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Bill Kuhn: Determining Your Strategic Focus for the Balance of 2010 2010 Neocon Wrapup
Some Advice Dealin for g with Contin uing Tough Times In his column this month, dealer management expert Bill Kuhn makes a compelling and alarming case that the next six months may turn out to be the most critical our industry has ever experienced. Simon De Groot Editor OFDealer
Given the current state of affairs, we thought it might be useful to revisit some of the advice we were hearing from folks like Bill and from veteran dealers themselves when the recession first got going back in November of 2008. Seems to us what they had to say back then makes just as much sense today. We hope you’ll find it useful for your own ongoing business planning in these still challenging times:
Make sure cash is king. As Bill Kuhn urges in his column this month, make sure you are turning your order-to-payment cycle as rapidly as possible and given cash flow management just as much attention as the income statement, if not more. Communicate, communicate, communicate. The rumor mill speeds up dramatically in uncertain times and if you keep your people in the dark, they’ll assume the worst. Keep just as close contact with key accounts, to let them know you’re still doing fine and to make sure they are, too. And also (see the next point), to probe for potential new sales opportunities. Maximize the value of each customer. If those big project jobs aren’t out there, what are you doing to track down those smaller desk-file-chair orders? How often do you ask customers about their mailroom needs? Or artwork, industrial storage, fireproof files or high density storage? And there isn’t a dealer out there who can’t be doing more on the services side of their business. Make new business development a key strategic focus. One aspect of the current downturn is that most buyers and decision makers are more open than ever to considering new products and new suppliers. Are you doing as much as your competition to respond to that trend? If not, you could have a problem. Trim the fat. Go through every line item on your budget and eliminate anything that doesn’t add value or that isn’t totally mission-critical. You can’t afford to be spending money on anything for no other reason than it’s something you’ve always done.
JULY 2010
Don’t allow tough times to shortchange your dealership. Back in 2008, Staples CEO Ron Sargent gave an interview to OPI magazine in which he stressed the importance of continuing to invest in the business, in good times and bad. You may not be able to spend as much as you’d like, but as Sargent suggested, this is still a good time to invest for the future. He was right back then and he’s just as right today. Don’t neglect your key strategic partners. Whether you’re aligned with one of the majors or not, your manufacturers represent a tremendous reservoir of resources you can tap to compete more effectively. And don’t forget your technology partners and, increasingly, industry wholesalers who are stepping up their furniture efforts. Stay positive. It may be a cliché but in many ways, your attitude really does determine your altitude. Even the worst of times offer opportunities for good companies to gain market share and find ways to become stronger and more efficient but it’s more important than ever to be out there aggressively looking for them. The good news, of course, is that most of indicators suggest the industry’s long-awaited recovery is getting nearer. The even better news is that for the vast majority of the hard-charging entrepreneurs who run today’s office furniture dealerships, their future is still very much in their own hands. What you do over the next six months will be far more important when it comes to determining the long-term future of your business than anything that may or may not happen in the industry and the economy at large.
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BIFMA May Numbers: Positive Order and Shipment Trends Continue; Assn. Elects New Directors Earlier this month, the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) released market statistics for May and for the third straight month, orders wereagain up compared to the same month last year.
Lebanon, Ohio-based Ghent employs 130 people in the design, manufacture and support of its lines of visual communication products, Waddell display and trophy cases and Vivid Board high-impact marker boards.
BIFMA reported May orders increased 11%, a stronger than expected gain according to industry analyst Budd Bugatch of the Raymond James investment house. May shipments also increased—up 5% year-over-year and the first year-over-year increase in monthly BIFMA shipments since October 2008. For the first time since July 2008, BIFMA orders, shipments, and backlog all improved on a year-over-year basis, Bugatch noted. “While weakness in housing activity, the recent disappointment in consumer confidence and moderating employment trends have seemingly increased the risk of a double dip recession, we believe the economic recovery remains generally on track and suspect the relevant statistics will generally improve in a saw-tooth fashion,” he said. “Importantly, renewed order momentum within the office furniture industry, easy prior-year comparisons and (by all accounts) a productive NeoCon seem to argue for a second half 2010 recovery,” Bugatch added. Separately, BIFMA announced the election of three new members of its Board of Directors: Mike Mekjian of Exemplis, Dave Scheu of DMi and Soren Stig-Nielsen of Linak (Supplier Member). Each will serve a three-year term.
Mark Leasure, executive vice president of Ghent Manufacturing (shown on the right), is congratulated on his “Best Place to Work” award by presenter, Dhani Jones, NFL linebacker and star of the Travel Channel Show "Dhani Tackles The Globe."
Bush Industries Rebrands Commercial Division as BBF
Ghent Manufacturing Recognized as Best Place to Work by Local Business Magazine
Bush Industries has rebranded its commercial furniture division as BBF (Bush Business Furniture).
Ghent Manufacturing has been named a “Best Place to Work” by Cincy Magazine as part of the publication’s annual Manny Awards program. The award recognizes manufacturing excellence by companies based in the Greater Cincinnati area.
"Over the past year, Bush Industries has engaged in a significant undertaking focused on a new approach to the commercial office furniture market,” said Jim Sherbert, CEO of Bush Industries.”We are proudly introducing this approach through the rebranding of our commercial division as BBF." continued on page 5
JULY 2010
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"Our reasoning behind the BBF rebranding is pretty straightforward — we wanted to create a more flexible, contemporary brand that is well positioned for a changing economy, while designing products, services and programs that focus on growth opportunities in a dynamic market," added Mike Chefalo, vice president of product management, commercial products.
