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Social media sources are a great way to “listen in” on your customers and get a solid feel for what they are saying about you. I came across a really great example of that this week. On an online woodworking forum, (which I certainly feel is social media) I noted a posting about a company I work with, so I checked out the thread.

The member posted that “Something is Wrong” at this company. The complaint was that he wanted to buy a particular item, but felt it was too expensive there and then linked to another online retail site where a similar product was cheaper. The entire tone was very “passive/aggressive.

Read the Thread

For a student of social media marketing, it is great to read all the replies. The company in question is the leader in the field and has a good reputation for customer service. Many members of the forum came to their defense, even going so far as to look up pricing and figure out shipping cost differences.

Over and over again, members recognized that every retailer has items that are more AND less expensive than their competition, and that with enough shopping around, a similar case as the original poster’s could be made for any retailer.

This is EXACTLY what you want to see when you are searching the social media space for your customers. Let me be clear here: The forum community ONLY came to the defense of the retailer because the retailer has spent a lot of time and money doing their business well. No amount of advertising, and no low price point would cause that level of loyalty. Only consistently good products, pricing and customer service will spur your customers to rise to your defense.

No amount of marketing, online or off, traditional or web 2.0 is going to save you if your products or your service are sub-par. Are you searching the web to see what your customers are saying about you?

If the company in the thread was yours, who would write in your defense?

Hopefully, by now you are at least thinking about your Social Persona, and beginning to test the waters. This blog post is going to show you one way to begin getting real value from your SM efforts.

One of the most powerful uses of social media (and one that seems to get little attention from ‘experts’ and the press) is as a real-time market research tool. There are both active and passive ways you can use all the chatter out there to find out about your customer’s needs and wants, what they are talking about, and what they tell each other about your business.

Passive listening is akin to old westerns where the cavalry scout puts his ear to the ground and tells the captain how many horses are approaching and how far away they are. You can pretty easily “read” the social media sites to get feedback on what is being said.

Most social media sites have search features that you can use to see what is being said. Twitter for example has two: Trending Topics are displayed on the right hand side of the Twitter home page. These are the most used terms over the entire twitter network. They are not likely to be of direct use, but can give you a feel for the current “mood”. Twitter also offers direct search capabilities. You can easily search for keywords and see what tweets recently contained those words. With many Twitter clients (programs such as TweetDeck or Tweetie that add functionality to Twitter) you can see recent tweets locally, within a range up to 100 miles from your location. Certainly if you are a cabinet shop, this is a big feature. You can literally see what is being said about cabinets or remodeling in your own neighborhood.

Facebook is a bit different. You can certainly search, but the results will be pages from people or businesses, not keyword searches within the conversation. This is useful to find connections and build your network. And as your network grows, you can easily see what people in your network are talking about.

For those of you who do more B2B marketing, Linkedin has some powerful “listening” tools. There are numerous groups you can join (or even start your own) and receive regular updates on topics of conversation among the group members. There is a Question and Answer section where users post questions and other users provide answers. Keeping track of the questions being asked, and reading responses to questions in areas of interest, is a way to see current thinking and meet new contacts.

In the next post, I will discuss more active methods of gathering market information through Social Media. I encourage you to comment of this post as well as suggest ideas you have used!

I can be found on Twitter, (@Consultingwood) on Linkedin, (http://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbagnall) or via email at: rbagnall@consultingwoodworker.com

Two Way Converations

I was on the phone last week with a potential customer, and we were discussing the useful aspects of social media. I was explaining the great customer feedback one of my clients had gotten through Twitter (see “A Social Persona in Action”) and while he was suitably impressed with the idea of the good feedback available from social media, he also expressed concerns about possible negative chatter on the social sites. And it is a legitimate concern.

There certainly will be times when unhappy customers will be on the social media sites talking about your company or your products. You can’t help it, but you shouldn’t ignore it either. As I explained to him, they are out there whether you are or not. Better by far to be proactive and responsive to their complaints.
Put yourself in your customer’s place for a moment; imagine that you had a problem or issue. You mention it on Twitter to one of your followers, and soon afterward, you find yourself conversing with a representative of that company, who is honestly engaging you and trying to help solve your issue! I hope that would impress you, it should! But remember too, that the entire incident is public. Many people will see a company engaging and trying to work with their customer to solve a problem.

