SearGhing for new markets! Leave no stone unturned

By Bob Maurer Swanson Group

the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Services. What was the misplaced item I was trying to find? A market.

Before discussing my attempt at finding some elusive new business, I should make a comment or two on the associations we refer to by their popular acronyms. The APA represents approximately 70Vo of the production of structural panels in the U.S. and is pretty well known by pro dealers and wholesalers everywhere.

The Softwood Export Council may not be as well known. but thev work for associations such as the f 'M sure we've all had the experience of misplacing lsomething important and not being able to find it. Recruiting others to help in the search and looking all over eventually someone shouts the inevitable line "leave no stone unturned."

It was with that thought in mind that I recently participated in a "trade mission" to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates as part of the APA-The Engineered Wood Association contingent to work their booth at a week long building/construction exhibition. The APA shared their booth space with the Portland, Or.-based Softwood Export Council and was funded in part by

Western Wood Products Association, West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau, Southern Forest Products Association, Southern Pine Inspection Bureau, and others who represent the interest of lumber producers. Most people relate these organizations to their grading services and look for their stamps on the wood products they purchase. Testing products, writing and reviewing the grading rules, and conducting regular mill inspections to ensure compliance in manufacturing is the backbone of these associations.

But their work also extends to promoting and marketing the products that their members manufacture, to create new demand and business in new markets and different industry segments. They also work with associations such as LEED to make sure wood is given fair representation. Sometimes their efforts are rewarded unturned in the ultimate search for a market. So after traveling halfway around the world (12 time zones) to experience this incredible growth first hand, just what did I find? Several things come to mind-some pretty obvious, others less so, but in either case I thought I'd share (something Robert Fulghum and I both leamed in kindergarten) my observations for anyone who may be interested in finding some new business or markets. with resounding success and other times their work goes unnoticed. But in every case I am impressed with the effort these "grading" associations put forth to the benefit of all wood products users.

First the obvious: you have to commit time to develop a new market. Entry into a new area is not a quick fix, but a planned strategic move. You have to show up with product in hand, meet the decision-makers and those of influence, present a compelling value proposition, look to establish a success story, and, most of all, be persistent. I saw the results of persistence pay offfor the APA in the growth of wood products being used in the Middle East over the last three to four years.

Diversify your product offering. This is easier for wholesalers and dealers than it is for a manufacturer. but if your current product mix has you pigeon-holed in a specific geographic market or a specific industry segment (read housing), then you need to look at expanding your line. I saw two companies with new wood products at the Dubai show-one from New Zealand, the other from Germany. I was particularly impressed with the German producer, who had a framing system that had passed a seismic test on a sevenstory wood structure. Just watching the film was unbelievable. Now that is a product that is capable of cracking some new commercial markets. Changing your product offering also requires an investment in time and isn't a quick fix, but is something that should be constantly reviewed.

So it was no surprise that the APA and SEC had been working the Dubai area for the last five years or so trying to increase the amount of wood used in an area that has been one of the fastest growing regions in the world. During that time, wood imports into Dubai have tripled, although not necessarily to the benefit of U.S. producers. China, Indonesia and Malaysia are still the largest exporters of wood into the area.

With the help of the APA, though, there has been an increase in the use of glulam beams on a number of projects, and I saw a construction site where LP's TechShield was being used. Hoover Treated Wood Products, which had two representatives working the booth, has placed some fire retardant treated plywood in the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world. So progress has been made, but it's still a difficult and slow process to change the established building practices of poured concrete and cement block.

Now, where was I? Ah yes, leaving no stone

The last observation was actually expressed best by a good friend of mine who recently mentioned that about 75Vo of his company's business was coming from customers they have been selling less than 10 years (and this company has been in business a long time). Prospecting and adding new customers sounds like a given but it's done less than you'd expect.

Ultimately there are no quick fixes or easy solutions to growing sales in a depressed business climate. Only with a determination to look under every rock and leave no stone unturned will you find that light at the end of the tunnel.

Good selling everyone in 2009.