will you protect your turf from competing systems?
Sell the same product to new customers? - Who are your prospects? - What will you tell them?
Sell the same product to former customers? -- What will make them come back?
Dallas-based Texas Industries is leading a masonry revitalization initiative with a fully integrated marketing, manufacturing and quality assurance program for High Performance Concrete Masonry Units.
"We stepped out of the box to look at masonry wall systems in a totally new light, "notes J. Barrett Reese, manager of TXI's Expanded Shale, Clay & Slate operating unit. "We looked beyond our industry our paradigms and into the marketplace to investigate decision-makers' needs, as well as competitors' claims. We talked to architects, engineers, developers, contractors, retailers, corporate construction managers, CEOs and professors."
Interest in the High Performance masonry marketing initiative is growing. The Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate Institute is working with its aggregate manufacturers for adoption of a nationwide program and development of a new specification for HPCMU.
The High Performance initiative links specifiers, block producers, contractors, builders, owners and tenants in a "value chain" of quality with a goal to deliver up-front construction efficiencies, flexibility for future retrofits and operating cost benefits that stand up against competing wall systems.
In his new book, Only the Paranoid Survive, Andy Grove, CEO of Intel Corporation, discusses the impact of strategic inflection points. "Sooner or later," he warns, "something fundamental in your business world will change. Only stepping out of the old ruts will bring new insights."
These pivotal external forces may be difficult to pinpoint. Here are some symptoms:
✔Caused by competitors. But...
more than competition.
✔Deadly when ignored
✔Fighting competition as you used to
may be insufficient.
✔Companies/industries that begin a decline
as a result of changes rarely recover
their previous greatness.
When the rules of business change, they create new opportunities for players who are adept in the new way. The door is opened for industry newcomers. Or....incumbents can attain a new period of growth.
For more information, visit the PyroThermTM
High Performance web site:
http://www.txi.com
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