Transcript INDUSTRY OVERVIEW Architects . Engineers . Contractors . Suppliers . YOU Industry Overview for Building Product Manufacturers By: Steve Demand.

INDUSTRY
OVERVIEW
Architects . Engineers . Contractors .
Suppliers . YOU
Industry Overview for
Building Product Manufacturers
By: Steve Demand
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
What do we know about the industry?
DESIGN
SPEC
Owners/Architects/Engineers
BID
BUILD
Contractors/Subs/Suppliers
How do we sell into this model, WHAT tools do we use?
Magazines, Tradeshows, Website, Literature & Samples, Directories, BIM, LEED, CAD,
Lunch & Learns, Trade Associations, Master Guides, Leads Sources, Specs, Reps,
Distributors…
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  2
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
Do we understand HOW these tools influence each part
of the industry?
Do we understand how these pieces WORK TOGETHER?
What is your REAL CHALLENGE?
Owners
Architects
/
Engineers
Contractor
s/Subs
/Suppliers
…Is it something as simple as getting spec’ed more or creating
brand awareness?
…Or is it understanding and influencing a complex and
fragmented sales process?
How can we ever ensure that dollars
invested will generate a return if we don’t
know what’s going on inside the pipe?
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  3
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
Let’s start from the beginning…
just for today, let’s cut out the back end?
DESIGN
SPEC
Owners/Architects/Engineers
BID
BUILD
Contractors/Subs/Suppliers
What did we just take out of the equation?
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  4
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
What are we left with?
DESIGN
SPEC
Owners/Architects/Engineers
Now let’s break this down even more… as Design and Spec are separated.
DESIGN
SPEC
There is definitely an overlap but they are still fundamentally different…
Design work and Specs are done by different tools, often by different
people, and sometimes even entirely different firms.
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  5
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
What tools do we use to influence the Design side?
Literature & Samples
CAD/BIM
Magazine Ads
Trade Shows
LEED
DESIGN
Lunch & Learns
…what about the Spec side?
?
?
Who writes the specs?
How do they write their specs?
What tools do they use?
www.speclink.com
SPECS
Industry Overview  6
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
About the Architect
Firms by Size
Firms by Billings
4% Large Firms
51% Large Firms
35% Mid Size Firms
42% Mid Size Firms
61% Small Firms
Small Firms (1 – 4 Architects):
61% of all firms account for
only 7% of all architectural
billings.
Small firms are the principal
users of individual, proprietary
specifications delivered via the
internet.
www.speclink.com
7% Small Firms
Mid Size Firms (5- 49 Architects):
35% of all firms account for 42%
of all architectural billings.
Mid-sized firms typically rely on
commercial master guide
specifications.
Large Firms (50- 200+ Architects):
Only 4% of all firms, but they
account for more than half -- or
51% of all architectural billings.
Larger firms typically employ a
full-time specifications
department and an “office
master” specifications.
Industry Overview  7
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
•Specifications
are individually
downloaded
making the
process tedious
and time
sensitive.
•Visitors aren’t
necessarily
specifiers – so
the number of
hits can be very
misleading.
www.speclink.com
•You’ll never
know how many
designers
specified your
products as a
result of an
advertisement.
•Limitations:
•Multiple touch
points required
to gather data.
•Specifications
often become
visible only after
they’ve been
written,
resulting in “or
equal”.
•Time intensive
for architects as
well as the rep.
Directories
•Paper directories
are obsolete, but
electronic
product
directories like
4Specs.com,
ARCAT, BuildSite,
and even Sweet’s
Network can be
helpful in
identifying your
products to
potential
specifiers.
•Limitations:
•Keyword
searches can be
problematic for
locating the
specific products
you make.
•Specifications
are individually
downloaded
making the
process tedious
and time
sensitive.
•If the search
finds you, it will
find your
competitors,
too.
•It can be useful to
have good, up-todate, editable
specifications for
your products
posted on
directories and
your website, for
use by smaller
design firms that
can’t afford
anything else.
•Limitations:
•Even though
they’re free,
most design
professionals do
not trust
proprietary
specs and will
modify them
extensively.
•The most likely
uses of
proprietary
specs are by
small firms for
small projects.
Master Guide Specifications
•Limitations:
•Technical
products can be
difficult to
present in an ad
without lots of
copy – which
many design
professionals
won’t read.
•Lead sources
track the projects
in the commercial
market to give
any subscriber
the ability to
search and find
active
construction
projects in a
database or plan
room that apply
to your specific
products. Like:
Dodge, Reed,
iSqFt
Proprietary Specifications
•Limitations:
•If your product
data isn’t well
organized and
easy to locate on
your site,
visitors won’t
return.
•A certain amount
of print
advertising can
get your products
noticed – but not
necessarily get
them specified.
Like: Architect,
Architectural
Record,
Commercial Build
Products
Lead Sources
•In addition to a
well-designed
and wellmaintained
website, it’s
important to
advertise with the
major search
engines – Google,
Yahoo, Bing – to
direct traffic to
your products.
Print Advertising
Website
How are you promoting your products to design professionals?
•The best way to
get specified is to
make sure your
products are
included in the
major commercial
guide
specifications.
Most firms use
only one guide
spec, you need to
be in both BSD
SpecLink and
Master Spec.
