Brainstorming Meeting via email

Back in September I remember the media release coming across my desk about St.Marys CBM and a pink cement truck. At first glance I thought what an innovative concept for a few reasons;

1) A great marketing tool to place St.Marys CBM as a leader in the construction industry for the inititative.

2) Excellent opportunity for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to reach a new audience of potential contributors

3) This is the first iniative of a construction related company taking on a promotion like this.

My wheels immediately began spinning on how can we do something as great for Breast Cancer Awareness and the concept initially escaped me until about a week ago our newest rep Cindy from Ottawa had mentioned an idea of doing a special theme profile on women in construction. I also was reminded of our rep in Sault Ste Marie, Leslie, she had become a member of the Canadian Association of Women in Construction (CAWIC)recently and wanted to do some coverage for them but had not gotten any strong support.

So the brainstorming began between Cindy, Leslie and I and a few emails later the concept of "Women in Construction" came up for a special profile in our February 2009 issue of the Ontario Construction Report. The concept was to cover all companies, trades and suppliers related to the construction industry and ask them to share their stories of the strong women leaders and employees in the companies.

We divided up some tasks such as contacting the major women construction associations to offer to do some coverage for the special issue, looking at potential advertisers and then my responsibility was to contact the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation with an excellent idea to test polite a fundraising program. I am hoping to hear back early next week if my idea will work and a new relationship will be started. I will then share the concept if they sign off.

What does this all mean? Well it goes to show the power of a team sharing ideas and working together and contributing. Three separate ideas suddenly collided and meshed into something bigger and better which is more likely to succeed. The best thing about this is that the entire conversation happened between a few phone calls and emails by three people, one in Niagara, one in Ottawa and the other in the Sault. So much for meeting at the water cooler at the corporate office.

Wood WORKS! Announce Finalists for Ontario

As a proud sponsor of the 2008 Wood WORKS! Awards Gala it is my pleasure to provide you the list of finalists for this years awards. Below are the links to the list of Finalists from Ontario.

The Wood WORKS! Awards recognizes people and organizations dedicated to pioneering and preserving the use of wood in Ontario. The 8th Annual Wood WORKS! Awards Gala will take place on Wednesday, November 12, in the Cohen Ballroom at the Toronto Congress Centre.

Toronto Area Finalists

Northern Ontario Finalists

Greater Toronto Area Finalists

Eastern Ontario Finalists

Huronia Finalists

On November 13th I will be at the Wood Solutions Fair at the Toronto Congress Centre and I look forward to seeing you there.

Working with the design community, Wood WORKS! connects practitioners with resources related to the use of wood in commercial construction, assists in product sourcing, and facilitates the delivery of education and training. The project's mandate is to work toward changing attitudes and perceptions about wood use by communicating its attributes as a sustainable, cost-effective and innovative material (See www.wood-works.org for more information).

Wood WORKS! is an industry led initiative of the Canadian Wood Council.

The Killers Human

Customer Dis-service

From all my years in the world of business the first and most important thing I learned when dealing with any type of customer service question, concern or problem was also to diffuse the situation first by saying to the customer the following words,

"What I can do for you is..."

No matter what follows these words I have already told the customer that I am going to work to solve their problem, I can do it for them and I am listening.

The worst words you can use are,

"What you need to do is..."

No matter how polite you say this, how cute you look the first reaction you will always get is no one tells me what to do when it is your problem to fix.

In the fourth day of my issue with getting blasted with what was originally 47,000 spam emails that capped out at 165,000 I finally found out that no one at http://www.bell.ca/ overseas tech support was actually working to help address my two issues which were clearly stated and read back to me by at least two reps when I followed up after the time frame they had provided.

Issue one was stop the spam.

Issue two was to delete the 165,000 emails.

