Building Business

Home Depot Sees Dip in Contractor Business

The building products industry is no exception to the Pareto Principle: 80 percent of your sales are from 20 percent of your customers. In the building products industry, these heavy users often wear the title “contractor” or “pro.” And as ProSales Online reports in a recent article, Home Depot continues to see its business in this high-volume market segment lag. While contractors are believed to approximate 30 percent of Home Depot’s sales, millwork and building supplies, historically contractor-heavy lines, experienced significant sales declines during third quarter. Big-ticket sales (over $900) were also down by 3.4 percent. Nevertheless, Home Depot’s CEO Frank Blake reported that net earnings in the third quarter did grow 21 percent from the year-earlier period.

@NeilAndrewJames

Post-Crash Gen Y and Baby Boomer Housing Trends

The housing market has absorbed multiple macroeconomic body blows. Complete credit evaporation. Oversupply. Unemployment. All those factors aside, the American public is still buying homes, but for very different reasons than they did five years ago. In what ways exactly? Katy Tomasuto explores new housing trends in an article for Builder Online, Baby Boomers, Gen Y and the Recession Shift Long-Held Housing Tastes and Trends. Tomasuto cites a ULI panel report which identified numerous factors influencing home purchases for both Gen Y-ers and Baby Boomers. Included in their findings, the ULI panel reported that for Gen Y homebuyers, 85 percent of household growth will be from households without children. Gen Y homebuyers are also increasingly willing to purchase a less than ideal home if they can walk to work and retail. Conversely, Baby Boomers are more interested in communities with opportunities for continuing education, culture and an active lifestyle.

@NeilAndrewJames

12.5 Percent of U.S. Population Moved to New Home in 2009

Are you a recent graduate? A brand new family man? Any number of reasons someone could move are now halted in the faltering economy. As Hope Yen says in her article, Census: Share of Americans on the move edging up, American mobility in the housing and renters market, while increasing from 11.9 to 12.5 percent from 2008 to 2009, respectively, is still suffering since the height of the housing bubble in 2005. And that doesn’t even take into account the fact that the majority of movers are renters who are taking smaller risks and not investing as deeply in the redevelopment and, thereby, salvation of the housing market. From young to old, people are staying put, which equates to a slow recovery for many.

Have you made a major move in the last year? What was the reason and did the economy play a part in your financial forecast for the future? What do you think about the slow trends upward?

@KyleGWilson

Image Credit - The Examiner

American Urban Infrastructure in the 21st Century

As experts continue to educate us about the environmental changes that we can expect in the future, Americans are focused on rebuilding their cities and communities to make people, not cars, the center of a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. Light rails, green space and lively downtown districts are quickly replacing interstates, suburban living and long car commutes while time banks are popping up nationwide to strengthen communities. The following article, Americans Rebuild for the New Urban Century, discusses this phenomenon and provides examples that offer a glimpse into the future.

Do you live in a city or that has undergone or is undergoing a transformation? Are you a member of a time bank? Whether you do/are or not, we would like to hear your thoughts!

- Claire Sychowski
Image Credit – MIT

Rating College Campus' Greenness

On greenbiz.com, we read about a new study commissioned by IBM that shows that the most environmentally conscious generation today is Generation Y (those currently between the ages of 18-24). Interestingly enough, however, this group was also "the biggest wasters of energy and water in the country." With 55 percent of this age group not being able to identify whether a clothes dryer or an incandescent light bulb uses more energy, it is safe to say that they're in need of help.

So how does a marketer harness the power of this information? We look for an outlet to execute a strategy which plays a huge part in this age group's life and handles the execution of "being green" for them in their everyday lives. The answer: universities.

At greenreportcard.org there is a full report card listing that scores universities A-F, among the green college campus landscape. If a sustainable design firm were to jump on board pro-bono with their local college, infiltrating every aspect of green at their local university, it's safe to assume that this group of non-conserving conservationists would recognize your company as a "no-hassle" solution to sustainably design their future homes. What we're trying to say is that from these findings, this age group is more likely to pay someone to handle their greenness thatn to actually do it. Your brand can be first in line to cater to this need.

A Better Approach to Social in the Workplace (Updated)

(Update below)

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the rapid increase of Twitter adoption within the building products industry. Less than a year ago, approximately 26 companies were utilizing Twitter. Now that number has increased exponentially, resulting in real-time involvement within the building products community. Not only does this involvement benefit the company, it benefits the individual employee.

Looking outside in, it is exciting to see the level of engagement building products professionals are taking with their career. The saying always goes that a company’s best advocates are its employees.

To our disappointment we found a piece titled Social Media in the Workplace: How to Deal in 3 Easy Steps from Expert Business Source. For the sake of brevity, here are the steps:

1. If it takes social media to “get the job done” then it should be included in a job description.
2. If not required within a particular role, block it.
3. Equip break room with computers for employees to use on “their time.”

