The method of design-build construction has been steadily increasing in the U.S. public building sector for more than 10 years. According to George Middleton, President of George Middleton & Associates, over half of all commercial construction taking place today is design-build. This mentality of “quicker, faster, cheaper” has been the product of the recession and will continue to squeeze building product manufacturers to respond accordingly. With an expected $412 billion in new construction starts in 2012, manufacturers have their work cut out for them.

As we explored in Shoot And Score…Fundamentals To Get Your Product Specified, information about your product is as important as the product itself when it comes to getting specified.  According to George Middleton, consider the following points to help empower architects and specifiers to hold the product specification throughout the build.

UNDERSTAND the methods of specifying: From performance and prescriptive specs to reference standards, descriptive and proprietary specs, manufacturers should thoroughly understand the most acceptable methods of specification in order to maintain the strongest possibility of product selection.

PUBLISH all product information EVERYWHERE: From paid placements on websites like Arcat and 4Specs to maintaining a clear concise section on your own website, architects/designers require detailed product information in order to make an informed, decisive product selection. It’s important to make it easy for them to find it, save it and use it.

DISTRIBUTE good guide specs: While not always recognized as an acceptable spec, distributing good manufacturers guide specs is an important element to build product creditability amongst architects/specifiers.

UNDERSTAND and EDUCATE the key influencers: Building owners, architects/specifiers, supplier/distributors, builders…each party has their own motivations, desires and challenges. Understanding these motivations and the relationships between the key influencers is paramount to making sure your product is addressing their concerns and accomplishing the desired outcome.

With the increasing value of time, product information needs to be readily available and delivered in a manner that suits the end user. We can help you organize your product content and deliver relevant messages through the most effective channels.

Contact us for more information.

Flickr image courtesy of pinprick.

As we explored in a recent blog post, usage of mobile apps and smartphones amongst the A&D segment is on the rise.

According to a recent study, 55% of architects use smartphones to download apps (just a few years ago, 69.2% of architects said they did not want to receive industry news on their smartphones). And a whopping one-third of architects use mobile apps developed by building product manufacturers. The usage rate is increasing by the minute.

So what types of apps are architects and designers looking for? When they download an app, their primary motivation is to have tools that they need at their fingertips, making their work more efficient and convenient. From a manufacturer’s perspective, this means building apps with concise yet comprehensive product details and user-friendly design.

Another way to deliver apps with value is to provide inspiration to architects at one of their most vital stages in the entire design process: design inspiration.

We’ve compiled a list of six apps that offer just that – design inspiration.

1) myPANTONE 2.0

Gives designers access to over 13,000 PANTONE colors, plus the ability to create color palettes, reference on the go, and share via email and social media.

2) Buildings

Created by architects, “Buildings” is an encyclopedia of more than 40,000 buildings across the globe, complete with expert commentary and insight.

Also uses standard GPS to identify location and serve up buildings near you.

3) BuildCalc – Advanced

An app that exceeds the capabilities of the construction master pro trig model with updates to the functionality frequently and based on feedback. In some cases, people have replaced the Construction Master Calculator.

4) SketchBook Mobile

Autodesk SketchBook® mobile is a professional grade painting and drawing application. It offers a full set of sketching tools and delivers them through a streamlined and intuitive interface. Use it to digitally capture your ideas as napkin sketches or produce artwork on-the-go. With the same paint engine as the renowned SketchBook® Pro software, it delivers sophisticated brushes and fluid pencils.

5) DWELL Mobile app

Dwell delivers photos, videos and more of modern architecture and design with dynamic updates to keep content fresh and commentary by industry experts. Complete with social media sharing capability

6) AutoCAD WS

Take your designs with you wherever you go so you have them whenever you have inspiration.  AutoCAD® WS is a free mobile CAD Application that allows you to view, edit and share your DWG™ files on your smartphone or tablet. Open drawings from email attachments, sync your files from the web, or upload drawings directly from AutoCAD software. Also has the ability to save locally so you can design on the go, with or without an internet connection.

These are just a sampling of the mobile apps that we found do a great job of leveraging the needs and desires of the A&D audience. Building Products Manufacturers need to understand the motivations and behaviors of Architects and Designers and how they use their products. By first understanding the audience, it opens up a greater likelihood of successfully developing a mobile app for A&D.

Read our latest white paper, Connecting to A&D to discover the insights we uncovered and how to connect and engage this important audience.

Image courtesy of fotopedia.

