Small communities and big opportunities

The Design and Construction Network -- Ottawa is still at the early stages, but is part of a growing interconnection of international Internet specialized networks with local counterparts.

Following yesterday's posting, I engaged in email communications with Rory Swan at Servicez Unlimited in Washington DC and Leslie-Anne McAllister in Atlanta, GA. Both are contributing useful and effective resources on the remodelcrazy.com forum and both helped answer some questions I had about construction marketing issues. (Rory clarified his CRM system is part of a much larger -- and much more expensive -- software package, and Leslie-Anne and I explored aspects of SEO and the local Internet vs Yellow Pages marketing.)

Dialogue on a Sunday morning between Washington, Atlanta and Ottawa, without any oral communications? (I'm setting up further discussions with both Rory and Leslie-Anne but we all appreciate that these need to be fit within sometimes intense business/work schedules.)

Of course, remodelcrazy.com is actually a small community, and (not surprisingly) we find many of the same participants there in other online groups, and among this blog's readership. These communities represent only a tiny portion of the remodeling and renovation industry; tens of thousands of small businesses in communities around the world are nowhere near these online groups and networks.

But that is okay, because the people in this space are probably the most important community in the industry.

The reason is simple: By openly sharing ideas and best practices, they are gaining a powerful competitive advantage. Sure, some people out there are lurking, listening in without participating, and "stealing" ideas, but without active engagement in the community, they fail to realize the back and forth dialogue, insights, and market testing that goes on in these spaces.

The interesting and exciting development is that we can now begin taking these concepts to a more local level. Previously, your networking and business development opportunities locally would be through relevant associations and community groups (and your existing/previous client list). These resources continue to be the most effective route to networking especially for business-to-business marketing.

Now, however, you can link the online and offline network opportunities within your own area, and in many cases tie these to the larger online communities.

This is still at a very early stage, but the progress with the Design and Construction Network and local subgroups is exciting. You can see our early version for Ottawa, here, in co-operation with the Ottawa Chapter of Construction Specifications Canada.

The online communities are (still) relatively small but I believe provide forward-thinking construction industry marketers big opportunities for the future.

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The perfect (and near-perfect) marketing place

The BILDCOttawa event provided plenty of networking opportunities, in a natural environment. Perfect for marketing.

Yesterday afternoon, recovering from my spammy survey market research effort, I attended a perfect marketing event. Perfect for my business, that is. Nevertheless, the event also proved to be near-perfect for most of the other participants.

The event: A BILDCOttawa afternoon panel discussion focusing on the "Anti-Recession Infrastructure Program". BILDCOttawa is a lobbying and information-sharing consortium of associations representing the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects (ORSA), The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) -- Ottawa, the Consulting Engineers of Ontario -- Ottawa Branch, the General Contractors Association of Ottawa (GCAO), and the Iinternational Facilities Management Association (IFMA) -- Ottawa Chapter.

GCAO representatives encouraged me to attend, and organizers made me welcome by waiving the $25.00 fee (which included lunch and dinner). Representatives of several companies providing products and services for facilities management paid to be sponsors and had space for their exhibits.

The meat of the event: Representatives of the Canadian federal government and the City of Ottawa explained exactly how much money they had from anti-recession infrastructure programs, and how they planned to spend the cash. This is golden market research information for the general contractors and architects in the room and great stuff for Ottawa Construction News. (I was the only journalist there.)

I'm sure you don't need to be a rocket scientist to see why this is a perfect marketing venue for me.

• The participants and organizers wanted me to be there because my presence lends support and credibility to their efforts;
• The participants are mostly decision-makers and senior executives within the community of people who can facilitate revenue-generating features and advertising for our publications;
• We were in a warm, educational, and relaxing environment, where we had plenty of opportunity to network, communicate and share stories.
• The event cost me nothing but time (and this time is well spent -- I have significant editorial content for our publications, as well as valuable marketing and sales leads).
• Our presence there creates a positive connection between our publications and the marketplace; in other words, it helps the brand.

In reading these observations you may be saying "good for you, but how does this help my business?" The answer is that you can find similar opportunities, right under your nose, if you look in the right places.

Consider these points:

Association involvement, especially with associations that connect or serve your clients or key influencers, provides powerful marketing opportunities.

You may find you can take things a step further by building liaisons and linkages between your specific trade association or group and client-centric organizations, to create new levels of association involvement, such as BILDCOttawa. Leadership in these endeavors ultimately puts you in the right place, at the right time, among potential clients.

Consider the power of your niche, namely your specific skill or service, and how it applies in the marketplace.

We sell advertising; you might install drywall or build office towers, but you have something of value to offer. Meld this within the association and community framework, and you hit a marketing home run.

Look at the associations named in this article: Yes, they are local, Ottawa chapters, but most are part of associations with chapters in most major cities. In other words, the synergies and inter-relationships here could truly also apply in your own market areas.

From a near-perfect perspective, I don't think the suppliers who paid for exhibit space at this event feel they lost out on the deal. They had direct and immediate access to people who could truly specify their services, and they could overtly promote their services in a meaningful environment.

Regarding my spammy market research test, yesterday's blog entry resulted in some useful emails from readers with practical suggestions and ideas to overcome the marketing challenges exposed by that experiment. This blog's openness may represent one of its most powerful marketing advantages. Bob Kruhm pointed me to this Raintoday.com posting: Using Social Media to Build Trust and a Brand, which explains how blogging and showing your business as it is, warts and all, can be really helpful in your marketing process.

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Metrics and Networking

The Society for Marketing Professional Service (SMPS) provides many really effective networking opportunities. In the online community, you can also consider the Design and Construction Network.

Mel Lester's latest E-Quip Blog provides some basic, but important, reminders about why and how to network effectively in business. Among other points, he reminds us that service and relationships rather than "selling" are at the core of successful networking.

Serve those in your network. Helping others is a great way to build relationships and, of course, to build service businesses like yours. Networking often fails to yield satisfying results when it is approached from a self-serving perspective. When you interact with others for the primary purpose of uncovering sales leads, it's common to find your network become increasingly unproductive. But when you are motivated to help others, most people are inclined to reciprocate. Serving your network includes:

• Providing timely information
• Making introductions and referrals
• Sharing ideas and advice
• Helping others succeed!

Then can you or (maybe worse) your organization be systematic and measure your networking success?

Here, in my opinion, things become as complex as the wildest and most obscure mathematical equation. Great networks after all are multi-dimensional. Your relationship quality and depth will vary, the person within your network will have varying levels of influence, and your influence with that person (and his or her own network) will vary depending on expertise, chance, personality, and how generous you are in sharing rather than taking.

And you can add another variable to the mix: The velocity of network development has accelerated with online resources, at the extreme measured in minutes with your number of Twitter followers.

I suppose you can measure the number of people you do something good for, the number of calls you return, the number of referrals you share, and the like. These measurements might encourage you to do more of the right thing. And it you are mathematically inclined, you might want to work out some Game Theory equations or the like to connect the dots and explain why and how you should network more effectively.

But that belies the point. Networking, to be successful, must be indirect and selfless. However it never hurts to be selfless in an environment where you can ultimately receive some returns for your efforts. That's why I advocate, especially for business-to-business marketers, that you participate in relevant associations and groups where your clients and potential clients congregate.

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