Time keeps a.ticking!

Last month we published my 100th column. I remember very clearly the beads of perspiration and worry as I turned in my first column eight years ago. I did not want to write a standard "This Is What We Have in This Issue" editorial. Still, as I had never been published before, the thought of writing a column gave me great trepidation, regarding not only what to write about, but also how it would be perceived.

I must admit that occasionally it can be somewhat of a challenge to find new topics to write about. However, with over 35 years of management experience, and having faced many of the same challenges you face every day in your businesses, my goal has always been to inspire thinking in your companies-even if you disagree with my positions. Judging from the large feedback over the years (which I thank you for sincerely), I am glad to have given many of you food for thought. But, for this column, I am going to break from normal tradition to first say a few words about us.

There is no hiding the fact that mag- azines have been disappearing and shrinking in size. As many of our readers and advertisers have started to notice, we are now the only monthly publications in the retail and wholesale segment still publishing each and every month. Frankly, I wish that were not the case, and I hope our competitors return to full strength in the near future. Competition is healthy. I, conversely, have taken the position that we will continue to publish monthly, because we see it as our role to support the industry through these tough times. In a bi-monthly publication news and information that is nine to I I weeks old is no longer news; it's history. Since 1922,through wars, feast and famine, it has been our goal to provide the most informed, most up-to-date publication available. We continue to publish (including with our sister publication, Building Products Digest, and on www.building-products.com) not only more industry news than anyone else, and not only the most timely news, but also news that you cannot find anywhere else. We thank our readers. our contributors, and our advertisers for their continued support. In turn, we will continue to support the industry as we have done for over 87 years.

I know how difficult it is out in the real world these past couple of years. If you are in sales or marketing, it has been tough to keep brands and sales afloat. It is challenging whether you are small or large, but I know that you can only cut so much before you need to start taking some risk with your marketing and sales.

I heard today from a wholesaler who is acquiring another wholesaler. I assume the price is as good as it could be, the geography covered is new, and there are sales and other synergies that will make this an okay deal now, but a great deal as the market recovers. I think within both the sales and marketing functions it is time to up the ante. Too many companies are playing it safe to their detriment. Recessions create opportunities for marketers to steal real marketshare at much less cost than in good times. I heard the saying recently that it is riskier to not take a risk. Too many companies right now are operating on a status quo, risk-adverse basis. There are affordable things you can do to enhance your brands-from improving the signage on your buildings or trucks to upgrading packaging and point-of-sale materials. Visibility at shows and meetings costs more, but can you really afford not to be seen? Can you really afford not to advertise or risk disappearing from buyers' radar? Can you imagine the perception and the loss of opportunities?

Regardless of their place in the channel, too many companies think they do not need to promote themselves. Others consider it sufficient to market only to their direct customer. That today is simply not enough. Every company must have not only a push-in strategy, but also a pull-through strategy. Walmart recently increased its advertising and promotion costs by 207o for a sales gain of 2Vo to 3 Vo. Was that worth it? Well, if you consider that most of their competitors have doubledigit sales losses, then it shows it not only paid off handsomely, but it also hurt their competition big time.

And that leads back to us saying that our publications exist for our readers and advertisers. We are here to help you in good and bad times as we have for over 87 years. And over the next months you will see a number of changes in The Merchant that should further enhance its value and enjoyment for you-for years to come.