Turns out from day one there was a note added to the folder saying they could not delete the emails. No one bothered to tell me, they only said "It has been escalated!" The original timeline of 30 minutes became 72 hours. 72 hours was today and I was not letting them off the hook until I got an answer. The first rep I spoke with today said, "I can take care of it". Well the good news is he did delete 25,000 emails for me,I found out later he was deleting them 100 at a time like I am required. I called back tech support 3 hours later and asked why it was taking them so long to delete the emails, I did not know they had to be manually done. The (worst customer service skill deprived) rep simply said after a dramatic pause "You need to do it. I can't" I asked him what are you talking about, the last rep said he could do it easily. He said, "Well he was manually deleting them and I can't do that you need to."

At the point I hung up. If the tech reps from the beginning said we can stop the spam but can not delete the emails, my expectations for the next three days would have been set properly. The problem is the reps I followed up with daily never told me this, they took the simple it is not problem to deal with and said I will put in a special note and escalate it. If they had been honest I would not be so frustrated now that if it was not for the lovely 8 months left on my contract I would be switching Internet service providers.

What can you learn from this?

1) Always tell the customer what you can do for them.

2) Set realistic expectations.

3) Tell the truth no matter how much it hurts.

So any Internet Service providers looking for a new customer in 8 months? Heck offer me a deal so good I can't refuse and I will switch tomorrow. Bell wonders why I switched my phone service, I wondered why for two seconds and realized it was how they treated me.

47,000 reasons I do not like email today...

The image above brings to mind peoples frustration when dealing with tech support for computer and email issues with an outsourced agent. In today's age a new interactive chat function on web sites, these is some releif in regards to the misconception of dealing with people with accents or who do not sound like us, "EH!". Customer service from companies like Bell are often outsourced to country's such as India but you would be amazed at the true skill and education levels of the people you are dealing with. From my previous profession in direct marketing with contact centres I found that reps from India had in most cases at least 3 years universitry education.

So far tonight the interactive and immediate chat solution for customer service has been a pleasant one. Obviously this may not be a tool we or most construction related companies could use in a traditional setting and I find it har dto believe a contractor would outsource tech support for sub trades to contact if a question arose regarding plans.

Back to the reason of this post...

I am in a bit of a breakdown state of mind, just got back from my son's hockey practise and noticed I had 47,000 emails downloading when I logged in to check email.

It appears someone has used my email address as a return address for a UK Lotto scheme. Just got off of from speaking with tech support and hopefully it will be resolved in the next hour.

In the meantime I may have to reply on old fashioned technology for people to reach me tomorrow, I will check my mail box out front of my house.

Wish me luck!

RONA SHOWS SUPPORT FOR THE CHILDREN’S AID FOUNDATION, ONE J.J. BEAR AT A TIME

RONA the largest Canadian retailer and distributor of hardware, renovation and gardening products, has partnered with the Children’s Aid Foundation to sell the renowned J.J. Bear – a cute and cuddly teddy bear – across its Ontario stores in support of abused and neglected children.

100% of proceeds from sales will be applied directly towards supporting the Children’s Aid Foundation programs for children in Ontario, matching the funds to communities where they were donated. J.J. Bear is available for sale until December 30th in participating RONA stores across Ontario, including RONA Home and Garden, RONA Cashway, RONA Lansing and Noble Trade, for the price of $10. It can also be purchased online at www.cafdn.org as of November 1st.

You can see this ad in the November and December issue of the Ontario Construction Report and also get more information as we will be showcasing the bears at some of the trade shows we will be attending in November and December.

Also for the holiday season we are running a special Turkey Drive for your local foodback. For every holiday greeting ad placed in our papers we have discounted the full colour process cost by almost $200 and will donate a turkey on your behalf to a local food bank. You can get more information here for our Toronto paper the GTA Construction Report.

What are you doing this upcoming holiday season to give back to your community? Share your stories and events with me by email chasemarketing@sympatico.ca

You know your reaching towards success when people start calling you...

Over the past few months my efforts in locating potential feature articles and advertisers for our papers has gotten a little easier. Maybe that is the wrong wording to use, but people seem to be calling me before I call them, which is a good sign.

