The Last Word on Wood:
Re-positioning your business for the green building/green products revolution
by Terry Campbell, Forest Products SolutionsWOW, what a ride the last six months has been for any business in North America – but especially in the building materials distribution and retail sector! First the housing bubble popped, then all the credit evaporated, and now the forecast looks rather hazy for 2009. One possible bright spot for 2009 will be a federal government stimulus package for infrastructure improvements. It may assist with revitalizing the economy, improving the job market and in the end, boost the housing sector.
Business will still take place in 2009 – although it may be on a smaller scale then previous years – and distributors and retailers that re-position themselves will have a marked advantage to capture that business.
Many businesses have weathered tough economic times before. Even though the current situation may appear deeper and longer lasting, business improvements can be made. Some of those improvements may include researching and discovering new business opportunities; investing in current assets; developing strategic partnerships with manufacturers; and providing meaningful communication to customers to build trust and re-establish confidence.
Researching and discovering new business opportunities is a daily struggle for all companies that are swamped with orders during a building boom. The tunnel vision that develops from just satisfying current customers does not allow much thinking outside of the box. Now that things have slowed down a bit, you can start researching some of those new avenues for sales.
Obviously, one of the biggest opportunities for building material distributors and retailers is the green products industry. Taking the time to learn about the various green building standards, green building products, product certifications, government incentives, green product manufacturers, and more could be vital to re-positioning for the next boom.
Established green product distributors and retailers who are quite familiar with this industry should seek to stay ahead of the game due to the industry's growing competitiveness. Investing in current assets can take on many forms, but the most dynamic assets that any company has is its employees.
Given the exponential growth of the green building and green products industries, many employees may have been challenged in the last few years to keep up with all of the information. NOW is the time to develop some in house training programs and to explore possible outside educational opportunities to ensure that as new products become available, their green values and placement within one or many of the green building programs can be effectively communicated to customers.
Manufacturers are frequently willing to provide training to customers (distributors and retailers) to ensure that salespeople are knowledgeable enough to sell their products.
More next month…
Forest Products Solutions provides companies with the services and tools to improve the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of FSC-certified and related green building products. To learn more about Terry Campbell and Forest Products Solutions go to: www.forestproductssolutions.com and to read his Blog go to http://blog.auxinews.com/
Archived Content:
Life Cycle Analysis, Pt. 1
Archived Content:
The USGBC & Market Transformation
Archived Content:
Chain-of-Custody Certification: Why, Who, & How
Archived Content:
First Report: Dealer/Distributor Conference on Green Building
Archived Content:
The Green Building Stimulus
