Archive for June 2015

This week at NeoCon, ASID‘s CEO Randy Fiser presented an overview of the organization’s 2015/16 interior design outlook & state of the industry.

The Interior Design 2015/16 Outlook and State of the Industry report, produced by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Research, forecasts continued positive growth for the interior design industry, with several indicators suggesting that design has fully recovered from the recession of 2008. The number of designers and design firms is near or ahead of 2007 figures, and the dollar value of sales and product specified is at record levels. Billings and inquiries are up with positive expectations into next year, and that translates into a hot job market as firms of all sizes and design specialties intend to hire new employees.

“Designers are now expected to solve increasingly complex problems—designing office spaces that encourage health and well-being, integrating multiple generations in one home, minimizing the environmental footprint of a new hotel, or creating retail spaces that utilize the latest technology in an effort to maximize profits,” said Randy Fiser, ASID CEO. “To meet this growing demand, providing proper education, training, and tools is critical. Our goal is to share that knowledge through ongoing research and education.”

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Office and school furniture manufacturer OFM introduced a new lounge chair at NeoCon 2015 that comes with a built-in electric panel featuring USB ports and 110V outlets that can be used to charge a laptop, cell phone, iPad, or other electronic device. Known as “integrated technology” within the industry, this trend is becoming increasingly popular in everyday office furniture.

“Today’s workers don’t just want to sit in their cubicle. They want to work at home, in coffee shops, and all around their workplace,” said Blake Zalcberg, chief executive officer of OFM. “The problem is if you want to get away from your desk you have to crawl around the floor looking for an outlet or leave the cord trailing across a hallway where people can trip on it.”

OFM’s chair was just one of many electronic-charging furniture featured at this year’s NeoCon.

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The Cabinet Makers Association (CMA) has introduced “The Mentor Council”, a group of CMA members who are considered leaders in the industry. Mentors will assist CMA members in solving business related conflicts and in answering questions they may have.

Here’s how it works.

A member who wants to receive insights into problems they may be experiencing in their business would contact the Council for a consultation. To start the process, a member fills out a form on the CMA website listing details about their business, such as what products are made, how many employees, how big their shop is, etc. A determination is made by the Council to pair the member with a Mentor that has experience in a similar business situation. After a few emails from the Mentor clarifying what the member hopes to accomplish with the session, a phone conference is scheduled. The phone conference typically lasts an hour to an hour and a half, and follow up calls may be made to monitor the member’s progress.

“The Mentor Council is for anyone who has ever asked ‘How do other cabinet shops do this?’ or thought, ‘There must be a better way,'” explains Matt Krig, the current CMA president and owner of Northland Woodworks. “There is no reason to try to figure it out on your own when there are people just like you who may already have the answer. All you need to do is ask!”

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In his 20+ years in the industry as a manufacturer’s representative, consultant and NKBA University instructor John Morgan has curated best practices and the latest digital tools to help take sales and marketing efforts to the next level:

Empower satisfied customers to be brand evangelists

A recent national survey found 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as a word-of-mouth recommendation. That makes highly satisfied customers your secret weapon. All you have to do is ask and arm them with a platform where they can sing your praises. ReviewBuzz.com makes it fast and easy for clients to post their experiences to the review site of your choice (such as Google or Yelp, among others), which helps build credibility with potential and future customers. The service also includes a widget for your website so visitors can easily peruse reviews in one place. Be sure to share these testimonials on your business’ social media channels—it never hurts to toot your own horn.

Be smart about your social media presence

Social media can be an efficient and low-cost marketing tool to connect with potential clients. Consumers may scope you out on Facebook and Twitter first, but outlets like Houzz and Porch draw millions of people each month and help connect them directly with industry professionals in their area. Ninety percent of Houzz’s 25 million monthly visitors say it is their outlet of choice for remodeling projects, which makes it a powerful lead generator for the 2.7 million designers listed on the site.

Learn from the pros

Technology is constantly changing and evolving, so embrace it and leverage it for your benefit to gain leads, close deals, and boost your bottom line. NKBA University offers over 25 sales and marketing courses—many of which are available on-demand, making it easy to learn when it best works for you. Taking time to learn about the latest tools and new practices is a small investment that quickly pays off.

Streamline lead management

Many small businesses rely on a four-letter word to manage the future of their business: hope. They know what’s happening today and they hope to have the leads for tomorrow. With the help of a customer relationship management system (CRM), small business owners can establish a reliable business plan and better predict future sales. CRM systems also allow you to enter leads as you gain them, create a lead validation process, and schedule follow-up reminders for those without an immediate need.

The secret to maximizing these tools and practices to your benefit is determining which best support your business goals and empower you to spend more time on prospects, not process. For more on how to leverage technology for sales & marketing strategies, visit NKBA.org/courses and check out NKBA U live virtual course offerings, on-demand classes and free webinars.

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This year’s NeoCon drew more than 700 exhibitors to Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, and every company that FDMC spoke to was pleased with the attendee turnout and the sales leads. The annual June event covers products and supplies for the corporate office, educational, healthcare, hospitality and retail.

The largest and best known office and contract furniture manufacturers have large displays at NeoCon, along with hundreds of suppliers. Of special interest was the Interiors & Sources Materials Pavilion, which provided displays of new developments in laminates, new wood materials, stone and lightweight panels. There were 100 new exhibitors at this year’s show.

Overall, FDMC editors noticed for the first time products made around large planks, and live edges being used in design. There were more products offering adjustable height surfaces, and more device charging options. We also saw several examples of “quiet spaces,” soundproof booths employees could retreat to if needed. We’ll have more coverage of development seen at NeoCon in FDMC Magazine and http://www.fdmcdigital.com.

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What is happening in the wood and wood-based materials processing industry worldwide? Who are the major competitors and what are their export trends? Acimall, an Italian woodworking machinery and tools manufacturers’ association attempts to answer these questions in its latest study. Acimall analysts have processed the latest available figures, as usual, drawing a detailed map of major “global flows” in the January-December 2014 timeframe.

The first evidence is that last year, as shown in the table below, five top competitors − Germany, Italy, China, Taiwan and Austria in decreasing order − recorded a positive trend. Only the U.S. closed 2014 with a negative result, minus 0.7 percent, which however should be considered a sign of substantial stability and stronger attention to the domestic market, which in the past two years was the liveliest on a global scale.

The first place in the ranking of global exporters is still held by Germany, a leadership that can be hardly challenged. Germany closed the year with much better results than could be expected after the first six months of the year: after plus 0.44 percent in the January-June period, a much stronger 2.3 percent increase over 2013 was achieved in the second half, with an export value close to 1.8 billion euro.

More generally, it can be stated that the health conditions of wood and wood-based materials processing are not arousing worries on a global level, with widespread export expansion that − despite all caution − suggests a constant growth of global demand.

“Wood products are by their very nature biobased. The USDA BioPreferred Program now officially recognizes the innovative nature of wood products in the market today, including recognition of third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations.

The 2014 Farm Bill states that forest products, previously considered to be ineligible because they were “mature market,” are now eligible products to be recognized in USDA biobased programs.

“EPDs are the nutrition labels of the building products,” Glowinski continued. “Designers, builders and consumers now have science-based tools to determine the environmental impacts of a material. Wood products will often be found to have a smaller environmental impact because they are renewable, have lower emissions and embodied energy, are manufactured using a majority of biomass for energy needs and provide long-term storage of carbon.”