My customer then asked, “What if someone is just out to trash your name and nothing you can do will appease them?” My answer was much the same. That person will STILL be out there trashing you. But by responding calmly and obviously trying to help, you come off looking good and reasonable and the antagonist looks foolish and petty. I have also seen cases where satisfied customers will post their positive experiences in defense of a company or product they use.

This is not a contest, and I certainly do not advocate fighting in the public view. What I do advocate is presenting a public face that wants to help the customer solve their issue. That can never hurt your image.
So, as you are deciding on whether or not to try working with social media as a marketing tool, please bear in mind that the social media space is very likely already at work without you, giving people you have never met an impression about your company. Be proactive, and help shape the impression your way.

Next post, learn how to use social media as a real-time survey tool without spending the big dollars for a research team.

Please feel free to comment here, or contact me via Twitter (@consultingwood) on Linkedin (http://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbagnall) or by email (rbagnall@consultingwoodworker.com)

I will admit upfront, I am not an expert in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and I am guessing neither are you. So how can you make the most out of your website, social media efforts and other online presence? The good news is, you don’t need to be an expert, and you don’t need to hire one.

I’m not putting down SEO experts, but really, you are not likely to hire one. And SEO practices are constantly evolving. Google and other search engines are constantly updating their algorithms to make searching more accurate for the user, and to screen out “tricks” that improperly drive web traffic. So getting attention for your site is up to you. Any SEO specialist will tell you that content is king. You provide solid, interesting content, others will want to connect to your site. And while search engines are always evolving their algorithms, links are always the basis of all SEO rankings.

For small businesses, especially those that operate in a niche market like woodworking, getting online attention is a matter of making connections. Any time someone anywhere on the web posts a link to your site, your site gets ranked higher in the search engines. When other people post a link on their site to yours, there will be people that visit their site who may never have found yours, but can now.

Also, if your content is specific to your niche, then it is far more likely that the new visitors to your site will be interested in what you and your site are about. Want other woodworkers to visit your site? Have free plans available. Have a “Tips and Tricks” page. Want people looking for a kitchen remodel to find your site? Have free articles on new kitchen hardware. Show pictures of how it works and add your experience with it. Publish ideas on design and how to maximize the small kitchen. If you want local customers, be sure to reference local landmark, city and town names. Talk about how your designs are affected by local climate. With good content in hand, it is time to begin getting the word out. You know you need other folks to link to you, but how to get them to your site? Tell them about it. This brings us back to your Social Media Persona.

Twitter and Facebook are excellent ways to broadcast what you have to offer. When you post a new review or plan, let folks know about it. Remember, as I have explained before, this is SOCIAL media. Be a participant. Be helpful, friendly and informative and people will follow you. Offer up great content, and people will visit your site and pass along your information through links. Every time you post a “Tweet” with a link in it, that counts. When someone else “Re-Tweets” your post, that counts as another link. Passing along links is a two-way process. Be sure to pass along good links from others and they will, in turn be more likely to pass along your links as well. You need to check the links you pass along to insure that they are useful and not spam.

The internet is known as “The Web” for a reason. Things become interconnected in unpredictable ways, and any good connections you can make with others will increase the search results for your site. And as you provide solid content, your reputation will begin drawing those you most want to your site.

After a long Summer hiatus, the Consultingwoodworker Blog is back.
Monday’s Wall Street Journal had a feature article on companies that will emerge from the recession as “winners”. Those profiled shared certain traits: The first was having their finances in order. Ford may be hurting like all the automakers, but because they had reformed their finances before the recession hit, they are emerging stronger and government bailout free. Having a plan and sticking to it during hard times was another indicator.
Innovation was another common factor. The times have changed, and I think for good. As the economy recovers, I do not believe things will return to the heady days of the past. Consumers are likely to be saving more, and demanding more quality spending instead of conspicuous consumption. Is your business model ready for this new reality? How can you make it so?
If you have survived the recession intact, there is good news for you: Historically, those companies left standing after a recession do very well the first year into the recovery. Pent up demand drives business, and there are fewer surviving players to meet the demand. The housing market will take some time to really recover, but as your customers feel better about the economy, there will be a lot of repair and remodeling business that had been put off.
Maintaining contact with your customer base is more critical now than ever before. You want to stay “top of mind” so that when they start shopping, your company is on their list. Be ready with information and suggestions. Keep them up to date on the latest products. Show them timeless design instead of the latest short-lived trend. Educate them about what makes your work better than the competition. Are you using better materials? More durable hardware? Your customers should know this. They should know this now. Today. You want, when they begin their search, to already have you in mind.
And this is the time to be innovating in your shop as well. Have you been putting off a new equipment purchase? This may be a good time. Interest rates are low, vendors are still dealing, and it will make you more efficient than your competitors.
So schedule some time in the next few weeks to review your market, marketing and production. If needed, bring in some outside help. Take the steps necessary to get your operation ready for the recovery. A rising tide lifts all boats. Make sure yours isn’t leaking.

