by Stephen Witte
Make products easier for customers to discover. Eight simple words for a task that doesn’t sound that difficult. Customers are online, visiting showrooms and receiving presentations every day. What can manufacturers do to better the odds of their products being discovered?
One answer comes in the form of specialized websites that present contract industry products in searchable listings. These listings categorize products from manufacturers of all sizes, capabilities and locations in a variety of ways, including function, style, material and level of sustainability.
These websites display their content in unique ways, often specific to their particular functionality. Because the listings within a site are similar, users can focus on their search priorities. Conformity among the listings on a site democratizes the content, allowing a start-up operation to appear as formidable as a decades-old market leader.
If the premise of such websites is making products easier to discover, which of them does so effectively? What is required to access content, and what is required to gain a listing? Who curates the listings, and who updates the content?
The following reviews, and a concluding counterpoint, consider these questions and others about four approaches to online resources for contract products.
Designer Pages
How much revolution can an established website undergo in one year? One man who knows is Designer Pages’ product manager Kevin Cheng. He joined the team 18 months ago as management plotted the transformation. What the team devised was a suite of collaborative tools wrapping around the core product directory. No longer do designers need to pound out spreadsheets for product reviews, nor does managing the products and materials for projects need to consume mountains of paper.
“We have worked closely with our design firm partners, releasing them from inefficient solutions like bookmarking,” said Mr. Cheng.
He says delivering new applications has involved everyone’s best efforts. An example is the tracking system for products. The system allows designers to enter product and resource details, export documents for client review, track products from evaluation to installation and archive all of this information.
These improvements have spurred growth in the product database, along with the depth of content designers can access. Sustainability guidance from BuildingGreen integrates with a growing number of manufacturer listings. Activating this filter displays products whose sustainability provenance has been vetted by BuildingGreen.
Mr. Cheng says usage of Designer Pages has increased substantially. That increase has the marketplace buzzing. Mr. Cheng says interest from manufacturers not already on the site has the product database “constantly growing.” More applications for businesses are arriving as well, such as the relationship management tool called Lunchbox. The revolution at Designer Pages continues.
ecoScorecard
The phrase “Do one thing and do it well” is cut from a revered quote about software development known as the Unix philosophy. Its relevance has been liberally applied in business, and in the contract industry. Among examples of the latter is ecoScorecard, a website providing users with decision-making data when specifying green building products, furnishings and furniture.
One of the first manufacturers to sign on with ecoScorecard was Kimball Office. According to Steven Brewster, the company’s operations program manager, they recognized the importance of sharing sustainability information in the format provided by the website. What Kimball Office also recognized was how ecoScorecard would save time for its users.
“A substantial amount of information is required to complete an application for LEED Certification,” said Mr. Brewster. “Customers were calling and emailing as they worked through the LEED application, needing deeper information as they progressed.”
He explained that Kimball Office has a “tremendous” amount of sustainability information on its products. Customers who are pursuing green building certifications need ready access to complete details.
“Providing that information in an easily understandable interface serves our customers more quickly, and frees up a lot of our time to help them in other ways,” he added.
The ecoScorecard website offers functionality beyond information delivery. It analyzes the composition of products based on raw materials, production and company factors in an instant report to users. This report explains how the product being analyzed helps with achieving the green building certifications selected by the user.
These capabilities define ecoScorecard and attract the interest of manufacturers such as Kimball Office, who have information to share.
“We look for ways to share information with people who are interested in our products, manufacturing processes and sustainability,” said Mr. Brewster.
He says practices for distributing sustainability information from Kimball Office will evolve as green building standards evolve; this is another reason for ecoScorecard to continue doing one thing well.
KONTOR
KONTOR’s public launch is a month away. More than 300 of the leading global architectural and design firms decided not to wait. The same is true of more than 100 of the world’s best-known design brands. And the reason is that KONTOR is a game changer.
Envision crisp, rich images of interiors from the United States, Europe and Latin America. KONTOR users discover these interiors simply by clicking their screens. Users can view interiors by room type, industry, style or product. They can also follow their interests in specific products shown by clicking within the image. These links connect to deeper product information while offering product alternatives in related applications.
Users can collect images of spaces and products, then share these images with their design teams and clients. Users can also follow design firms, product brands and other users.
“The collaborative elements bring together everyone in a project,” said William Hanley, KONTOR’s vice president and editorial director. “Our platform networks the A&D firm, manufacturers, real estate group and the client.” KONTOR’s easy navigation and browser-friendly operation make the product inclusive of all parties involved.
Mia Lewin, founder and CEO of KONTOR, clearly defines the website’s relevance.