When I first started working with the Construction News and Report Group back in March of 2007, i had to hit the pavement and make calls daily to generate modest results. Along the way though I realized that better results could be found by simply building relationships and getting out and meeting with the people I was and could do business with. I made some mistakes along the way of course but I learned fom these and adapted.

Thinsg I know that 90% of the time resulted in failure that I tried:

1) Not getting to know the customer before I asked for their business.

2) Making the conversation more about what I could do instead of what the customer needed.

3) Try to make a sale to everyone (Pounding a square block into a round hole).

So how did I come to that moment of realization? I ran into somebody I knew who was in the construction industry one day and had a normal get caught up type of conversation. At the end of it we naturally came to the conclusion that a business relationship made sense. My success in past roles in other companies was always dealing with existing clients and doing business development with people that knocked on my door, so inititially I took this job which involved new business development like the one of the guys from "Glengarry Glen Ross". I tried to sale people instead of building relationships, building the relationship now became the sale.

So what did I change, I went to associations meetings. I found out what was going on vs. waiting for them to send an update. I realized that I could not close every sale in a few meetings. I realized that some people needed more time, so I adjusted my schedule to fit them. Instead of lining up feature articles last minute Istarted lining them up months ahead of time.

Now do I get some sales in a first meeting with a client, yes because the customer has an immediate need. The rest of the time I am learning about what my customers may need, but always first getting to know them.

How are you going to get to know your customer today?

Thanks for the feedback!

Back in March we launched our first issue of Structures for the Niagara Home Builders Associations (NHBA) and first feature we did was with Pinewood Home in Niagara. After only speaking with Michael Colaneri Jr on the phone I finally got to meet him last night at the monthly NHBA members meeting.

I spoke with Mike and found out he had not recieved an electronic version of feature so I sent it out first thing this morning. You can read his response below.


Chase

It was nice to finally meet and I thank you for your attention to this project. You did a great Job!!

Michael




You can also view the article here:

2009 GTA Construction Report Media Guide

Check out the new 2009 GTA Construction Report Media Guide

2009 Ontario Construction Report Media Guide

Here is our newly redesigned Ontario Construction Report Media Guide for 2009.

Man building house from hay

A Texas man is building a house from hay, mud and sand. KLTV's Courtney Lane reports.

Building House out of Hay

Niagara Home Builders Media Guide and Theme Schedule

Niagara Home Builders Association Media Guide


New and Innovative Theme


Renovation Theme


New Tools and Toys Theme


Heating Theme


Landscaping Theme


Interior Design Theme

Media Guides get an Extreme Makeover

We are in the process of updating our media guides for 2009, below is the first revised one for the Ottawa Construction News (OCN) to take a sneak peek at.

The goal for the makeover was to streamline the look, match the colour scheme to the rest of our marketing materials and highlight the associations we are proud members of. The next thing we incorporated was our mission statement:

MISSION STATEMENT
Breaking new ground,
Building new bonds,
and
Delivering news you can use every day.


The media guide also highlight our services:

Publishing editorial feature profiles. These can either be paid ‘advertorials’ or be based on supplier-support advertising. (These features can range in length from two to 12 or more pages – and make excellent resources for your marketing packages, and your websites.)

Ongoing advertising/marketing campaigns. We’ll incorporate your advertising within a framework of overall strategies to build your business. This includes editorial publicity, advice on how to best reach your objectives, and networking/community resources.

Guidance and support. You might be doing business with us to support one of your current clients, perhaps as an advertiser in one of our editorial feature profiles. Be reassured that we consider you worthy of the same respect that you have for your own clients – we’ll share insights, ideas, and resources, to help you find new business – without expecting you to do anything else.

Community involvement and contributions. We’re always ready to support with publicity and free advertising community and charitable initiatives, and we work closely with industry associations and businesses in addressing issues of interest to the industry – advocating on the industry’s behalf with the government, and working to improve communication and remove barriers to relationships between different elements of the industry. These services
never cost a cent; and you don’t need to be an advertiser to receive these benefits.