20-20 Grand Rapids Office Receives Silver Medal from Contact Center World The Grand Rapids office of 20-20 Technologies was awarded the silver medal for Best Contact Center Best Practices at the Contact Center Industry Conference in Orlando last month. 20-20 won in the “Small Call Center” category and was recognized for its ability to demonstrate a commitment to the customer and assurance that the performance and objectives of the contact center are in line with the organization's goals. 20-20 competed against 12 other companies in the category, at an event attended by representatives from 1,000 companies, including household names such as CVS Caremark, ING, Virgin Mobile, Whirlpool, Accenture, New York Life, Mass Mutual and British Airways.
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OFDEALER
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OFDA 2010 Dealer Strategies Conference and Business Meetings
An Event You Won’t Want to Miss! This year’s OFDA Dealer Strategies Conference will be held October 9 -12 at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa in Bonita Springs, FL, located near Ft. Myers.
OFDA will again be the “biggest fish” in the host hotel during the event and attendees will benefit again from a compact meeting footprint within the hotel that facilitates non-stop networking.
As its title suggests, this premier industry educational event is designed for office furniture/interiors dealers, both aligned and non-aligned. In addition to top notch education, it is also organized to allow manufacturers, recyclers and a wide variety of service providers to connect and network with their dealer customers and prospective customers.
Free-standing company displays and table tops, as well as private meeting suites, will again be integrated with the educational program and provide focal points for meeting with industry manufacturers and service providers during all networking breaks.
The 2010 conference format is modeled after the new and well-received educational program and display structure that OFDA tested in Austin last year.
Unlike many other industry events, OFDA encourages full-scale interaction of dealers and all of their attending business partners throughout the conference, including participation in all educational sessions, as well as all meal and social functions and—of course—networking breaks.
Here are just a few of the highlights of this year’s event:
Conference Will Kick Off with Three Concurrent Hands-On Workshop Sessions On Sunday afternoon, October 10, OFDA will kick off its 2010 Dealer Strategies Conference educational program with a choice of three highly practical concurrent workshops, any one of which will deliver value greater than the cost of your participation this year. All workshops will run from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a mid-afternoon break. Libby Wagner, author of The Influencing Option: The Art of Creating a Profit Culture in Business, will be joined by Marlaine McCauley, president of Seattle-based Apex Facility Resources, to discuss “Creating and Sustaining a Profit Culture in Your Business.” Libby has worked closely with Marlaine and her Apex team on issues ranging from organizational alignment to senior team
agreements and performance management/accountability initiatives. Libby's work also has shaped the cultures of numerous Fortune 500 clients. Gil Cargill, principal of Cargill Consulting Group and widely known in the industry as the “sales acceleration coach,” will join OFDA for a second time, this year as a workshop leader. If you attended OFDA’s 2009 event in Austin, you will be excited to learn that this year Gil will lead an interactive workshop on two sales-related topics. Gil will lead discussions on: 1) How to Hire and Train Industry Sales Novices Effectively and Profitably and 2) Manage Your Activities and You’ll Manage Your Sales.
relationship consultancy, will round out our the afternoon program with their interactive workshop on how changing corporate workplace strategies are affecting the office furnishings business. Lynda has 25 plus years’ experience with an emphasis on aligning business development strategies with workplace design and change. She is acknowledged for inspirational direction, entrepreneurial innovation, and results-oriented leadership. Marina is an accomplished workplace strategy and business relationship professional, experienced in strategic planning, development of workplace requirements and innovative workplaces and managing leadership-level business relationships for major corporations.
Lynda Ward and Marina Van Overbeek, joint partners in SPARK, a business continued on page 7
JULY 2010
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OFDA
NEWS
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Educational Breakout Sessions Highlights
Sales and Marketing Leadership
On Monday and Tuesday October 11 and 12, OFDA will again offer a compelling line-up of educational breakout sessions on a wide range of practical business management topics—all designed to address industry-specific issues and opportunities and leadingedge management practices.
n Wayne Breitbarth, principal, M&M Office Interiors – “Top 10 Gotta Do’s of LinkedIn for Business Development Professionals”
All sessions will be presented in a highly interactive manner using several facilitated dealer panel discussions as well as knowledgeable industry experts as presenters. The program will address critical strategic leadership, operational and sales related topics. Certain sessions will be repeated to minimize schedule conflicts and thus better ensure that conference attendees can participate in their priority sessions. Here are just a few of the many program highlights:
Strategic Planning and Organization Development
n Dealer-Vendor Panel: “Turbo-Charge Sales Through Internet Lead Generation”
Operations Management Track n Panel Discussion – “Streamlining Project Management” n Panel Discussion – “Planning and Implementing Successful Outsourcing Strategies”
Financial Management/Profit Improvement Track (Sam and Leslie Thacker) n Sam and Leslie Thacker - “Managing Banking and Finance Relationships – The 2010 Credit Environment”
n Libby Wagner – “Leading Yourself First”
n Sam and Leslie Thacker - “Considering a Merger or Acquisition? – Important Tips”
n Panel Discussion – “Planning and Implementing Your New Business Model”
Technology Trends and Applications Track
n Panel Discussion – “Streamline Your Business Processes to Grow Sales, Customer Satisfaction and Profits”
n David Solomon – “Leveraging Technology in Your Business for Greater Productivity”
n Ken Stiefler, eXITS, LLC – “Exit Planning Strategies for the Business Owner”
n Dealer Panel – “Implementing Web-Based CRM, SharePoint and Customer Service/Project Management Tools in Your Business” continued on page 8
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OFDA
NEWS
continued from page 6
With our industry anticipating a slow economic recovery and a new set of “realities” in the market, it is more important than ever this year for dealers and their business partners to stay abreast of the latest trends, opportunities and management/leadership strategies and solutions. OFDA’s Conference offers an ideal setting and program to help you do just that. Visit www.ofdanet.org/conference for more information and to register today!