Ice hockey hall of famer Wayne Gretzky once said…

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”

U.S. homeownership rates continued to fall through fourth quarter of last year. However the multi-housing industry is fairing much better. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), a leading indicator for the multi-housing market, showed continued improvement for the fifth consecutive quarter, commanding the ONLY slow-but-steady rise in real estate market thus far. Multi-housing building starts and permits are increasing to keep up with the steady rise in demand for rentals.

For building product manufacturers, the puck is moving. Multi-housing is the sole bright spot in the real estate market right now. And building product manufacturers looking to target this segment need to understand the dynamics of how to get specified when it comes to new construction in order to compete successfully and garner a high degree of influence. Consider the following three elements towards getting in front of the puck.

Awareness/Relevancy: The starting point with any building product is to generate awareness of the product and make it known to the target audience why it’s relevant to them. Building owners are huge purchase influencers while designers/specifiers are true problem solvers. Your product is only as relevant as the design problem it solves.

Engagement: The next step is to create engagement with the target audience. Always preceded by awareness and relevance, engagement can come in many forms and mediums. The key is audience interactions with the product in order to stay top of mind. A designer/specifier or builder can’t move to engagement if they are not aware of your product or why it is relevant to them or their project.

Specification: The Stanley Cup for building product manufacturers. While getting your product specified does not guarantee it will be used in final construction, getting specified is half the battle. The most important step with specification is empowering and describing WHY the designer/specifier should hold your specification, versus treating it as an “or equal product.”

Getting your product specified is so much more than selling. Knowledge is power, and educating these audiences about your product is way more effective than trying to “sell” these audiences. Let us show you how to grow your product influence and build towards specification. The puck is moving and we can help get you there.

Contact us for more information on how to target this industry.

Flickr image courtesy of Tom Patterson.

In business and in marketing, it is critical that you know your customer. That’s why we’re sharing our latest research and insights with you. Connecting with the A&D industry has grown more challenging in the past few years. Driven in large part by the proliferation of media choices and technology advancements, coupled with the turmoil in the overall economy, you have a very unstable landscape in which to connect and be pulled through the Pinhole.

The market dynamics behind Architects, Designers and Specifiers has shifted as these variables have changed the game of connecting with and marketing to architects and designers. In our latest white paper update: Connecting To A&D, we explore trends in the A&D segment and provide insights into the newest best practices to connect with this audience.

By reading the white paper, you’ll find insights about how the economy has forced many architects and designers either out of the profession or into areas of architecture and design that they had not focused previously. You’ll also learn about the growing trend of mobile app usage and the important role it plays in positioning your brand in the A&D community.

Read the white paper to learn how 55% of Architects use mobile phones for downloading apps, 73% of Designers use the Internet for product research, and half of all product and brand decisions are made by Specifiers.

We’d love to hear your feedback on the white paper and discuss the insights we’ve uncovered. Contact us today.

Flickr image courtesy of PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE

Apple has always had the ability to exceed expectations.

Jobs and team understood how to tease and titillate audiences while telling us what your future technology experiences were going to be. We drank it up, cheered loudly and began a countdown for the long lines that would greet Apple stores around the world and promise life-changing innovation.

This launch became something different for Apple. It was viewed as a test for new leadership sans its iconic voice. History will record this release as the beginning of the Tim Cook era and the moment that Apple lost control of the conversation.

Welcome to the hangover, post-crowd source launch.

While the iPhone 4s has the same form factor as the 4, the brains and functionality are better. Much better. There are those that are already pining that the 4s should have been called the 5 so we can all feel better. Imagine customers wishing for a different name just so they won’t be let down. I can’t remember ever experiencing anything like it. Maybe since New Coke.

But different story, different time.

Apple should stick to its current naming nomenclature and keep the numbers the same if the form factor stays the same. The 4s was the right product name. What was wrong was the way they managed the launch. Yes, having the presentation in Cupertino did hint to less drama and implied the probability that there was only a 4X coming. But the expectations were simply too great and completely unmanageable.

The result? Angry and loyal Apple brand loyalists that feel betrayed, many of whom are journalists themselves.

With the loss of its iconoclastic leader, Apple will need to rethink its launch strategy. Jobs could handle any heat because he always knew the company’s next five future moves. He saw the game board in ways no one could comprehend and because of that view he could say “Bring it” when presenting something with the potential to disappoint.

The new Apple needs to understand that its new realities mandate better management of launches and misplaced crowd perception. It’s a different day, different expectation and a different product. Without Jobs, the crowd is in control, and Apple needs to understand that new dynamic.

