Workshops
- Lumber and Building Materials Short Course
- Building Materials Marketing: Managing Products and Services
- Strategic Planning for Small and Medium Size Wood Products Companies: the Key to Success
- Strategic Marketing and Market Plans for Wood Products Companies: Competing in the 21st Century
- Lead Management and Sale Force Planning for Improved ROI
- Aspects of Environmental Policy and Corporate Management in the Forest Products Industry
- Understanding Wood and Bio-Based materials: Issues of Product Performance
- Strategic Pricing: Creating Better Prices, More Often
- Addressing Moisture, Mold, and Indoor Air Quality
How to Register
Customized Seminars and Workshops

Building Materials Marketing: Managing Products and Services
A Workshop for Those Involved in Marketing, Sales, and Distribution of Forest Products and Building Materials

January 28, 2004 - Bloomington, MN
1:00 - 4:30 pm

Overview | Workshop Leaders | Program | Dates, Location & Directions | Registration/Fees

Overview

Building materials are often sold as commodities in highly competitive, low margin markets. This strategy is commonly employed by high volume building materials distributors. Others seek to differentiate products through product knowledge, service before and after the sale, credit, repackaging, immediate delivery, and other mechanisms. Which marketing strategies are pursued have major implications for profitability and long-term success. In addition to these pressures, the industry has seen dramatic growth in new product introductions over the past decade, furthering the need for improved product management skills in the areas of merchandising, pricing, and promotion. This workshop focuses on the highly competitive building materials distribution industry and examines strategies that successful firms employ in this rapidly changing environment. The program is designed for those involved in sales, purchasing, or managerial functions seeking a better understanding of marketing principles and the role of product management in marketing strategy.

The Workshop Leaders

The workshop is presented by Dr. Tim Smith of the University of Minnesota, Department of Wood & Paper Science.

Dr. Timothy Smith is Assistant Professor of Forest Products Marketing and Interim-Director of the Forest Products Management Development Institute (FPMDI) in the Department of Bio-based Products at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Smith has taught a wide variety of sales and marketing courses in the Carlson School of Management and the College of Natural Resources at the University of Minnesota. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Colorado, a MBA in marketing/ management science and information systems from Penn State University, and a Ph.D. in forest products marketing from Penn State. Dr. Smith has authored more than 20 articles related to marketing effectiveness, customer value creation, and new product/market development in top marketing and industry-specific publications such as: International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Forest Products Journal, and Wood & Fiber Science. In addition, Dr. Smith has provided marketing research and management consulting services to many major US corporations in the building materials and communications industries since 1996.

Program

Marketing - what is it?
The building materials supply chain.
Marketing versus selling.
Providing value to customers - a key to repeat business.
Marketing Planning
Category Attractiveness and Merchandising
Customer Analysis
The dangers of competing on price
Promotion and the role of the sales force

Dates, Location, & Directions

The January 28th workshop will be conducted at the 2004 Northwestern Building Products Expo, held at the Radisson South Hotel, Bloomington, MN.

Directions and registration information is available from the Northwest Lumber Association.

Registration/Fees

Please contact the Northwest Lumber Association (NLA) to register for the January 28th workshop.

NLA Contact Information:
Phone: 763-544-6822 or 800-331-0193
Fax: 763-595-4060
Email: nlassn@nlassn.org
web: http://www.nlassn.org/gpage7.html

This workshop is also available to individual firms on a customized basis. For a flat fee of $1,500 per half-day of instruction, plus direct costs of travel, FPMDI will conduct training sessions for up to 50 attendees per session (will take more for some topics) at locations selected by the firm involved. Alternatively, two or more firms may pool resources to sponsor training sessions. The individualized arrangement allows targeted training to employees at very reasonable per-employee registration costs ($50 per employee and less) and without incurring expenses for employee travel or out-of-town accommodations.