“It’s not an index, and it’s not an editorial blog. Ours is a network for communication that saves time and promotes sharing. We have brought all of the conversations about a project from the off-line world into the digital world.”
If the enthusiasm for KONTOR’s beta phase is any indicator, the world is ready for it.
Virtual Library
How close can the architect and design community come to having Watson deliver product information? Watson is IBM’s cognitive computing solution that picks through universes of data to master a subject and inform decision making. An online solution for designers, architects and dealers with flashes of Watson’s brilliance is Virtual Library.
Using Virtual Library enables every detail a designer could want about manufacturers, products, dealers, sales representatives and projects as searchable data. It compares with having access to the best-informed resource specialists imaginable. These capabilities for granular levels of detail pervade and differentiate the website.
Virtual Library can capture all of those memory items that form a big part of day-to-day design work, but may disappear when someone changes jobs, retires or leaves a firm. Members of a firm can share and preserve experiences with the specification process.
That the team behind Virtual Library understands this is no coincidence.
“We understand how A&D firms work, what they need and operations inside dealerships,” said SpecSimple’s president Suzanne Swift. Her expertise in establishing virtual and physical libraries is substantial, including an online product index in 1993 and work inside A&D firms and dealerships.
“We are driven by their needs and harness technology in serving them over a clean, product-focused interface.”
With more than 21,000 vendors, plus top A&D firms and dealerships onboard, Virtual Library has Watson cornered for now.
Right for Some Is Not Right for All
SHP Leading Design, based in Cincinnati, OH, is a nationally recognized leader in planning, designing and managing facilities for education, from kindergarten to colleges. The firm designs for LEED certification in a majority of projects and is an innovator in the application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Integrated Project Delivery.
Given SHP’s impressive design and technology credentials, it may be surprising to know that its designers prefer face-to-face interactions with manufacturers over the virtual kind.
“The little experience that I’ve had with online directories is that they don’t offer much for our market segment,” said Brian Hilvert, SHP’s senior interior designer. He and the other designers there prefer the live give-and-take that happens when the manufacturers present at their office.
“We have manufacturers who will come in for a 15 minute presentation or a lunch and learn, usually two or three every week,” said Mr. Hilvert. “They keep us up-to-date on what’s new and noteworthy.” He says this includes architectural and interiors products.
More importantly, the manufacturer’s live presentations seem to save time in the long run. The representatives bring only products and information that SHP is likely to specify. They bring physical samples in many cases, so experiencing the real product is immediate. Questions from SHP’s designers get answers that relate to their education-driven projects.
“Our manufacturers focus their presentations on what’s relevant to our firm, which saves them time and does not waste our time,” said Mr. Hilvert. While what works for one A&D firm may not be optimal for another, something everyone agrees with is doing things that save time.
From a Manufacturer on Multiple Websites
Kimball Office product listings exist on ecoScorecard, Designer Pages, and other websites. How does exposure over these platforms fit with the company’s marketing plans? “We realize there are many touchpoints to address in marketing our products,” said Becky Schneider, marketing communications manager for Kimball Office. Spreading its online presence across platforms is “an important part of the mix.”
This is even more true for large enterprises that do business across the country and around the world. Ms. Schneider emphasizes the need for selling tools to be widely available and easily obtained.
“That is why we choose to locate our content in these centralized depositories,” she added.
Users can discover products and link to the Kimball Office website for deep information.
Brand recognition is another driver. Ms. Schneider says they believe the brand benefits from the exposure the online directories provide. That Kimball Office dealers, customers and the A&D community find the brand on websites they use in their businesses supports broad visibility for the product line.
Ending Thoughts
Occasionally when automotive journalists review high-performance luxury cars, they find the cars offer nearly equal measures of high performance and luxury. They write that any of the reviewed cars will satisfy a luxury buyer. What a buyer buys simply reflects one individual’s most desirable combination of performance and luxury features. Often, one of the journalists selects none of them, preferring another mode of transport.
Similarly, users and manufacturers can choose Designer Pages, ecoScorecard, KONTOR or Virtual Library, among others, based on the desirability of their features, functions and convenience. There is no need to choose but one among them, as good evidence exists for choosing multiple platforms. For others, keep the gas tanks filled because the representatives have sales presentations to make and samples to deliver. At the moment, any choice and all choices are worthy alternatives.
As researcher, writer, and commentator, Stephen Witte reports and advises on trends shaping the future for the A&D community, manufacturers, and distribution channels. His background includes corporate roles in product management, product development, and public relations. He can be reached at switte@stephenwitte.com.