“Marketing is a game of mental warfare. It’s a battle of perceptions. The world of business is populated by big, highly diversified generalists and small, narrowly focused specialists. If line diversification were effective marketing strategies, you’d expect to see the generalists riding high. But they’re not. Most of them are in trouble. The generalist is weak. If you try to follow the twists and turns of the market, you are bound to wind up off the road.” - Al Ries and Jack Trout in their book The 22 Immutable Laws Of Marketing

Stay Focused

Building product manufacturers change their product lines and sometimes even their targeted audience. However, how many manufacturers do you know that have added new product lines only to see them fail? If you develop more products, does that mean that you will sell more products? Not necessarily. One of the core principles that Apple Founder Steve Jobs instilled in his company was the need to stay focused on doing only what you do best. “It’s easy to add … it’s hard to stay focused,” he said. “And so the hardest decisions we make are all the things not to work on.”

A company that sells everything is a recipe for disaster. A recent report indicates that one-third of malls will close in the next few years. An oversupply of retail space and online shopping have led to the decline of America’s malls. Stores like Macy’s, J.C.Penny’s, and Sears have all reported financial decline over the past several years. Over the years many stores tried to cater to the masses, offer everything to everybody instead of focusing on the core strengths that made them successful.

The Law Of Attributes

“Marketing is a battle of ideas. Some say all attributes are not created equal. Some attributes are more important to customers than others. You must try and own the most important attribute.” - Al Ries and Jack Trout.

Architects, engineers, interior designers, and contractors may all value different attributes of a building product. But the law of exclusivity means that once an attribute is taken by a competitor, it is potentially gone. Building product manufacturers must then seize a different attribute for their product, maximize that attribute, and increase their market share. Often a manufacturer will try and imitate the leader in their industry and fall short. Architects appreciate the durability of a building product. If your competitor has successfully built their entire marketing campaign for the past thirty years about being the most durable product in the industry, it would be wise to find another key attribute to focus on.

Staying focused and recognizing the Law of Attributes are two strategies to help building product manufacturers beat their competition. Following these strategies will help manufacturers avoid failure and achieve success. Does your company focus on manufacturing a few products or does it try and sell everything under the sun? What are the main attributes of your building product? How are you marketing your product’s attributes?