I was going to write some more on using Social Media to connect with clients, but have decided to put it off a bit in order to share with you a unique experience I am having this week:

I write this from Kingston, Jamaica. I am down here working with Jamaica Fibreglass Products, my first and still favorite clients. This time, I am staying at a beautiful new facility in New Kingston. What makes this all notable is that I helped JFP create this room 18 months ago.

Back then, I was down here helping JFP figure out how to improve their CNC output and streamline much of their assembly. We began working toward a single unit production schedule, looking at new tooling and processes, and implementing the Lean Manufacturing techniques that I have been discussing in this blog of late.

The owners at JFP were also preparing for a meeting with clients about providing furniture for an upcoming hotel opening. While JFP is highly experienced at restaurant style seating, this was a pretty big departure from their normal business. Also, the client really wanted solid wood, and JFP is not really set up for large scale production in solids.

That is when the owners of JFP really started to impress me. They knew that getting the hotel project was a long shot. They could not offer the solid wood, and had no prior hotel work to show. They took a bold step and began prototyping the hotel room in full scale. When I arrived, they already had several pieces pretty well done, and were walling off a section of their lobby to replicate the room dimensions. I was able to contribute to the project by showing them how to use their CNC to miterfold the furniture parts, and adapting some of the designs to maximize the benefits of miter folding.

The clients, where ushered into the hotel room they had envisioned, sat on the bed, tried out the chairs, and really got the feel of the room. JFP did not have to convince the buyers that miterfolded furniture would look like solid wood, the clients could not ignore the parts they were touching.

Eighteen months later, I sit in the hotel and type this blog. I hope that you take the proper lessons from this unique company:

They decided to get the sale first, then figure out how to build the job. They could take this risk because they have structured their entire business to remain flexible. They know they can find a way, either in house or outside. That’s the second lesson:

JFP certainly does not suffer from “Not Invented Here” syndrome. They are willing to pay for outside expertise, and quick to respond to the fresh ideas presented to them.

And the last lesson is that they were ready to run with their plan. Completely on spec, they designed the furniture and began prototyping it. Since I was already there, they enlisted my help in detailing the construction to best utilize their capabilities. The client was presented with the exact design JFP was prepared to build. By the time the clients had finished moving the pieces around in the “room”, the deal was pretty well set, and here I sit.

This incident was not a fluke. JFP has gotten several large jobs since I have been working with them in the same manner. Does your company have the corporate mindset and will to go for the brass ring this way?

Isn’t it time?

JFP: www.jfpmfg.com
See the room here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/furnituremaker/sets/72157615520823654/

Ralph Bagnall
www.consultingwoodworker.com
On Linkedin
Follow me on Twitter as Consultingwood

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit that “buzz” is one of those marketing words that everyone hates, but it does describe the process of getting people to talk about your company and visit your newly updated website. So, without hiring a marketing consultant, how can you get people talking about and asking about your business? There are several good ways, and most cost little to nothing.
Press releases are a great starting point. Did you recently buy an impressive new machine? Move into a new building? Expand an existing one? Or maybe hire a new principal in your business? Get the news out. Get in touch with your local paper and let them know. Write a press release, and send it along to them. Most local papers have a lot of space to fill and free fillers like press releases are very welcome.

Get to know the editors of your local papers. It is surprisingly easy to get them to print a monthly column that you write on kitchen trends, new products on the market, (you know that you can add soft closers to existing doors and drawers, but does the average homeowner in your area?) and the advantages/disadvantages of the type of cabinets and countertops available.
Many communities have a variety of Real Estate papers that are given away all over town. Contact them and see if they are interested in fillers. Again, a few paragraphs about kitchen, bath and closet features to look for when home shopping is a great way to get your name out. The Nashville area, where I am, has a big glossy Nashville Area House and Home magazine that is available all over. This type of publication would be a wonderful place to get some free advertising through writing.