Mr. Cook, welcome to the Pinhole Economy.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is all the rage. And we all know what it is. Every company approaches it differently. Some choose to implement systems such as Salesforce and Gold Mine to track every lead and contact, while others employ live customer service reps to tackle every problem a customer might encounter.  Others choose a combination of both. But along with CRM, the acronym we really need to start paying attention to is CEM, Customer Experience Management.

We are well aware of the story of United Airlines and the broken guitars: A passenger watches while his guitar is destroyed and nary a finger is lifted to assist him. A YouTube video is made that goes viral and is the first result that comes up on a Google search of “United,” and depending on your location, it can appear even before United’s website. That was poor relationship management. But there has been a shift in customers’ expectations. As consumers gain control over marketing, there is not only expectation of perfect service and products, but also an experience. And that is what they are calling Customer Experience Management.

Steve Ridgway, CEO of the Virgin Atlantic Airways put it perfectly in a recent McKinsey Quarterly article:

“We’re all marketers now. At the end of the day, we fly exactly the same planes as everybody else. If we get our customers off the plane happy, and they go on to talk about that and get others to come and then come back themselves- that’s a huge marketing tool.”

And this coming from an airline that is known for providing an experience, for example they were the first to implement in-air TV entertainment.

But, let’s be realistic. Airlines aren’t exactly known for their experiences. Getting to a destination on time with all your luggage is about the most a traveler can expect these days. However, Ridgway is on to something. How do we create an experience for our customer? How do we make this experience different for each customer? Because I know that a trip to an Apple store for me will include being shown the newest gadgets, trying out the new iPads, and maybe finding a new iPhone cover. My mom’s ideal Apple experience would be “getting out of there in under ten minutes with minimum interaction.”  The experience can be anything. It can be visiting a store, visiting a website, trying a product or service, or flying an airline.

The task seems daunting: creating a unique experience for each customer. So how do we do it? We learn about our customers.  We learn what they want and how they want it. We don’t just survey them or conduct focus groups. We find where they are, where they are talking about our product or service and we listen. We create a one-on-one dialogue so that each consumer feels like they are getting exactly what they want, even if they aren’t sure what that is.

The old saying has never been more true “the customer is always right.” And if you don’t think so, look out for a video on YouTube soon.

Flickr photo courtesy of xcode.

Several people have been credited with the saying: “Seek first to understand, then be understood.”

A quick Google search gives credit to Steven Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People so I’ll go with it here. What Covey and many others are trying to impress on us is the idea that until you understand who you are communicating with in terms of motivations, desires, interests, preferences and their overall being, you can’t expect them to understand you.

As marketers, we want to communicate what makes us great. Why our brand, product or service is better than the competition. But how do we know we’re better? Is it based on our research of the competition? Is it based on a room of marketing and product managers developing rationale for why we’re better than the next guy?

If this is how you are developing your communication strategy, your process is broken.

You need to first listen to what your customers and prospective customers have to say before you can begin to apply any brain cells towards how you’ll market your brand. The key idea here is to listen. Listen to interests. Listen to needs. Listen to motivations. Listen to dislikes. Listen to challenges. Listen to preferences.

By listening and understanding your audiences, you can then start thinking about how to position your brand. How to connect with your audiences. How to communicate with them. How to motivate them to respond and take action.

Instead of speaking in a language based on what you and your marketing team think is relevant and important to your audience, you’ll now be speaking a language that is relevant to them. A language they understand. One they want to respond to. One that understand them, their needs, their interests, their desires. Couple this approach with the competitive landscape and your unique brand offerings and you’ll be speaking a language your audience understands and will drive a return on your marketing investments.

Flickr photo courtesy of orkomedix

As we’ve discussed, the in-person experience of a convention needs to be at the forefront. It also needs to make financial sense.

But at its most basic level, we must be entertained.

Going back to the sports analogy in the last blog post, many thought putting baseball on the radio would kill attendance. Now we have television contracts that are in the billions of dollars.

Offering digital or virtual offerings of a trade show will not kill conventions. They must be embraced.

But, the digital experience needs to be an extension of the existing conference. Especially at AIA, where it’s extent is currently an obscure box on the website that displays a mere two clips from the convention.

But that’s not the worst part.

The most frustrating portion of the entire convention experience is located smack in the middle of AIA’s site.

Well how soon is soon?

Simply put, a convention this big must not only be accessible from anywhere, but also engaging. With some thoughtful (but not overly exciting) additions to the convention, architects who are unable to attend the convention will certainly be willing to invest in viewing the show online. Even better, offer more to those who DO attend each year, and you’ll convert the online attendees into in-person attendees over time.