Setting New Standards in Furniture Finance
furniture finance industry for over 15 years and can walk you through the simple process and explain all the benefits the company offers, such as 50% upfront deposits and no financials up to $100,000. Visit HKF’s new dealer quote system at www.ofdafinancing.com or by clicking the icon on the left side of OFDA’s weekly eNewsletter. In less than a minute you can provide your clients with a more complete proposal, setting you apart from the competition. 1. Budgetary lease payment 2. Up to the minute tax benefits 3. General overview of the process 4. Simple application
Horizon Keystone Financial (HKF) and OFDA have partnered to help dealerships offer their clients alternative options to cash when purchasing their furniture. Affordability and budget are critical to a company’s overall decision to purchase office furniture. HKF has been a leader in the
If you would like to learn more on how this sales tool can help you and your clients, call 800-606-0049 x124, or email janeen@horizonkeystone.com to schedule a 15-minute overview. It could make the difference when it comes to closing your next proposal!
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Dealers Discuss
Social Networking By Alicia Ellis
If you’re still skeptical about social networking and the need for your dealership to get on the Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook bandwagon, consider this: According to researchers at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, social media adoption by small businesses doubled from 12% to 24% in just the last year alone, with nearly one out of five small business owners actively using social media in their business and investing in social media applications including blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn. While opinions vary — whether due to the economy which had businesses slashing marketing and advertising costs; the increased speed of the Internet; the increased use of wireless handheld devices that make using the Internet remotely easier, the growing population who is used to getting information immediately or some other reason — businesses are reevaluating how they communicate information and social media use is fast becoming a staple of all business marketing plans. “Tough market conditions mandate small businesses to think and act creatively to sustain themselves,” said Connie Steele, director at Network Solutions, a sponsor of the University of Maryland study. “Social media can be the best friend for small business
owners who constantly seek new ways to maximize productivity while keeping costs low.” “Social media levels the playing field for small businesses by helping them deliver customer service,” said Janet Wagner, director of the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland, also a study sponsor. “Time spent on Twitter, Facebook and blogs is an investment in making it easier for small businesses to compete.”
Social Survey So, how have other office furniture dealerships adopted these new social networking practices? To find out what office furniture dealers thought about social networking, OFDealer conducted a survey in the first half of this year and asked dealers to sound off on the importance of social media in their dealerships and share their own plans for taking advantage of this new marketing outlet. Of all the surveys received, 97% of respondents said that they or a representative of their dealership utilizes social networking of some sort. Fully 100% use LinkedIn, 84% have a Facebook page, 65% are on Twitter, and 31% utilize YouTube. Plaxo, GoogleMe, Flickr, Kudzu and corporate blogs were also mentioned. continued on page 11
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Only 22% of respondents have used social networking for more than two years with the majority (44%) networking for the past year or two and 34% for one year or less.
If you use LinkedIn, how many 1st level contacts do you have?
Timewise, about two-thirds of dealers surveyed spent less than 5 hours per week socially networking, with 12.5% of those saying they rarely utilize social networking sites. Another 22% said they devote 5 to 10 hours per week networking and 12.5% utilize social networking sites for more than 10 hours per week. At 52% of the dealerships responding to our survey, a marketing or IT person is responsible for maintaining social networking pages and tweeting when necessary. The other 48% are evenly divided between salespeople and dealer principal maintenance. “We are a very small company and have our salespeople take care of updating our social networking and web sites,” said Debbie Munson, president of Offaset in Dallas. “This seems to keep them in the loop and helps them to develop lasting connections.” A firm 57% of dealers surveyed have a Twitter business site and of those, 66% keep the site for business related tweets only. And what do these people tweet about? On top of the list were company events, new products and interesting articles followed by company announcements, office facts and manufacturers’ announcements. Interestingly, when asked how often they tweet, about a third reported tweeting two to five times per week, with 14% saying they tweet once per day. The remaining 54% was divided evenly with 27% reporting that they tweet at least a few times per day and the other 27% saying they hardly ever tweet at all. And how many people are they tweeting to? About 25% of respondents reported tweeting to more than 500 followers; another 23% reported tweeting to 100 to 250 followers and 35% reported fewer than 100 followers. Not surprisingly, the 19% who said they have no idea how many followers they have were also among those who said they hardly ever tweeted. In regards to LinkedIn, while 28% of respondents only have one or two company representatives, another 25% have more than 20 people representing their company on the popular site. The remaining 47% is split evenly in between. Dealers are also beginning to find success through joining groups with 35% of dealers belonging to between one and five industry related groups. This appears to directly correspond to the amount of time that a dealer has been involved in social networking. The more time, the more groups they are involved in. The same goes for the number of first level contacts.