The problem that we see with this approach is that under this umbrella, companies have to generalize their employee’s roles, therefore eliminating any chance of spontaneous, dynamic business efforts. Ideas come from any place, at any time, so why predetermine who is fit to utilize these tools?

In our experience, a smarter, more efficient approach would be to tailor a social media policy that does not exclude any employee, or advocate, of your company. As we all know, technology only moves forward - can you imagine receiving LaserDiscs from Netflix in the mail? Why not take a step back and strategize a plan that enables your employees, furthers their engagement and, best of all, increases the potential ROI for your employees' time?

Update: In our original post, we incorrectly attributed the above post, "Social Media in the Workplace: How to Deal in 3 Easy Steps" to Building Design+Construction; the correct source is Expert Business Source. We apologize, and regret the error.

Key Elements of a Social Media Policy

Should employees be encouraged to use social networking to enhance marketing outreach? Or will such activity impede productivity in an already tight economy? And what about reputational risk? These and other questions are clearly on the minds of every C-suite executive.

Recent research we undertook with our friends at Ethos Business Law found eight in ten businesses have concerns about the potential liabilities of social media. Yet, only one third have a policy in place to govern social media use, and just nine percent said they have conducted relevant employee training.

Instead of ignoring the need for responsible guidelines, organizations of all sizes should begin to define their strategy regarding social media, and most importantly, the rules for employee engagement. By doing so, management can take advantage of the benefits offered by these new communication channels while mitigating undue risk. But remember, social media is a far different animal than traditional technology. A company's current policies on IT matters are usually not sufficient.

All companies are different, thus the rules for creating and implementing a social media policy are not universal. They must take the form, substance, philosophy and culture of the organization to which they apply. However, the following are important elements to include in a good social media policy.

• Overall Philosophy. An effective social media policy should define the company's overall philosophy on social media and be consistent with its culture. For example, does the company have a supportive, open philosophy on the use of social media or a stronger, more limited embrace of this medium?
• Honesty and Respect. One of the most important aspects of a policy is a requirement that employees be open, honest, respectful and transparent in their usage of social media - especially in the business context.

Companies Remain Uncertain - And Do Little - About Potential Risks of Social Media

Social media has become a fixture on communication agendas across the country, fueled by the fact that Americans' spent 73 percent more time on such social networking sites in the past year alone. But according to a new survey, social media use is also generating its share of corporate heartburn.

Recent research we conducted along with Ethos Business Law confirms that confidence exists in social networking as viable communication outreach, but so do worries about the potential liabilities involved. Concerns regarding social media use were acknowledged by some eight in 10 businesses participating in the national study, which was conducted over the month of July. Fifty-one percent fear social media could be detrimental to employee productivity, while almost half (49%) assert that using social media could damage company reputation.

Despite these apprehensions, social networking is being viewed as a key strategy. According to survey results, eight in 10 senior management, human resource and marketing executives believe social media can enhance relationships with customers/clients and build brand reputation. Almost 70 percent feel such networking can be valuable in recruitment, as a customer service tool (64%) and used to enhance employee morale (46%). The most popular vehicles being used include:

Much of senior management's direct experience with social media appears to be reactive versus proactive, an interesting fact given the confidence they express in these new mediums. The majority (74%) of executives surveyed said they, personally, visit social media sites at least weekly to read what customers may be saying about their company, and routinely monitor competitors' use of social networking. One in three search social media sites to see what their employees are sharing; or check the background of a prospective employee (25%).

The Start of Your Twoledex

We're sure you've heard that Twitter is growing faster than many people can keep up with; we're here to slide you a little tid-bit we picked up online.

On builderonline.com, a list of building companies using Twitter has emerged. As mentioned in the article, last October only 10 building companies held Twitter accounts and only 16 other housing-related accounts were open. As of now this list has expanded tremendously, giving the impression that this utility may be far more beneficial than once assumed.

Is your company on the list? If not, why? Not to our surprise the main reason has been that most companies don't know where to start or what to include in the implementation of a strong social media policy.

As we see the shift towards customization of all brand messaging, the brands that are able to spread their message across various media on the Internet will thrive.

The Construction Barrel Monster

In Raleigh, North Carolina, one student has received the attention of thousands - if not millions - of people in the pursuit of expressing his artistic talent.

Joseph Carnevale grabbed three traffic barrels off of the street, chopped them up and created the construction barrel monster you see above. The local police had a problem with this, uh, public art, and charged Mr. Carnevale with a misdemeanor. After the story went public, many supporters of the artist began to emerge. Even Hamlin Associates,the construction company that owns the barrels, said they would not like any charges pressed and would actually like the monster back to integrate into their marketing mix.

By supporting local artists, this construction company has instantly given their brand personality and character. Chances like these are few and far between for many companies, but by supporting this cause this company has gained immeasurable amounts of free news coverage and a priceless monster to use to further build buzz for their brand.

We're not suggesting companies jump on board with every wacky thing that happens with their products and within their community, but great opportunities often come from the most unlikely places.

Has your company had similar experiences? If so, how did they turn out? Leave us a comment and let us know.