Give everyone access to workshops, but only give education credits to those in attendance. Give everyone access to speaker keynotes, but ensure meet-and-greets with those in attendance. Give everyone access to brochures, but have workshops right on the show floor. You get the idea.

Even more, what AIA needs to give attendees are connections. Engage attendees not only with the exhibits, but also with each other. Make AIA a gathering place where architects from across the nation want to convene and share ideas.

The clear place to start is the convention floor. Rather than a static exhibition grid, create an interactive design that allows attendees to convene and discuss the exhibits as they move around the floor. Set up speakers throughout the show floor to create an intimate vibe. Then build upon these nooks based on the convention location. Hire a jazz band to play hourly at the New Orleans convention. In Cleveland, rock and roll.  In Memphis, blues. Playing upon the location makes the convention enjoyable and relatable.

The goal here is simply to create a connection. Give attendees a chance to mingle with themselves while enjoying some entertainment. Open up the in-person experience. Make AIA something to talk about.

We’ve seen it work before.

One show that seems to get it right over and over again is the TED national conference. TED is a non-profit that brings together new ideas in technology, entertainment and design and has shows throughout the country year round. But it’s the national conference that attracts thousands of eager attendees around the globe, perhaps due to its lineup of world-renowned and inspiring speakers. Best known for promoting ideas worth spreading, TED promises attendees four days of “unexpected connections, extraordinary insights and powerful inspiration.”

It’s cliched, but it delivers.

TED’s combination of intellectual consistency plus new insights brings attendees back year after year, and makes for a truly unforgettable in-person experience. Plus, among pages of written articles and summaries, its website offers “A Taste of Ted,” a three-minute recap of highlights from past shows. By offering only a taste of the conference, TED leaves much of the excitement to the in-person experience.

While we understand that AIA can not immediately rival the fervor and excitement that is TED, it has to start somewhere. Anywhere, really. Look at Apple’s WWDC. Look at Google’s IO conference. These are events, not just tradeshows. Attendees are highly creative, visual people. We need to cater to them.

And the simplest way to do that is by creating connections. The digital convention? That’s the easy part. But to create an interactive show that will engage and connect your audience? That is a goal that, surely, AIA can reach.

Part 1: Back of the Napkin: Doing Some Math at the AIA Show

Part 2: Rethinking the Convention: AIA and Beyond

A transition from ghost town to bustling convention.  All it takes is some rethinking.

We’ve discussed some issues at the AIA national convention, namely that it could have been better attended. The lack of bodies (plus the pricey cost for a lead) led to an uneventful show with the numbers to prove it. Perhaps the lack of general desire to attend the show – both the actual convention and the virtual show – is where the problem begins.

And where the solution resolves.

Yes, we recognize there are outside forces at work. But AIA needs to find the balance between a unique in-person experience and an accessible online show in order to be relevant. There must be qualities of each that make us eager to explore what the national convention offers on both ends providing fundamentally different, yet exciting experiences. AIA must prove that the national convention can be even stronger than it used to be.

And it must understand it’s the in-person experience that must come first.

Let’s compare the in-person experience to the potential virtual. Of course, many offerings are the same. Key vendor information and keynote speakers aren’t to be magically changed. But certain things at the AIA are simply unavailable online, to their benefit. The energy and buzz of the show floor, networking opportunities, personal interactions with company representatives, and even in-company/firm camaraderie can be huge benefits for in-person attendees.

Now they must build upon these offerings, which doesn’t necessarily require adding more activities at the convention. Instead, understand what makes AIA great and build upon it. Redesign a show into something that simply can’t be missed.

Let’s take some cues from the world of sports.

Nowadays it’s easier than ever to experience a game from the comfort of your living room. Yet, ticket prices in professional sports continue to rise. Obviously, there’s something special about being at the arena for the live event. Maybe it’s the free t-shirts they throw to the fans. Maybe it’s the combination of music and pyrotechnics. Or maybe it’s the feeling you get when you jump out of your seat, accompanied by the screams of thousands of fellow fanatics.

The AIA national convention needs to be an experience. What keeps fans coming back to sporting events isn’t the actual game. It’s the smells, sounds, feelings and people that make attending sporting events so popular. There’s a reason Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference sells out in two hours.

But that doesn’t mean the digital experience can’t be made better. In fact, they should work together. Stay tuned to see why.

Part 1: Back of the Napkin: Doing Some Math at the AIA Show

Flickr photo courtesy of ikaink