The big question, of course, is, does social networking lead to new business? When asked how often social marketing leads to new business, respondents reported less than stellar results, with only 10% saying they saw fairly regular leads. Fifty-five percent of respondents said that social marketing leads to new business from time to time and the remaining 35%, although acknowledging its importance, said that social networking rarely leads to new business. Uncertainty about the return on investment is the biggest concern for office furniture dealers surveyed (50%) with concerns about it being a distraction to employees (32%) and concern for leaks of confidential information (18%) rounding out the top three. According to the 2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study released in November, 2009, there are a number of ways that B2B companies judge social media success. The study of more than 2,000 B2B companies (50% of which had fewer than 10 employees and another 34% 10-99 employees), asked how does your company currently judge the success of social media initiatives? The chart on the next page paints an interesting picture of the metrics used by most companies. continued on page 12
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How does your company currently judge the success of social media initiatives? Metric Used
though the efficient and consistent use of these new tools in combination with traditional networking and sales approaches. “The key point in social networking is to get people to check out web site and location," said Dennis and Debbie Nack, owners of NorthPoint Office Furniture in Roswell, GA. "The more exposure you have, the more people tend to see the name and remember it. You never know who that person knows and will talk about your location and your web site! It's about building awareness of your business. Most of our customers do not know anything about office furniture and that is where we come in and educate them. We have a little bit of everything on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn! The more interesting you can make it, the more people will take a look at your site.”
Percentage of Companies Involved
Web site Traffic
68
Brand Awareness
61
Engagement with Prospects
60
Engagement with Customers
52
Brand Reputation
47
Prospect Lead Quality
40
Revenue
38
Prospect Lead Volume
37
Useful Product Feedback
26
“As a dealer, I see how social networking can help to create connections and allow you to have a leadership voice for your brand,” said Wayne Breitbarth, principal/owner of M&M Office Interiors in Milwaukee, WI, and a LinkedIn trainer for the past several years. “You already know what you’re good at and social networking will help you to expand and build on that expertise through the connections you create.”
Source: 2009 Business Social Media Benchmarking Study “As with any other marketing initiative, social networking must be a planned venture with a clear plan for execution, measurement (ROI) and growth." said TIm McDonald, director of interactive media and eBusiness for Tangram Interiors in Santa Fe Springs, CA. “Being able to identify which networking sites are working and why (or why not) and remembering that the goal of any of the networks is to either increase brand recognition or ideally increase sales should be the main reason for allocating resources (time/money) to those networks.” Regardless of the way dealers track the success of their social media effort, the majority certainly believe in its importance. According to the OFDealer survey, 58% of respondents believe that social networking is very important and another 40% believe it is moderately important. Only 2% of dealers responding to our survey said they believed social networking is not very important to business.
Advice for Dealers from Dealers While respondents may differ on its importance, they all agree that the key to a successful social marketing campaign comes
According to Breitbarth, if your competitors are making time and you aren’t, you have no voice. “Even just being there, shows you exist,” he said. “Plus social networking, especially LinkedIn, gives you x-ray vision to see who your connections are working with, who they know and where you can expand.” “We are very involved with online networking via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and our blog,” said Kama Weinberger, principal of Q+E Design Source in Denver, who tweets under the modest title of “Furnituregodess.” “We share valuable information about new products and links to articles that we feel will benefit the people that network with us on these social networking sites. Social media is all about sharing information with others and building rapport. We have seen many new opportunities come to us via social media. It is not about self promotion, but giving and sharing.” “Social media has begun to make dramatic changes in networking,” said Matt Sveen, principal at Intereum in Plymouth, MN. “You need to be committed to social media, consistent in using and updating, and patient for returns, looking at long-term vs. short-term. Be open minded and creative in your thinking about how your company can use social media to build or re-enforce your brand and build market awareness and sales.” continued on page 13
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“Keep your message clear and consistent and don't try to reach too many markets at once,” advises Megan Battiato, marketing specialist for One Workplace in Milpitas, CA. “Don't automatically assume that because you create a Twitter account that people will follow you and it will directly lead to business. Most importantly, remember that it’s not just about you; it's about what your followers are interested in.” “You just have to put in your time, get your face in front of as many people as possible; find out what their needs and challenges are and hopefully come up with advice, solutions and contacts for them,” said John Sorteberg, president of Commercial Furniture Services, Inc. in St. Louis Park, MN. “With email and social networking you can cast a wider net more quickly. You still have to get your face in front of individuals, however, in order to be effective. One-on-one relationships are the most effective and they take time to nurture and cultivate.” My how things change, don’t they? Over the past year, I have come to recognize that social media definitely has a place in the business world. While I still don’t really like Twitter a whole lot, there’s still no denying the benefits the various social networking
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platforms offer dealers in our industry. Even more important, perhaps, the potential downside of staying on the sidelines are equally clear. While traditional sales and marketing methods and face-to-face communications are still our most valuable resource to revenue, the connections you make today are an extension of your business outreach and will serve you well in the future.
Comments or questions? Follow OFDA and OFDealer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/indfurndealer or join OFDA’s LinkedIn group at http://www.LinkedIn.com/groupRegistration?gid=1426847. Also, Wayne Breitbarth will be a speaking on the topic “Top 10 Gotta Do’s of LinkedIn for Business Development Professionals” at this year’s 2010 OFDA Dealer Strategies Conference held from October 9-12 in Bonita Springs, FL. Visit www.ofdanet.org/conference for more information.