•Limitations:
•Only includes
select
manufacturers.
•Costly and sold
by subscriptions
only.
•Data may be out
dated.
•Does not include
products for
niche markets.
•If you don’t
include
comparable
competing
products, users
are likely to add
cheaper ones.
Industry Overview  8
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
What is SpecLink-E?
• SpecLink-E is not another website or a directory; it is an actual spec writing application.
SpecLink-E is a unique spec production tool that is sold to design professionals.
• Architects and engineers use SpecLink-E to produce project specifications and to specify
products like yours.
Why would architects and engineers use SpecLink-E when they can
get specs for free online?
• When managing a large number of projects, design professionals need a better way to
organize, update and manage their specifications.
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  9
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
Who is using SpecLink-E?
We’re sure you have some questions...
• Who uses SpecLink-E?
The typical users of SpecLink-E are project
managers, architects and engineers at
midsize to large firms.
• How many architects and engineers use
SpecLink-E?
Over 10,000 design professionals across
1,900 firms.
• What types of projects are being specified?
SpecLink-E is used to specify a wide range of commercial, industrial and institutional projects.
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  10
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
How does SpecLink-E Work?
We’re sure you have some questions...
What does it mean to be a listed manufacturer?
It assures your competitive advantage. Your products
will be readily available to the design professional at
the very moment the specification is being built.
Do you simply post our specs?
Rather than simply making your specification sections
available for downloading, we add your product data to
our master database, which allows our subscribers to
integrate the information seamlessly into their office
master specifications.
How many projects get specified using SpecLink-E?
Last year specifications for over 26,000 projects were created using SpecLink, and manufacturers were
specified by name over 3.6 million times. The average project value equals about $7.5 million.
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  11
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
What does SpecLink-E do?
Distributers
Industry
Information
Manufacturers
–Product
Information
Contractors
Specification
Documents
BSD SpecLink-E
Software
REPORTS Project Detail
Reports &
Usage Reports
• Our customer base is middle to large
sized firms
• 1,900 unique individual firms
www.speclink.com
>Product Info
>Create specs
>Produce Activity
Reports
• 10,000 Design Professionals
• 26,000 projects per year
USERS Architects &
Engineers
• 29 years of experience
• 603 Master Format specification sections
• Affiliated with CSI / AIA
Industry Overview  12
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
What can SpecLink-E do for you?
• We help design professionals specify your products correctly.
Our built-in intelligent links, notes to the specifier, and hyperlinks to your website
provide the specifier with relevant and timely product information, maximizing the
likelihood of correct specifications.
• We can prove the results.
SpecLink-E provides reporting specific to the sections that are of interest to you and
includes both frequency of use and details of individual projects that have used those
sections.
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  13
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
SpecLink-E Start Page
Announcements:
Allows users to access
important
announcements and
blog post.
Tool Bar:
Tool bar allows users to
access important info
and documents located
on bsdsoftlink.com.
Upcoming Workshops:
Upcoming user training
workshops.
www.speclink.com
Tip of the Day:
Provides daily users
tips about SpecLink
functions.
Featured
Manufacturers:
Rotates the link to
the manufacturer’s
website and in
company newsletter.
Manufacturer Logo:
Featured
manufacturer's logo
listed on start page.
Industry Overview  14
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
SpecLink-E Product Layout
Ribbon Bar
Shows home tab
with buttons for
common editing
functions
Sections
Tree panel is
divided into
vertical tabs and
allows selection
of sections to be
edited
Note Panel
Note panels
display contextsensitive data to
assist in editing
List your specific products directly
in the spec.
Listing makes it easy for the
user to specify you by name.
Use your exclusive media section
to educate the user about your
company and products.
Built in intelligence supports the
correct specification of your
products.
Product Choice Box
Identify your
products by model
and brand name
Document Panel
Document panel
displays master text
for editing and
shows which
paragraphs will be
printed
Provide pictures and detailed
information for each listed product.
Seamless integration into SpecLink, and the inclusion on over 1,900 architectural and
engineering firm's master specifications
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  15
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
Prove it – I want to see the ROI
• We capture project data from our subscribers as they are creating their specifications.
• What does this mean for you? You can not only track the success of your listings, you can
also see how well your competitors are doing.
2 reports - 1 powerful way to measure your return on investment:
Usage Reports
•
We can show you exactly how many times your sections were used on actual projects. Not
“hits” or “downloads” – but actual instances of specification.
Project Detail Reports
•
In addition to the numbers, we can show you the actual projects. SpecLink-E captures detailed
data about individual projects that have specified the sections that are of interest to you,
organizing the information first by state, then by design firm, and then by project.
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  16
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
Project Detail Reports
Firm State
Firm
Address
Firm
Name
•
SpecLink-E Project
Detail Reports
includes both
frequency and
details on
individual projects
for each section
your company is
listed
•
Receive monthly
Project Detail
reports help to
identify qualified
leads and generate
a strong ROI
•
Project Detail
Reports are broken
down by state, firm
info, and/or
manufacturer &
product specified
Project
Name
Firm
Phone
Manufacturer &
Product Specified
Project Detail Reports provide you with information about project activity and your competitors.
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  17
If you’re not in it, you’re not being specified.
Thank you for your time.
THE END!
www.speclink.com
Industry Overview  18