You may have noticed that I’m big on things that involve writing. There is a reason; when you appear in print in ways like I’ve described, people automatically assume that you have some special expertise in the area you write about. It is amazing and a bit scary, but true. My oldest daughter has a disability. Years ago when she was young, I wrote a monthly column for the Disability News Service on simple assistive technology things you could do around the home to improve mobility and quality of life for persons with physical issues. In very short order, I was being asked to present at family support conferences and even to a state occupational therapy association meeting. In a matter of months, I was recognized as an expert in a field I had no formal training in. I was just a creative parent, but my little column got a lot of attention. And believe me, a column in the local paper with your name on it (and, of course, your e-mail or website address) is advertising you simply cannot buy.

A non-writing way to get your name out there is to cultivate relationships with the reporters at your local or statewide paper, radio station or even television stations. Get to know the business reporters. Let them know that you are available for comment and feedback. They always need material, and in the current environment they can really use a builder to discuss the housing market, or a cabinet maker to comment on simple improvements to help people sell their homes.
Finally, if you decide to do any of this, be a little cautious. Do not mention politics or political parties. Do not appear to be promoting your business or trying to sell. Give good insights and advice and folks will connect your name with professional expertise. And NEVER badmouth another company or product.

Next post, I’ll talk a little about online forums and social media ideas for your business.

As always, I invite you to comment here or by e-mail on this or any of my posts. rbagnall@consultingwoodworker.com
I can be reached through Linkedin as well: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbagnall

My wishes to all who read this for a happy and prosperous New Year!

All sorts of management experts and gurus have written extensively about people versus process. They will tell you that it is imperative to develop processes to control every aspect of your business. And Lean Manufacturing certainly leans VERY heavily on process over people, so you might have guessed that I support that view too.
But most small businesses were built by a person, or small group of people, who had better ideas on how their business might be done. Where would we be today if Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Dean Kamen had been stuck with process?
My opinion actually falls midway between these extremes. Processes need to be in place to smooth transitions between employees as they move up of out of your company. But it is incumbent on your people to improve the processes that they control while in a particular job or position.
Too many of my clients have key employees who are the only ones in the company that know all the foibles of the molder, which vendors to go to for the best terms, or where all the job files are on the server. Even should these employees be happy and loyal, what happens to your company if they were to be hit by a bus on the way home this week? The “Bus Principle”, as I call it, means that you need to rethink the people versus process debate.
It is vital, for the ongoing health of your company, to be able to transition people in and out of positions in your business with the least interruption and delay. Highly skilled and valuable employees often get stuck in a particular position when they want to advance, because you feel they cannot be spared from what they do because they know too much to be spared or trained elsewhere. This employee is likely to eventually leave. Having good in-house processes makes it less risky for you to allow your people to transition.
But process tends to be stagnant and limiting. “We’ve always done it this way” is the death of innovation and growth. So the processes you establish to smooth your transitions MUST remain flexible and fluid while an employee occupies a position. You need to encourage your employees to be constantly improving and innovating the processes that guide their job. They need to take over a new position under the guidance of the exisisting process, improve and innovate, make it their own, then record the improved process regularly to guide the next person who will do their job.
This balance between people and process, if nurtured and encouraged, will help keep your business efficient and competitive, while insuring that loos or transition of employees will not set you back more than absolutely necessary.
As always, I invite you to comment here or by e-mail on this or any of my posts. rbagnall@consultingwoodworker.com
I can be reached through Linkedin as well: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbagnall