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dealerPROFILE Franklin Interiors Dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s Leaving Nothing to Chance By Alicia Ellis When Ralph Dallier was offered the opportunity to buy Franklin Interiors, an established Pittsburgh office furniture dealership, in 1992, he jumped at the chance to become a business owner and to put into practice the knowledge he had gained during his tenure with Contract Interiors in Detroit. Franklin Interiors, in existence since 1945, had grown from a residential interior design firm offering high-quality home furnishings and draperies to include office furniture and eventually became a full service Steelcase dealer in the 70’s. “The company was built on a strong foundation of quality products and service, and with the owner wanting to move on, it was an opportunity that I simply couldn’t resist,” said Dallier. “Within two months of the site visit, I had the keys in my hand and was moving my wife to Pittsburgh for what I thought would be just a few years’ investment.” Now, almost 18 years and three kids later, Dallier can’t imagine being anywhere else. Not content to just sit back and ride on the previous owner’s success, Dallier set out to change the face of Franklin Interiors, to expand beyond its existing corporate base, to diversify its product offerings and to offer unique services, not only to area companies but to reach into new market opportunities. JULY 2010
Under Dallier’s guidance, Franklin Interiors has tripled in size over the years and today boasts 60 employees including 12 salespeople, eight designers and 20 installers. He’s broadened the existing client base to include corporate (30 percent); medical (35 percent); higher education (20 percent); government (10 percent), and small business (5 percent) and while revenue in 2009 was on par with industry expectations, Dallier reports that 2010 is faring quite well with a number of new clients on the healthcare side who are helping to maintain strong numbers. “Competition is fierce and furniture dealers have to look hard at every aspect of their business to drive the efficiencies they need to achieve healthy profits,” said Dallier. “Clients are taking advantage of a shrinking furniture market and are competitively bidding everything.” Unique to Franklin Interiors is the variety of products and services that they have cultivated over the past several years in addition to office furniture and design services. These have helped them to not only reach out to the diverse markets mention above, but to tap into new revenue streams and specialty arenas. These include:
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Technology Products – Partnering with Steelcase, with products like media:scape, eno boards, and room wizards, and Wright Line, a manufacturer of products for technology intensive environments, Franklin has found new sources of income through the sale of laboratory and computer/data room furnishings which have, according to Dallier, been picking up more business over the past year or so. “While sales of these products only make up a small percent of revenues, it has added new revenue that is a good add on for healthcare and corporate furnishings,” Dallier explained.
client is not pleased about a particular aspect of our service, we call them and interview them further so that we can understand and correct or adjust as necessary.” “We are passionate about proposing new and different solutions to fit our clients’ needs while executing projects on time and on budget,” said Dallier. “Combine that passion with the variety of our products and services and it helps make Franklin Interiors a standout among dealers.”
Storage & Warehousing – In addition to offering asset management services to solve logistics problems, excess inventory and used products, Franklin takes it a step further by renting out space in their 55,000 square foot warehouse. “We become a total resource for our clients with furniture management, cleaning, repairs, the sale of their used or unwanted furnishings and storage,” said Dallier, who boasts that 25 clients currently take advantage of their storage program. Office Furniture Rental – Partnering with the Office Furniture Rental Alliance (OFRA), a network of authorized professional office furniture dealers with distribution centers across North America, Franklin’s rental program not only supplies temporary furniture, but will coordinate the terms, delivery, and retrieval of the product. Flooring – Five years ago, Franklin increased its dedication to flooring by creating a separate team with outsourced installers that offers a wide selection of flooring from more than 25 different flooring manufacturers. “Currently the flooring division accounts for about 10% of total revenues and growing, it gives us an entry point to new customers and allows us to expand our relationships with existing clients,” said Dallier. Targeted marketing efforts revolve around their database filled with 19 years of satisfied customers. “We track each project, each piece of marketing material and have utilized satisfaction surveys for the past fourteen years,” said Dallier who explained that marketing efforts focus on building relationships by utilizing a database marketing approach that includes opt-in direct e-mail, traditional mailing and events. “Satisfaction surveys focus on 15 key areas of a project and if a JULY 2010
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Determining Your
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Strategic Focus for the Balance of 2010
The state of the industry no longer allows us the luxury of an annual review. Re-evaluation of 2010 plans must be continual throughout the year. It was only a little over six months ago that the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) was predicting a 1.0% decline in shipments for 2010. Three months later, BIFMA adjusted its forecast to a 3.8% decline, and after another three-month interval, lowered it still further to the current 5.1% decline. This virtually assures that by the end of this year, our industry will be more than one-third lower than at the end of 2008. The good news, perhaps, is that 2011 shipments are now projected to post an 11.0% gain instead of the earlier forecast of 7.0%. Less encouraging, though, BIFMA has been known to err on the high side in terms of longer-range projections in the past, and looking forward, it is hard to predict exactly when a sustained recovery will get underway in earnest. We are all well aware that the office furniture industry lags the U.S. economy by two to three quarters (my reviews suggest closer to a year), that
office construction remains weak and office vacancy rates continue high. Smaller companies, including dealers, also recover more slowly than large corporations, in part because they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the access to credit that larger companies have.
