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โขโ Whatโs the difference between a brand that actually possesses a relevant essence and one that simply contains a clever but hollow slogan? Meaning. The test is simple. Write the essence of your brand on a piece of paper and show it, without explanation, to audiences you care about. Ask them what it means. If they canโt answer or if everyone offers a different response, you donโt have a brand. You have a slogan. โขโ When it comes to delivering the brand message, the least expensive and most powerful technique for promulgating a brand in the A/E/C industry is through your employees. They are the ones, after all, responsible for delivering the customer experience you want. Train them, evaluate them, and publically reward them.
Category Ownership
The A/E/C industry worldwide functions within a complex tangle of market segments. The object of the game is to own one or more of these segments. But most companies compete within existing categories that are already populated by prominent firms. This is like choosing to play another companyโs game, by their rules, on their home field, in front of their fans. Youโre going to do a lot of losing. The fix is simple: Modify the categories in a way that emphasizes the strengths of your company and diminishes those of your competitors. This means shrinking some, stretching some, reconfiguring some, and shortly thereafter, planting your company flag squarely in the center and declaring ownership. I wonโt bore you with conclusions of which you are already aware, so hereโs an overview of what is considered conventional wisdom about the process of reconfiguring market segments: โขโ Market segments exist because they make sense in the minds of most buyers. You must deal with them. โขโ Competing in established project categories against entrenched, established firms is a bad idea. โขโ Small, more energetic companies are typically better at ferreting out and defining new categories and approaches. โขโ Once new categories are illuminated, larger firms are typically better at scaling up and commercializing the new idea. โขโ Attempting to invent entire new industries is an incredibly difficult task. In my opinion, itโs better left to others. The more effective approach is to work within existing market segments and modify them to your advantage. (Successful modification strategies may include applying an existing service in a new sphere; defining process as a category; identifying an underserved market segment; creating a joint venture between an innovator and a scaler; researching and publishing; specializing one level deeper.)
Beyond Buildings I believe that next generation of A/E/C companies to achieve market prominence will do so by repositioning themselves in the hearts and minds of major repetitive buyers. Currently, most clients often see us as being interested only in designing and building buildings. This is unfortunate. Tomorrowโs single most powerful differentiator will be the ability to be perceived as a firm with people who use their knowledge of the built environment to address and improve business and cultural problems. Itโs
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Exploit competitive intelligence. The next generation of market leaders will operate with more accurate information about the competitive landscape.
Launch a competitive culture. The responsibility for tracking the competition, searching for new opportunities, and nurturing a competitive advantage must become the quest of every key employee. Establish customer intimacy. In a highly competitive environment, new market leaders must create techniques that will illuminate the unarticulated needs of high-value customers. Acquire and nurture high-impact people. Aspiring market leaders must create programs to identify, recruit, and manage people who are worth more than their pay.
Develop a culture of obsessive improvement. Selfcongratulatory ventures donโt long survive. The most successful competitors institutionalize the process of constant evaluation and growth.
Formulate new strategic alliances. In the next several years, differentiation will be hard to achieve within the boundaries of any individual discipline. The next generation will create more efficient project delivery methods by exploiting the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.
not just about the buildings. Itโs about the impact those buildings have on the people and process that take place within them. How many principals of architectural, engineering, or construction firms can sit down across a conference table from a corporate clientโs CFO or CEO and have an intelligent conversation about the corporationโs diverse collection of business strategies? And next, explain how the built environment can positively impact the chance of successfully executing those strategies? Today, not many. Tomorrow, hopefully all of them. Joe M. Powell is the executive director of the Rice University Building Institute (www.ricebuildinginstitute.org). He has 30 years of experience combining architecture, corporate strategic planning, and organizational behavior. A registered architect, Powell earned his undergraduate degree in environmental design and his masterโs degree in architecture from Texas A&M University.
Reprinted from Sept/Oct 2009 DesignIntelligence (www.di.net) with permission. Much of the material in this article is excerpted from Joe Powellโs recently published book, The New Competitiveness in Design & Construction: 12 Strategies That Will Drive the 21st Centuryโs Most Successful Firms. Used with permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Great Britain.
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