Editor's Message: Some of the Most Valuable Things in Life Are Free

“We need to take every opportunity to sell more trusses!” That was the sentiment of many of the component manufacturers (CMs) sitting around the table at the most recent SBCA Marketing Committee meeting in Tampa, Florida.

While most of the CMs in the room readily admitted they are busier now than they can ever remember, they still believe now is the perfect time to be expanding their product offerings to grow and diversify their markets. “We can’t ever sit back and become order takers,” says past marketing chair Jess Lohse. “We have to go out and take more business. Even though there are certainly challenges with regards to labor, raw materials and transportation, we need to keep our eyes looking ahead, searching for opportunities to turn sticks into components.”

Whether that conversion happens in the roof, the wall or the floor, the current builder labor shortage presents a tangible opportunity for CMs to push for a change in how at least one aspect of buildings in their markets are framed. To that end, the Marketing Committee decided it was time to put all the digital tools developed for the Component Marketing (CM) Toolbox into everyone’s hands and eliminate the paid subscription requirement.

“We created all of these tools from the Framing the American Dream project, which proved you could frame a house two-and-a-half-times faster using components,” says Jess. “The problem is that not enough people know about all that great data and the powerful marketing tools SBCA created to help every CM tell that story to potential customers.”

After discussing various strategies, the committee members concluded the best way to capture the value of all the work put into developing these materials was to make them free for everyone to use. The CM Toolbox contains several pre-packaged marketing campaigns anyone in the industry can use to promote roof trusses over roof rafters, wall panels over site-built walls and floor trusses over site-built floor systems. The campaigns can also be tailored to specific customers, whether a CM sells directly to the installer or sells to a general contractor or builder.

Jess says, “I’ve used some of the videos on my company website and through social media.” He’s hopeful more CMs will choose to take the videos, digital brochures, photos and social media templates and use them more broadly. “Everyone has a part to play in expanding the use of components.”

If you’d like more ideas on how you and your sales staff can use these powerful marketing materials effectively, check out the recording of a recent SBCA Webinar on the topic. In future issues we will be exploring individual tools and how CMs have incorporated them into their strategies to expand market share.