Recent Dealer Experience Dealers are generally more optimistic than the industry forecasts project. Many foresee growth of 10% or more compared to last year, with several anticipating well above that 10% growth level. Dealers attribute this to two primary factors that are now beginning to pay off: 1) expanding their customer base and further diversifying into the education, healthcare and government markets, and 2) increasing their service revenues, often by several percentage points. Most dealers indicate they have had at least two favorable months so far this year. But they also talk about the roller coaster ride they seem to be on, with both good months and bad, and lament that the peak and valley nature of our industry seems to be even more extreme. continued on page 17
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Bill Kuhn, principal of William E. Kuhn & Associates, is a noted industry consultant, writer, and speaker with over 35 years of industry experience. He consults with dealer principals and their management teams in areas of strategic planning, leadership and organizational development, marketing, financial management, valuation and merger/ acquisition. For more information, contact Bill by phone: 303-322-8233, fax: 303-331-9032, or e-mail: BillKuhn1@cs.com. PAGE 16
STRATEGIC
FOCUS
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In the months when business is good, dealers are having trouble keeping up and achieving satisfactory levels of operating performance. In months when business is down, costs can’t be cut quickly enough to make a profit.
The more educated your customers are about your real costs of providing value and services, the greater the opportunity you have to set a price that will recover the value of the services you provide.
The majority of furniture dealers to whom I speak mention that their gross margins are off by two or more percentage points, which is offsetting the profits they were hoping to make. It would be far worse if the service sector of their business hadn’t increased.
This means providing comprehensive training to educate your sales force on how to sell and price for added value. It also undoubtedly means that there may be projects and customers you should turn down.
Operations: Suggested Strategic Focus for the Second Half
It’s a Question of Allocating Resources
In my December column, “2010: Survival of the Fittest,” I posed 50 questions to consider in preparing for this year. A few dealers told me that was overwhelming. “Where do I begin?,” they asked.
Expect the peaks and valleys in business to continue throughout this year and into 2011.
Reflecting on those responses and recent discussions with dealers, I thought it beneficial in this column to restrict myself to the one item in each of the three major functional areas that may be the most critical at this point in time.
Sales and Marketing:
Think Pricing Gross margins are clearly under intense pressure and I expect this state of affairs will continue for years to come. As a result, dealers will have to develop creative strategies to minimize further gross margin erosion. The expansion of services is one such strategy. Today, there are a few dealers who generate more than 30% of their revenue in services and that is a good thing for them. In services, margins are typically 50 to 60% higher than product margins. High-quality service is another strategy that is essential to combat the perception among many customers that we are a commoditized industry. As marketing guru Michael Porter writes, premium pricing is created only through two mechanisms—by lowering a buyer’s cost (or risk) of operating his business or by raising a buyer’s level of his own performance. Can that theory apply to furniture? Absolutely, particularly in added-value services. To charge a reasonable price in today’s economy, customers must be convinced that your value proposition will result in direct benefits to them. Optimal pricing also includes knowing when to bundle products and services and when to price each component separately. The trend is to unbundle, particularly as buyers become more sophisticated and price sensitive. JULY 2010
Determine your current breakeven point relative to volume, and drive that breakeven level down to prevent profit losses in low-revenue months. Those areas of cost cutting you’ve already addressed are probably the easiest and more obvious. Additional cost cutting will typically be more challenging, usually requiring a redesign in operations, reorganizing activities, tearing out those costs that don’t add value from a customer perspective and outsourcing appropriate activities. Studies have shown that companies that tackle operating efficiency fare better than those who focus primarily on reducing staff. Operating efficiency enables these companies to develop an infrastructure than can better handle future growth. It is important not to make cuts that threaten your infrastructure in such a way that you jeopardize your ability to provide the level of service necessary to retain accounts, grow business and take advantage of new sales opportunities when they do come along. There are advantages to outsourcing certain functions, provided you work with competent organizations. You may pay more compared to doing it yourself, but it’s a variable cost and enables you to keep your overhead down. Referring back to Michael Porter, he says it very clearly, “Strategy is about making choices and trade-offs.”
Finance:
Show me the Money Many dealers are struggling, yet holding on. However, if the downturn in our industry has not bottomed out or if the current low level of revenue continues for several months, many dealers will run out of cash. Even among stronger dealers, cash is becoming an issue.
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STRATEGIC
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OFDealer editor Simon De Groot says in this monthโ s editorial, โ Make sure cash is king.โ OFDA president Chris Bates also stated recently, โ Cash flow management is the key to survival.โ In these challenging times, liquidity is more important than earnings, and the balance sheet becomes more important than the income statement. Yet most dealers still focus predominantly on their income statements.
Profits are not cash. Even profitable companies go bankrupt, both in periods of recession and in periods of growth. It is essential that you know the minimum liquidity (cash) needed to stay in business. Manage your working capital cycle. This includes not only receivables but deposits, progress payments and inventory. All the steps involved in the order-to-payment cycle. The faster the order-to-payment cycle turns, the better your cash position becomes and the lower the level of assets required to support your sales revenue. It could well be, as has been written elsewhere, that the next six months may be the most critical our industry has ever experienced. The lag factor I mentioned earlier will play out over the next several months in terms of risk, survival and opportunity. Your mid-year review is essential. Act now to modify strategies that need to change and to create new strategies to make the second half of this year successful for your dealership.
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JULY 2010
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NeoCon 2010: Attendance Up 10% Show Organizers Report
If you were looking for signs of a revival in the office
smaller workspace footprints and, of course, environ-
furniture industry, Chicagoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Merchandise Mart was the
mentally-friendly materials and manufacturing were again
place to be last month. It may not have been the biggest
front and center.
NeoCon ever, but show organizers were still able to report a 10% increase in attendance over last year and said more than 41,000 industry personnel attended.
