Masonry Magazine December 1996 Page. 24
Masonry Promotion
Continued from page 23
our markets."
Obviously, the greatest promotion that the masonry industry offers is quality construction. Customers, whether they are architects or owners, who receive consistent quality, with no problems and zero punch list items will continue to specify masonry. Customers who experience problems, low quality and finger pointing will experience a loss of confidence and switch to other methods on future construction projects.
Our industry, like all industries, have elements that care only about making a dollar on a project. This element, quite often doesn't have a clue about the professional way to run a business. To them, employees are simply tools to be replaced and they change customers like the wind. A key component is to elevate the quality of the mason contractor. Educate them on all aspects of running a successful, quality contracting business. To raise the quality of our workforce and the education they receive.
Most importantly, our job is to promote to our customers what a quality contractor is and why they should use them. We must become highly trained in the ability to "sell quality" and not be sucked into a price war with an unqualified contractor. We need to seek out those customers who value quality and then become intertwined with their operation so it would become difficult for them not to do business with the masonry industry.
Marketing managers in any corporation or industry understand that the closer to the customer that the sales appeal is, the higher the sales rate will be. The automobile industry knows that cars are sold through dealerships and not through television, radio or print advertisements. They understand that the car customer wants to see, touch and test out the product to get a real comfort level. Car customers want to get that comfort level so badly that we will even endure dealing with car salesmen. To be certain, national ad campaigns are important to peak consumer interest in a product, but the close personal sales appeal and the "comfort level" with the product makes the sale.
This is especially true in the masonry industry. Architects and owners rely heavily on trusted, close personal relationships that they forge within the industry. Their reliance on expertice from reliable contractors and promotion directors is what really sells the industry. Conversely, the lack of local experts, the larger the loss of confidence by architects in designing with masonry.
As an industry, keeping our focus on the customer is not something that we have done. Keeping focused on the customer is however, how we will expand the industry into new markets and gain back lost markets. By doing this, greater opportunities will open to eveyone that competes in the masonry industry. I am reminded what President Reagan said during the 1984 campaign that "a rising tide raises all boats" and how true it will be for the masonry industry if our market opportunities can be expanded.
Making it easy for the customer to do business with the masonry industry should be our utmost concern. And the greatest burden lies with the mason contractor since it is the contractor that has the closest, ongoing contact with the customer during the project. It must become the mason contractors responsibility to become an industry promotion director. Contractors have the obligation to not just sell their company, but the entire industry as well. To this end, we have fallen short. We have allowed too many contractors to take from the industry and not give back. We have allowed too many contractors to perform low quality work just to turn a profit. We have allowed too many unprincipled contractors to worm their way to the customer and threaten the survival of the industry. And we have allowed the customer to not know the difference between a reputable firm and a substandard one.
We have allowed too many contractors to take from the industry and not give back.
Most important of all, the masonry industry must take a step back and objectively look at the state of the industrys local promotion with regards to the existance of local promotion directors and programs. It is my view that the industry has far too few promotion directors and the trend to consolidate in this critical area is alarming. We should follow the lead of the Brick Institute of America and recommit to build our base of local promotion. After all, our future as an industry lies in the hands of the local promotion directors.
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