Building Business

What Will Consumers Be Buying For Kitchen Remodels in 2011?

After several dismal years, all signs point to a slow yet sure loosening of consumer purse strings with respect to kitchen remodels. But no matter how flush they are with cash, they’re still only going to buy one floor and one countertop. So what are kitchen products are they most interested in? A recent survey by Kitchen Cabinet Kings as chronicled by Eric Vasquez in the article Kitchen Remodeling Trends 2011 has the answers. The survey explored the latest trends in numerous categories including cabinetry, flooring, faucets, sinks and major appliances. What surprised us? Stainless steel was identified by 80 percent of participants as the trendiest cabinet material and induction cooktops were rated the trendiest cooking option. 

@NeilAndrewJames

3/4 of Business Owners Would Rather File Taxes Than Set Up Search Marketing Campaign

It takes a special type of mind to enjoy setting up a pay-per-click (PPC) search marketing campaign. Apparently, that type of mind is incongruous with the minds of most small business owners. According to an article from Pat Curry for Builder Online, Pay-Per-Click 101, three-quarters of small business owners would rather file their taxes than set up a search marketing campaign. For those who dare brave setting up a campaign, Curry details the basic concepts of PPC for builders including the importance of keywords, ad copy and tracking. To cite the benefits, Curry details an Atlanta-based builder who used PPC to drive eighty percent of the site’s new visitors and ten percent of the site’s total traffic. 

@NeilAndrewJames

Market for Quality of Leads, Not Quantity

It doesn’t matter whether the target market for your building products are wholesalers, distributors, purchasing agents, or even the end consumers. The ultimate outcome of your marketing efforts should be leads and sales. But are sales better served by more numerous or qualified leads? The most successful builders are emphasizing the latter according to Lauren Hunter in an article for Hanley Wood, It’s Who You Know. According to Hunter, several builders and remodelers have found success by de-emphasizing traditional media tactics in favor of relationship marketing efforts such as social media and event sponsorship. Although the phone rings less frequently, advances in digital tracking has better enabled marketers to identify which channels are producing sales. Marketers should still maintain a traditional presence however, Hunter says, lest complete radio silence leads prospects to believe you’ve gone out of business. 

@NeilAndrewJames

Is Your Building Products Brand Niche Enough?

You can’t be all things to all people. If you stand for everything, you stand for nothing. The sheer number of clichés articulating the pitfalls of mass appeal should serve as a warning to every marketer dismissive of specialization. Mark Buckshon expands on this notion in an article for Construction Marketing Ideas, Construction Marketing: The Mass and the Niche. Buckshon argues the appeal of specialized services and niche interests is paradoxical in that, compared to mass appeal, there is more opportunity for growth and development. Although messaging designed to appeal to larger audiences may be easier to understand, it is far more difficult to cut through the clutter and engage prospects in a meaningful way. Buckshon implores marketers to better understand the needs of their target market to discover the unique niches that appeal to their heart, emotions, and most importantly, their wallets.

@NeilAndrewJames

Consumers Shifting Dollars From Remodeling to Maintenance and Repairs

With the housing hangover seemingly in the rearview mirror, consumers are once again putting dollars into their domiciles. But are these dollars going towards upkeep or upgrades? Sentiment appears to favor the latter as reported in a new article for Kitchen & Bath Business, Survey Shows Shifts in Remodeling Projects. After a strong start in the first quarter, demand for additions and remodeling has dropped 18 percent on a national basis, led by a 33 percent decrease in bathroom remodeling. So where is the demand going? The survey reports that 46 percent of consumers have waited over a year to invest in high-cost maintenance and repair services. Sixty-two percent of homeowners reported the need to avoid further upkeep as the primary factor in the decision to eschew remodeling in favor of repairing. 

@NeilAndrewJames

New Green Ratings System Created to Certify New Products

The Green Products Innovation Institute (GPII), created by William McDonough, California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger and representatives of Shaw Industries Group, is a nonprofit that further developed the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certification process by creating a rating system to certify new products.  As discussed in a recent article for Eco Structure, Green Products Innovation Institute Launched, C2C criteria assess products in five areas: material health, take-back, renewable energy, clean water, and social fairness. The GPII certification will allow companies to share details of the chemistry makeup of its products in an effort to eliminate harmful and contaminated materials in all products produced in California. 

@NeilAndrewJames

Sell Relationships, Not Services, at Association Networking Events

Each year, the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association publishes an internal newsletter, Impact!, which promotes new members and provides a subtle networking platform for businesses.  However, in an article for Construction Marketing Ideas, Association Engagement and Marketing, Mark Buckshon writes that he has “rarely seen any that fully use the opportunity to show what they share rather than sell.” It’s proven difficult for businesses to use their membership to share knowledge and wisdom; most just try to sell their services right out of the gate. The main objective in this networking platform is to develop business relationships where new opportunities arise naturally and easily, rather than as a forced expectation. Once a business understands this delicate balance, they will be able to utilize the association membership to its full advantage; consistently bringing new business in the door.

@JoniArtz

Wall Street Journal: Builders Failing at Green Building

Sustainability. LEED. Net-Zero. These terms, alien to the building products industry a decade ago, are now fixtures in the industry’s lexicon. With all the emphasis on green practices, initiatives designed to reduce the environmental footprint of homes surely have been successful, right? Hold the phone, says Dawn Wotapka in an article for the Wall Street Journal, Home Builders Lag in Building Green. According to Wotapka, innovation hasn’t been the problem. Builders are introducing more eco-friendly features than ever before. Where they are lacking, Wotapka says, has been in stimulating consumer demand and effectively communicating the benefits of going green, overcoming price objections. Despite industry shortcomings, Wotapka notes however, mega-builders such as KB Home and Pulte have maintained a strong commitment to efficient, economical and eco-friendly homes.

@NeilAndrewJames

Few Believe Completely Green Homes Are Affordable

Consumers and builders alike believe in the importance of and the benefits to green building. The disconnect is occurring when the waiter brings the check. And although nearly everyone believes that green homes are affordable to live in, a new survey, as chronicled in an article for ApplianceMagazine, Green Homes Seen As Affordable to Live In, Expensive to Build, found that only high-income respondents believed a completely green home would be affordable to purchase. These opinions were not exclusive to homebuyers. A similar builder survey found that 30 percent of builders felt that green homes were too expensive for middle-income families. Sixty percent builders felt the same about green homes and low-income families. 

@NeilAndrewJames

Is LEED Certification Unnecessary For Green Building Construction?

LEED certification costs have proved too costly for some companies, but that doesn’t mean buildings aren’t being built according to certification system standards.  In an article for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, LEED Certification Boosts Cost of Going Green, Connie Engel states that “we’ve been doing it for years: recycling, water conservation, all kinds of things generally considered green, (but) we don’t want to pay the cost” of certification.  The paperwork to apply for LEED certification can cost tens of thousands of dollars, a cost building owners don’t necessarily want to pass down to their tenants.  Is it possible LEED certification is not necessary to construct a “green” building?

@JoniArtz