As usual, the Best of NeoCon awards program highlighted some of the more interesting new products on display, with a panel of corporate, government and institutional facilities
As always, they found plenty of new solutions for just about
management executives, interior designers and architects
every kind of workspace application imaginable to more
selecting the winners from some 340 new product
than justify the trip.
submissions.
Over 700 showrooms offered an abundance of new
On the following pages, we showcase the Gold Winners
products and enhancements to existing lines, and much
from some of the key office furniture categories, along with
as they have been at previous NeoCons in recent years,
the Best of Competition and some of the Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice
trends such as increasingly collaborative work styles,
and Innovation Award Winners.
continued on page 21 JULY 2010
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NEOCON
2010
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Wilkhahn Gold in Ergonomic Desk/Task Seating and Best of Competition for ON
Highmark Editorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Choice in Ergonomic Desk/Task Seating for InTouch
continued on page 22 JULY 2010
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NEOCON
2010
continued from page 21
Herman Miller Gold in Healthcare Furniture for Compass System
Davis Gold in Conference Room Furniture for the SITE collection
continued on page 23 JULY 2010
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NEOCON
2010
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Steelcase Gold in Workplace Technologies for RoomWizard
Jofco Editorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Choice in Casegoods for DR continued on page 24 JULY 2010
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NEOCON
2010
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Surface Works Gold in Height Adjustable Worksurfaces for Wing-It
Teknion Gold in Furniture Integrated Task/Desktop Lighting for Conflux LED Lighting
continued on page 26 JULY 2010
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S A V E
T H E
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OFDA 2010 CONFERENCE
October 9-12 Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa Bonita Springs FLORIDA
NEOCON
2010
continued from page 24
Halcon Gold in Casegoods for Proximus
Groupe Lacasse Gold in Furniture Systems for CITE
continued on page 27 JULY 2010
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NEOCON
2010
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Allsteel Gold in Furniture System Enhancements for Stride Benching
izzy+ Gold in Education Solutions for Dewey 6-Top by Fixtures Furniture
continued on page 28 JULY 2010
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NEOCON
2010
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Nucraft Gold in Training Tables for Fleet
Humanscale Gold in Office Accessories for the Personal Zone Air Purifier
continued on page 29 JULY 2010
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NEOCON
2010
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OFDA Announces Manufacturer of the Year Award Winners, Top Ten Dealer Issues Also at NeoCon, OFDA presented its prestigious Aligned and Non-Aligned Manufacturer of the Year Awards. Winners were selected by means of the extensive DMSI survey of hundreds of dealers who were asked to rank their primary manufacturers in ten key areas of business performance.
Haworth
Award winners in the Aligned Manufacturer category were:
Gold in Moveable Walls for Enclose Frameless Glass
Gold: Herman Miller Silver: Steelcase Bronze: Kimball Office Earning honors in the Non-Aligned Manufacturer category were:
Gold: AIS Silver: The HON Company Bronze: Global – The Total Office “OFDA and office furniture dealers throughout the country are honored to have these winning manufacturers as strong supporters of our industry,” stated Carlene Wilson, OFDA chair and principal/VP of sales for BKM Total Office of Texas in Dallas. “Even during times of economic stress, these manufactures have earned special recognition through their support of the dealer community. As winners of OFDA’s most prestigious award, they join the ranks of outstanding manufacturers that have been recognized over the years and I congratulate them on their efforts and continued support.” In connection with the awards program and the DMSI survey, dealers sounded off on their satisfaction with manufacturers, ranking their performance in six different categories of operations. According to the survey, the top ten issues for dealers this year are:
continued on page 30 JULY 2010
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NEOCON
2010
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1. Completeness and accuracy of product deliveries 2. Delivery of product in satisfactory, damage-free condition 3. Timeliness of product deliveries 4. Product quality 5. Customer service support 6. Overall quality of product lines 7. Meeting lead time requirements for quick ship products 8. Product line meets or exceeds the typical client's expectations 9. Product margins
“This survey gives dealers a voice in their relationship with key manufacturer business partners,” commented Billie Zidek, director of research and standards for OFDA. “The results inform manufacturers about the primary service issues and concerns of their dealers, as well as what types of support dealers use and value most. The DMSI is an invaluable tool that manufacturers can use to help the dealers and ultimately help their own sales initiatives.” The full 2010 Dealer Manufacturer Satisfaction Index (DMSI) report is now available for download at http://www.iopfda.org/index.asp?bid=96.
10. Value of product lines to your dealership’s success
Non-Aligned Manufacturer of the Year
AIS Frank Gutwein, President of Widmer Interiors, Inc. and OFDA Vice Chair; Bruce Platzman, CEO of AIS; Carlene Wilson, Principal & Vice President of Sales for BKM Total of Texas, LP and OFDA Chair; Rob Lazarus, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for AIS; Jack King, Past OFDA Chair; Chris Bates, OFDA President
Aligned Manufacturer of the Year
Herman Miller Frank Gutwein, President, Widmer Interiors, Inc. and OFDA Vice Chair; Jack King, Past OFDA Chair; Carlene Wilson, Principal & Vice President of Sales for BKM Total of Texas, LP and OFDA Chair; Paul Illes, Vice President of Distribution for Herman Miller; Curt Pullen, Executive Vice President & President North American Office & Learning Environments for Herman Miller; Matt Sveen, Prinicpal of Intereum; Chris Bates, OFDA President
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Marketing
IT & a love (hate) story
By: Dave Brysch & Vincent Tran (marketing-savvy tech guys) There are countless tales of conflict between the Marketing team and the IT team. The two departments could not be more dissimilar —different personalities, goals and processes. But downstream, cooperation is essential in order for sales and operations to function properly. Bottom line: Like it or not, Marketing and IT need each other.