Most importantly, you’ll find we will work with you to succeed, regardless of the size and scale of your business. Our perspective is interdisciplinary, but our values reflect the universal ideals of respect, fairness, and belief in your business potential. Call us if you have any questions. We’ll listen and provide practical guidance and support.

You can view the OCN 2009 Media Guide Online below:

YUDU a great online tool for publishers

I came arcoss this online publishing tool as a resource to make our newspaper easier to read and more attractive to look at. The service is called YUDU.

So far I can not find any faults in the free service and enjoy the fact that I use it as a tool to help me with existing clients and share our paper to potential clients with out sending large email files. There are some cool tolls as well that allow you to print the document, ad notes and the best part is the direct links for email and web address allow the reader to click through to get more information.

This online tool is perfect for anyone looking to create a web prescence for existing marketing materials they have that can easlily be posted online for potential customer to review. Over the next few weeks we will be reviewing the service and seeing if we can incorporate it with our soon to be newly launched web site while also seeing what other purposes it can serve.

You can check out my current librabry of mateials here: Chase's YUDU Librabry

About YUDU:

YUDU is an online publishing marketplace that brings you the creators and your audience together and turns traditional publishing upside down in the process. YUDU is all about giving you the freedom to express, the power to publish online and the means to share for free or sell for profit.

Writers, photographers, composers and musicians; set out your stall and bring your creations alive inside YUDU's award winning e-publications, reaching global audiences and customers in minutes. Marketeers, designers, companies, teachers, students, governments and charities - all can publish in a range of online formats including beautiful e-books, e-catalogues, music, audio books, photos and presentations. With YUDU.com, your readers, customers, viewers and listeners are within easy reach, wherever they are.

YUDU lets you create e-publications and store them in your own hosted, online library for free - share them with the world, embed them in websites and blogs or just keep them private!
Purchase the upgrade to YUDU Plus and you can create truly cutting edge eDocuments, where your text and images are brought to life with your video and audio content. The YUDU Plus upgrade is also your route to earning money, either by selling your own creations or helping other people sell theirs.

Join the user-generated publishing revolution and keep the lion's share of income when selling your own creations, or earn generous commissions by promoting other people's publications or the YUDU Upgrade option on your website - It's that easy!

Register for the Toronto Wood Solutions Fair at the Toronto Congress Centre

Come check out our booth at the Wood Solution Fair at the Toronto Congress Centre Thursday November 13th.

Why Should You Attend?


If you are an Architect, Civil or Structural Engineer, Building Designer, Building Official, Contractor, Construction Technologist, Specifier, Student or Professor, this is the one event you should not miss.

- Admission and lunch are free for pre-registered industry professionals.
- Learn about the newest innovations and trends in wood construction.
- Earn up to 6 OAA Self-Directed Learning Hours
- Earn up to 6 AIA Continuing Education System Learning Units
- Network and connect with other industry experts and product specialists

Make sure to register by November 7th: REGISTRATION FORM

Check out our ad in the Niagara Construction Association Newsletter

Check out our ad in the Niagara Construction Association Monthly Newsletter.

Thank you from the St.Catharines Minor Hockey Association

One of the great things about working for the Construction News and Report Group is our community involvement. This year we are proud to be a sponsor of the St. Catharines Minor Hockey Assoction Tyke AA team. It is one thing to work in a community but it is another to be a part of it through involvement.

Above is great "Thank you" letter I received. Of course the child we sponsored happens to be my son.

For a small sposnorship you are giving the opportunity to connect with potential clients in an informal setting which allows for relationships to be built beyond the board room and advertising. Already I have found several potential clients to speak with based on the names of comapnies on the back of jerseys.

