Jul 21 2008 9:35AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (2) |
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Through out my life I have observed that there are two kinds of people, those that sit and complain when the going gets tough and those that get up out of their chairs and try to change their situation. This is no different when you look at builders and manufacturers during this tough, tough economy.

Some builders have taken the bull by the horns and have taken costs out of their operation; they have reduced the number of standard items or offers in their homes and have made them options, thus reducing the price of their standard home. Many builders have retrained their sales personnel to better react to the market and to hone their selling skills that may have become rusty during the long upward building cycle.

When it comes to manufacturers, many of them have also become proactive in this down market. Obviously, they have cut costs be reducing head count and by idling some capacity but others have become creative in how they approach the market. Here are just a few examples:

• Goodman Manufacturing will bring over 2500 HVAC contractors to visit its facilities in Houston where they get a first-hand look at how the HVAC equipment is manufactured and learn about new marketing programs.

• CHI Overhead Door Company is now using visualization software to demonstrate to builders how the style of garage doors can help them differentiate themselves since the garage door is a big part of the street side view of the home.

• Dow Building Solutions is focusing its efforts on training builders and code officials via a “Ten Minute Meeting” approach. This effort goes a long way in positioning Dow’s products as well as differentiating Dow as a market leader.

• Danze and Gerber Plumbing is focusing on pull-through marketing strategies with privately-held builders and on selling upgrades.

These are just some examples of how builders and manufacturers are attempting to not only survive this poor market, but how they are trying to grow sales as well. What are you doing?