Cellular manufacturing is the primary model for Lean Manufacturing. The idea is to build an entire unit in a single process rather than making piles of parts and then assembling them into finished units. For a custom cabinet shop, this means building each individual cabinet as a complete unit from start to finish rather than cutting all the parts, then edgebanding all the parts, then drilling all the parts, etc. I touched on this before in earlier blog posts. Now that we have cleaned and organized the shop, and have gotten control back of our parts and materials, it is time to work out the details of One Unit Flow.
Recently, in working with a client building a fairly small job, I took the time to record how the parts were handled. The job was a small kitchen, and three small vanity bath units, a total of 50 cabinets. Interiors were prefinished maple, with beech exposed edges, and one of the vanities was paintgrade.
The parts were all precut on the CNC as a batch, and stacked on racks and carts as they came off the machine. In order to edgeband, they needed to be sorted out. Adjustable shelves get maple edgeband, cabinets get beech edgband, and the paint grade cabinets get unfinished maple. Then all the parts need to get resorted into individual cabinets for assembly. By my count, from CNC to assembly, this pile of parts was stacked, sorted and restacked four times.
Now let’s look at working this job in a cellular operation: The CNC nest is outputted to cut parts for individual cabinets as a group. Each set of parts is moved to the edgebander, where appropriate banding is applied. (the adjustable shelves could be milled and processed as a group since they are, in this shop, stacked and shipped to the jobsite separately) The stack of parts equaling one complete cabinet is taken from the edgebander directly to an assembly bench where it is assembled.
At this point, we can begin applying another Lean Manufacturing technique, that of Cycle Timing. The time needed to machine the part set, and edgeband them, and or dowel them, should be recorded and tracked. The time needed for assembly can be recorded as well. These times are compared to determine the distribution of human resources. If it takes a total of 10 minutes to process the parts for assembly, and takes 20 minutes to add slides, hinges and assemble, then we know that you’ll need two assembly tables working to match the flow from the CNC and edgebander.
Working this way, you can begin getting very accurate times for processing your cabinets. This means that you can now determine how much it actually costs you. You got control of your materials, so you know what is going in there, and now you know exactly how much each cabinet is using in manpower and shop time.
There are several other advantages to One Unit Flow. Since the parts get handled fewer times, there is far less chance of scratching and other surface damage. Floorspace is maximized since there are not parts stacked all over as they are sorted and processed. If your machining is not correct for some reason, you will know it right away, rather than finding out after all the parts have been cut. You will be able, once you are familiar with the process, to establish ahead of time very accurate estimates of shop time, allowing for much more accurate proposals, and reducing the opportunity of costly estimating mistakes.
The time issues bring me to the subject of my next blog posting, understanding what your jobs actually cost you to make.
Please feel free to post a comment to these blogs, or contact me if you want more information, and feel free to click on the RSS button in the bottom right corner of this page to keep up with my future postings.
rbagnall@consultingwoodworker.com

For the last few weeks I have been discussing how the traditional cutbacks might actually hurt your business during this downturn. The next few weeks will cover the things you can do.
You can begin with a review of your Capital Equipment Plan. If your business does not have one, it should. This is the map you create of what major equipment you plan to purchase, and when you plan to purchase it. You need this plan to help balance growth and efficiency with your current work, your cash flow and debt load. It can be, and needs to be, a VERY flexible document. Obviously, as the economy has slowed fairly quickly in many regions, big purchases may need to be rescheduled. In other cases, a new job may justify the addition of equipment that was not even part of your plan. Think of your Capital Plan as a roadmap. It can show you the routes, but detours are often nessesary.
Now is a good time to review your Plan (or begin one) and make some choices. Go over the whole operation. There may be several areas when you can put off buying new equipment and still improve your efficiency.
Upgrading Existing Equipment: Many larger units are modular in nature, and upgrades are a possibility. An edgebander may be able to take on a new station. A drillbank or C-drive may be added to your existing CNC.
Tooling Improvements: This is an area that is most overlooked. Tooling manufacturers are constantly innovating, and improving their offerings. Often, new tooling added to your existing equipment can solve existing problems or even add new capabilities. For example, insert tooling can now be used on your CNC that allows for changing profile cuts without needing to change tools or even reset tool lengths. This can delay the need for a bigger tool changer and make changing jobs more efficient.
Fixturing: Creative fixturing can widely expand your capabilities at very minimal cost. Dedicated router tables can be shop built to perform common light duty tasks at far less than the price of a new shaper, and when on wheels can be stored out of the way when not in use. The purchase of a new angled head shaper can be put off until better times by building a slant table that adapts your existing shaper. I have built jigs that allow for circular moldings on a normal shaper, and on Woodmaster Molders.
Lastly, outsourcing can help put off new equipment purchases. You can typically buy out many of the items you need, and these times are an excellent time to begin reciprocal relationships with other shops that can increase the capabilities and profits of both shops.
So take the time to review your Capital Equipment Plan, and see if there are areas you can modify the plan to reflect your current state. The results can be surprising.