Masonry Magazine December 2000 Page. 29
Changes to How We Market Our Systems
Eventually, I believe they will select quality.
GD: Quality Over Price
I believe that eventually they will. What is slowly beginning to help is the hard work of the local masonry marketing councils and promotion. However, for us to get our customers to select quality over price, we need to sharpen our marketing approach to be more than advertising pretty pictures. Sharp people are marketing against us and they aren't just using pretty pictures. Look at the U.S. Gypsum people. They are attacking masonry in virtually every issue of Architectural Magazine, and they hardly have a picture of their product. In fact, they have pictures of our products. We need to do a better job of educating our customer. After all, I believe that masonry is what they really want, we just haven't convinced them that they simply can't live without it.
JB: Quality in Project Selection
In some respects, I believe that some of the more educated customers strongly factor quality into their equation of which contractors get a project. Unfortunately, as an industry we have a long way to go to educate all the other customers who look exclusively at price.
CO: The Temptation to Save Money
I think the temptation to save money will pull customers away from selecting the most qualified contractor. If they selected the most qualified contractor every time, the industry would have very few quality issues.
EG: Low-Bid Rules
As I stated earlier, low-bid currently rules. I feel eventually we will get to the best qualified contractor, but in a completely different scenario. That scenario will be design/build.
LN: Convincing the Customer
Many already do, some never will, but if we can convince the customer that they will save money in the long run by selecting the right contractor, they will choose wiser. Until we can do that, "low bid" will continue to be the rule of the day.
Customer Focus Groups and Quality Masonry
According to customer focus groups that the Mason Contractors Association of America conducted during the past year, construction customers are starved for knowledge on how quality masonry is installed. They look for easy to understand educational materials on critical phases of a masonry project. They want to know where most masonry failures occur, what to watch for, and how can the problem be avoided. They want us to teach them the critical factors of masonry construction. Then armed with proper education on masonry systems, customers can insure for themselves that their projects will be built with quality. Knowing how a quality project looks, they then can take a more interested role in selecting a quality contractor as well. They seek an understanding of what to look for in a quality mason contractor. Is the contractor honorable? Do they conduct safety programs, do they attend code and standard seminars or other continuing educational programs? Does the contractor stay current on all of the trends in constructing quality masonry systems? In short, our customers ask us to provide a profile of a quality mason contractor. Once we provide that to them, then they can ask the question themselves of their potential mason contractor. They will then in fact become masonry's greatest allies, the educated consumer. We just need to do a better job of teaching them. After all, masonry is what they really want, we should not make it hard for them to choose us.
JOAN BORTER
JOAN BORTER has served as Executive Director of the Arizona Masonry Guild since 1991. The Arizona Masonry Guild is located in Phoenix, AZ. Prior to becoming Executive Director, she owned her own company which specialized in masonry products.
JOHN CHRYSLER
JOHN CHRYSLER currently is the Executive Director of the Masonry Industry of America (MIA) out of Los Angeles, CA. He is a registered engineer in California and Arizona, and is a ICBO Certified Inspector. Over 26 years of masonry contracting experience and authoring and co-authoring several masonry books has given John a unique perspective on masonry as a system.
GLEN DUNCAN
GLEN DUNCAN is the Executive Director of the Southwest Brick Institute, a trade association of brick manufacturers located in Austin, Texas that serves the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. He is also responsible for the Southwest Brick Council that is the promotional arm of the brick industry in the south central United States.
ED GLOCK
ED GLOCK is the Executive Director of the Masonry Institute of St. Louis. He is a registered architect in Missouri and Illinois. Before becoming Executive Director, Ed was the technical director for a local architectural firm where he was responsible for all construction documents, specifications, bid/negotiation and construction administration.
LYNN NASH
LYNN NASH is the current Executive Vice President of the North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association. He has had nearly twenty years experience in the brick, block and ready mixed concrete supply business, and is the past chairman of the Professional Construction Estimators Association of America.
CHUCK OSTRANDER
CHUCK OSTRANDER is the Executive Director of the Illinois Masonry Institute and engineering consultant for programs developed by the Masonry Advisory Council and the Indiana Masonry Council. Chuck is a registered engineer in the state of Illinois. He has authored numerous masonry articles and has been a guest lecturer at several prestigious universities such as Notre Dame and the University of Illinois.
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MASONRY-NOVEMBER/DECEMBER, 2000 29