Old customers = new Facebook friends

\f,/Hex MoyNrHar LuNaeen, headV V quartered in North Reading, Ma., recently celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of its third location in Plaistow, N.H., president Michael Moynihan failed to understand what all the hoopla was about.

His granddaughter, Shannon, was more than a little excited. however. because she'd helped open the store as her first job in the family business after coming home from college. But she recalls Granddad humphing, "Fifteen years? That's nothing!"

Well. not for someone "still working like a horse at 78," a gent who launched the company in 1959. But, hey, he was a newbie back then, too. He's lived with the stories of his own uncle delivering lumber with a horse and wagon in the Twenties.

Since then, Moynihan Lumber's original three shacks atop four acres have multiplied to eight buildings on a l3-acre site; several more of each in the Beverly, Ma., location launched in1986, and the 20 acres anchoring that l5-year-old Plaistow store, which also serves the outfit's warehouse.

Today the company boasts 135 employees-many of whom, it seems, answer to the name of Moynihan. Talk about family-owned! Michael and his two brothers each head one of the three locations. Shannon's cousin Chris serves as general manager at

North Reading. Cousin Katie runs the kitchen design department (and just returned from a buying show in Paris). Cousin Curt acts as lumber buyer (which took him last year to an expo in Disneyland). A couple of the young tads in the fourth generation have been corralled into YouTube commercials, reports Shannon, who serves dual roles as aunt/marketing manager.

The extended Moynihan family, also known as employees, remain strongly loyal because of the family atmosphere. "My father thinks they're all his children," says Shannon with a verbal eye-roll. And that includes Aunt Rita, an employee of 35 years, who's not even an actual aunt. Still, she's so beloved that she's had a city park named after her.

Part of the charm is the management style Shannon and her dad endorse. ("We're so alike they call me 'Little George,"' she laughs.) Both agree that there's no place for micromanagement: "It's your job. It's your department. You run it any way you want to, as long as it makes money." And nobody gets an unearned leg up. "I started here, right after college, answering phones, and worked my way up. Here, you pick your area, work hard at it, and you'll rise to the top." Cousin Curt started with a highschool work program, and today, as lumber buver. he's off to Disnevland.

"Embrace change" is Shannon's mantra, and one that's part of her gene pool. Father George was the brother who pushed for opening the Plaistow store, across the state line in New Hampshire. The first two locations, close to Boston, anchored well-established communities, while Plaistow still offers "a lot of open land. People will head there," as he foresaw, "and we'll be ready to go after their business"-especially true after the downturn slowed new building elsewhere.

These days, as is happening everywhere in the nation with the recession tying consumers to their present homes, it's remodeling that's keeping the company alive. Moynihan's ahead of the curve in that niche, too. Its showroom, launched in 2005 to showcase 2O-plus kitchen vignettes, has just undergone a complete facelift of its own. It now features a walk-through home environment, from porch to deck, for which Cousin Chris re-evaluated every single product (at the same time, he modernized the company's technological systems to enable all inventory to be accessed and scanned via computers).

Chris also led the company's laborious efforts to become FSC-certified and has included a whole showroom wall of green products. "Green is not big here in New England at the moment, but it's the wave of the &rlHirtg. Rodn<lsom future," Shannon says. "We'll be positioned in the lead."

She's also ecstatic about the uplift in the Beverly store, designed with Ace Hardware's input. "I'm a Macy's and Target shopper, and now it looks like a Target hardware display, all beautifully organized and labeled," she effuses.

In another move that seems to target Target's credo, Moynihan has morphed to offer one-stop shopping, supplying everything from lumber, roofing, insulation and hardware to paint and power tools. It now offers a line of specialty millwork, having snagged a top employee. ("When Jeffers Millwork closed, we got 'im!" Shannon crows.) The company also provides door and window installation, along with kitchen, bath and deck design assistance.

To indicate that thrust and promote the increased scope of the company's offerings, she's advocating a name change from Moynihan Lumber to Moynihan Home Improvement. But so far, Little George has not been able to convince George to act on that suggestion.

Although the yards can save a bundle by purchasing jointly and by participating in an ENAP plan along with their competitors, Moynihan's three sites all boast different demographics. North Reading, the oldest and company headquarters, historically served large tract builders with its strong outside sales staff. Beverly, which started out as a dot on the farming landscape ("We sometimes got paid in vegetables"), has developed into a more upscale community where foot traffic prevails. ("We're llke Cheers for our customers-a hangout for remodelers and jobbers.") Plaistow serves a mix of both. "When I started out there," Shannon recalls, "I was thrilled by the energy and momentum of establishing a brand in a new location and seeing it succeed in a few, short years. It proves our business formula was the right one."

That maxim still pleases the pros, who remain Moynihan's mainstays. Service by knowledgeable, experienced staff, sure. Free delivery-terrific, too. Training events to keep abreast of new products-also nice. But what it comes down to (you've heard this before) is relationships. Moynihan's contractor clientele represent the third generation, doing business with the third generation of Moynihans.

All of the above are exactly what keeps Shannon on board here. "Number one, my family means more to me than anything," she professes, "and, number two, from the managers to the yard guys, everyone's dedicated to the store. They'd give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. And that comes from the top down-the message that we help people any way we can." Thus, those generations of Moynihans make it a point of pride to give back to the community-donating lumber to the Boy Scouts for 35 years and sponsoring annual events for cancer charities.

Clearly, Moynihan's place as a community pillar is a constant. But its players aren't mired in the past. "Embrace change," Shannon preaches with evangelistic fervor. And she's quick to act on her mantra. As marketing manager, the young woman has spearheaded the company's efforts to convey its message through electronic-read, socialmedia, taking over where its traditional print and airwave ads leave off. Since 2007 she's sent out a monthly enewsletter which has received "great response," driven in part by monthly Win It e-contests and promotions, such as ticket giveaways, which require in-person pick-up. Which drives store traffic. Which is wonderful.

"I'm a big, big fan of social media," she says, and, to her delight, so are Moynihan's contractors, a group not notable for occupying the cutting edge. She's set up a special

Facebook page for them, backed by a clever Like It Forward campaign in which Moynihan donates $l to local food shelves for every new contractor who "friends" the company-well over 100 so far.

The e-tool encourages them to ask questions, such as installation how-tos, and receive immediate response. They also send her leads. To her surprise and immense pleasure, these pros also forward unsolicited testimonials praising the company's products and services-"pure gold, an unexpected bonus," which Shannon posts on the company's website. (The website also contains a detailed how-to section that helps pros and d-i-yers alike attack their projects.)

"Mobile marketing is the next big thing," this maven is convinced. "I'm a big believer. It keeps us well ahead of our competitors." Even better, it's absolutely free-all the more vital in a year that's seen her marketing budget crunched by one-third. And let's not forget the free talent, a.k.a. young cousins, cavorting on the company's YouTube videos.

"We're surviving due, also," Shannon says, "to a deliberately conservative credit and pricing policy, especially where our competitors are concerned. Some of them are almost giving away products in order to attract business, but I believe that will backfire. It isn't easy to turn away business, but if it isn't profitable business in the long run, it doesn't do anyone any good."

Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@ comcast.net