I will keep you posted how our team does throughout the season and share photos. If you are a sponsor of a youth sports team and want to share your experiences drop me an email at chasemarketing@sympatico.ca

September 2008 Issue of the Ontario Construction Report

Check out the October issue of the Ontario Construction Report: October 2008 Issue

September 2008 Issue of the GTA Construction Report

Check out this month's GTA Construction Report Here: October 2008 Issue

A "Thank you" Note from the Niagara Construction Asssociation

Tarion Awards Of Excellence

The Tarion Awards of Excellence gala was held this evening at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. The venue was great and from speaking with all the finalists before dinner it was easy to see by the smiles on people faces their excitment for the recognition.

This was my first time attending the Tarion Awards and I could not be more impressed with the atmosphere in ROM (reminded me of the movie "A Night at the Museum") and the effeciency of the awards presentation.

“Buying a new home is one of the most significant and exciting investments that many of us will make in our lifetime. Tarion is proud to recognize builders whose commitment to customer service helps make this experience as enjoyable and stress-free as possible,” said Tarion President and CEO Howard Bogach. “The recipients of Tarion’s Awards of Excellence are chosen by the people whose opinions count the most — Ontario’s new home buyers.”

Finalists in the 2008 Tarion Awards of Excellence process were identified based on the results of a Harris/Decima Research survey of more than 51,000 Ontario consumers who took possession of a new home between January 1 and December 31, 2007. Over 13,300 consumers responded to the survey, representing over 25 per cent of consumers who bought a new home in Ontario in 2007.

Survey questions focused on homeowners’ satisfaction with their builder, covering every stage in the homeowner-builder relationship: from signing of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, through construction and the pre-delivery period, to after-sales service. The finalists (listed below) must have had at least five new home possessions during 2007 and a specified number of completed questionnaires must have been received by Harris/Decima.

I have already started to work on expanding our coverage and involvement for next year and look forward to building a great relationship with Tarion.

Below are the award categories and the winners for each:

High-Rise Builder Category

Tridel– Toronto, ON

Large Volume Builder Category

Fusion Homes – Southwestern Ontario

Medium Volume Builder Category

Noah Homes – Kingsville, ON

Small Volume Builder Category

Sobella House & Home – Kingston

Publishers View Point October

On September 18th I had the pleasure of attending the monthly meeting of the Greater Barrie Home Builders Association (GBHBA) and came away with 300,000 reasons why the city boasts two great construction associations.

At the meeting with the GBHBA were also key members from the Barrie Construction Association (BCA) and Gilda’s Club, who were all there to celebrate the sell of Gilda’s House which the two associations coordinated to construct in a staggering 54 hour period back in June this year. As part of the presentation a cheque for $300,000 was given to Gilda’s House. The donation from the BCA and GBHBA brought Gilda’s fundraising efforts to over $2 million of their project $3 million. The project is The Gilda's Club Barrie Ontario clubhouse which will be built adjacent to the future Cancer Care facility on land generously donated by the hospital, alongside Rotary House, the overnight lodge which will accommodate people receiving treatment at the Cancer Centre.

As Gilda’s Club continues to work with both associations and members of the Barrie community the Construction News and Report Group will be adding some support by providing additional coverage and providing free advertising space in the GTA Construction Report. This month Gilda’s Club will be running a great “Thank you” ad for the members of the BCA, GBHBA and the community. I also look forward to offering continued support of both of these associations starting with the coverage of a special profile on Gregor Homes of the GBHBA.

The mission of Gilda’s Club is to create welcoming communities of free support for everyone living with cancer – men, women, teens and children – along with their families and friends. Our innovative program is an essential complement to medical care, providing networking and support groups, workshops, education and social activities. For more information on how you can become involved, please contact: (705)726-5199 or email: caron@gildasclubbarrie.org

Chase is the Director of Client Services for the Construction News and Report Group as well as the Associate Publisher for the GTA Construction Report and Structures, the Niagara Home Builders Association Newspaper. If you have any recommendations or suggestions on changes you would like to suggest for the papers please contact him toll free at 1-888-432-3555 ext 211 or email him chasemarketing@sympatico.ca