Personalities and Goals
Contributor: Elisa Holland (tech-savvy marketing gal) “fuzzy” and too high-level. However, Marketing is held accountable for the bottom line. If profitability drops, everyone is at risk.
Lost in Translation Often times, conversations initiated by Marketing start with, “I have an idea to…”, and IT responds with, “We can’t do that because…” The exchange is usually the result of the two groups speaking different languages and is exacerbated by jargon and acronyms.
So how do the Venus and Mars departments find common ground and deliver revenue? The departments themselves are comprised of individuals with very distinct skill sets that have little to do with one another.
Marketing usually finds itself unable to clearly convey its needs in technical terms, while IT doesn’t know how to speak any other way—often dismissing the needs of Marketing to be non-essential and risky.
IT’s primary goal is to maintain the infrastructure stability, provide network security and achieve maximum productivity with limited resources. It involves network engineers, desktop support staff, database administrators, and application developers while Marketing might encompass public relations specialists, graphic designers, advertising strategists, media planners and social media gurus.
Communications break down when IT begins to delve into the minutia of how something works or doesn’t, which sometimes comes off as condescending, and Marketing’s eyes glaze over and they throw their hands up in frustration. Everyone leaves dissatisfied, and the company is not well-served.
Sometimes, they’re perceived as obstructive, but their job requires them to be very skeptical and cautious. If IT fails, Marketing is moot. In the opposite corner, the primary goal of Marketing is to increase brand awareness and generate sales leads. It is often Marketing that generates the currents that guide finicky buyers toward their decisions. Marketing is all about pushing the envelope, innovation and making waves that generate awareness. IT often perceives Marketing as
Setting up Lines of Communication This must start from the top down. Regularly scheduled meetings between the departments’ leadership ensures that Marketing initiatives and IT concerns are openly discussed. These high-level conversations also provide IT the time necessary to disseminate the information throughout the different divisions within IT and Marketing to define and review their upcoming needs. Discussions should center around: n Upcoming projects (timing, data to gather, how to measure, etc.) continued on page 32
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MARKETING
VS
TECHNOLOGY
n Individual projects that may impact the other department (marketing campaigns that will produce increased web traffic or IT’s scheduled web site downtime for maintenance) n Explaining the roles of personnel and resources involved on both teams Over time, these channels of communication ultimately build trust. The conflict between these two departments has given rise to a group of hybrid “interactive services” teams that speak both languages and many companies have started bringing in outside interactive teams to spearhead major initiatives. IT can set an established set of
continued from page 31
rules in which to operate, and Marketing can define the ultimate needs and goals. Until a happy marriage exists between Marketing and IT, these interactive translators are a great resource for building successful campaigns.
Working Together It’s been more than 15 years since the Internet became mainstream and Marketing has harnessed the technology to communicate with buyers and customers. Corporate web sites and social media sources like Twitter, Facebook and CEO blogs are fast becoming an initial point of contact with the company.
Marketing campaigns gather buyer feedback information from email, phone, web site forms, and micro-sites. They depend on IT to ensure the data harvested from these communications can be collected, analyzed, reported, and placed into workflows. From a corporate perspective, these types of data sources and campaigns hold both IT and Marketing accountable and demand measurable ROI. Therefore, successful executions of these campaigns require open communication involving resource management of staff, media, hardware, and software costs.
Translating IT to Marketing Here are just a few definitions for common terms used by IT departments. The better you understand what these terms mean, the better the level of communication between departments. n Project Plan >> Creative Brief n Scope of Work >> Defining all the steps to take to get to the finish line successfully n Discovery >> What already exists that we need to work with or work around n Deliverables >> Product(s) to create n Measurement/Analytics >> How we will demonstrate ROI and success n Requirements >> Very detailed list of what is needed to meet each goal
n Infrastructure >> Computers and network devices that will support and house the product n Skin >> Design n Grid >> Live area for functionality n SEO >> Make search engine friendly n Compliance/ W3C Regulations >> The rules we need to play by in order meet best practices n Milestones >> Phase checkpoints
Dave Brysch | President | Channel Dynamix Dave has a long history of providing software and IT services for the contract furniture dealer market. His experience stems from years of developing custom applications and supporting complex, mission critical infrastructure. He founded Channel Dynamix in 1999, and has since guided it to become a leading provider of analytics and managed IT services.
Vincent Tran | Channel Dynamix Vincent heads the Interactive Services division for Channel Dynamix. He specializes in web and application User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) development, with a focus on how people interact with data. Prior to joining the IT side, he ran his own award-winning creative and web agency for nearly a decade. Follow him on Twitter @channeldynamix
Elisa Holland | Director, Interactive Services | Marion, Montgomery, Inc. (mmihouston.com) As an award-winning marketing professional with more than 15 years of experience, Elisa has worked with clients in various industries such as healthcare, technology, education, energy and government. With her strong marketing background and technology savvy, Elisa has managed interactive marketing efforts such as SEO, PPC, social media, web design/ development, iPhone/Mobile development, and 3D animation for clients like Schlumberger, Air Liquide, Minute Maid, CHRISTUS Health, the Department of Defense, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Houston System. JULY 2010
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