A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from a Gary Blum about IPTLock, a website that allows designers to communicate and share files with their clients while providing better copyright protection. I had told Gary that I would ask the designers judging this year’s K+BB Product Innovator Awards what they thought of the site, but to be honest, I forgot to do so in the controlled chaos of managing the awards program.

Consequently, I’m mentioning it to all of you.

How does the site may differ from others you’re already using? It features a virtual remote that allows you—the designer—to set who, what, where, when and for how long you want someone—your client or a project member—to have access to a file. You can also determine if you want to allow printing and comments. By controlling the former, the site cuts down on the possibility of your client taking your design and going to someone else with it (which is just plain shady).

In addition, the files you send can only be viewed on the first computer/IP address they’re opened on. They can’t be copied, printed or shared—unless you say so—and you get a complete record of who’s viewed the files and the amount of time they spent viewing them. If you enable comments, your clients or other members of the project team can view the files, provide immediate written feedback and/or make suggestions without altering the original designs. The site automatically alerts you via email or text when files are opened, and comments posted are relayed to you in real time.

According to Gary, who is president and chief creative officer of TLG7, an ad agency in Purchase, NY, the site started out as a way to prevent prospects from using the agency’s pitch work without its permission and to get feedback from clients more quickly. “As an ad agency, once we sent a proof, file or concept by email to a prospect or client, we lost all control of our work,” he said. “There was no real proof anyone saw our work,” requiring multiple follow-up calls to confirm receipt and obtain changes and comments (sound familiar?).

If you’re intrigued, you can demo IPTLOCK for free at www.iptlock.com. If you have any questions, please call Gary at 914-251-9300.

—Alice Liao

“The best and cheapest dentistry is when the right thing is done extremely well the first time and it lasts.” —unknown

I went to the dentist last month and, like most people, wasn’t looking forward to it. However, this time I was struck by how well the dental industry is set up to soothe fears and what we could take away from its business model.

In many ways, both construction and dentistry are very similar. Whether people are patients or clients, all feel some level of anxiety before they even walk through our doors. Here’s where dentist offices excel and what we can take away from their business model:

1. Calm, friendly support staff. I was a typical client: I hadn’t been in awhile, didn’t know what anything cost and was afraid I’d be paying heavily in both discomfort and dollars. That first phone call to the office helped. The receptionist responded in a friendly, modulated voice, sounded happy to hear from me, was quick to answer questions and reassured me that it would be as painless as possible.

What are clients hearing in that first phone call to you? How are you soothing their anxiousness? Are you rushed or impatient? What message are you conveying with your tone, your answers, or even the speed of your sentences? If you don’t have time to answer the phone because you’re an independent
and on the road, can you consider a phone answering service?

2. Clear explanations. From the time I entered the reception room to my time with the dentist, everything was laid out. I was provided options on whether I wanted to get all my work done at once or broken down to be easier on the wallet. A key point: Once I made my decision as to how I wanted to proceed, the decision itself was greeted with enthusiasm, like I’d made the best choice.

When I was in the chair, the dentist explained what I might experience—everything from the sounds to the degree of discomfort I might experience. Once I knew what to expect, my level of anxiety dropped to (almost) nothing. Are you informing your clients what they might expect? More importantly, are you telling them how it’ll make their life easier once the project is done?

3. Take care of what you have. How many of us spend time discussing with our clients how to best care for all the new products we have selected? In this, we’re slightly different than the dental industry. While failure to upkeep basic standards in a home can be very dangerous or even life-threatening, we rarely see that in the homes we’re working on.

However, today’s newer finishes and products require a completely different style of cleaning and maintenance from our parents’ homes. Can you consider printing out a hand-out (dentists are extremely good at that) or providing a small sample of the correct cleaning products? Are you addressing their lifestyle and what future details they might need in their home to maintain the quality over the years?

I could get into how they make it as easy as possible to pay, but that’s a story for another day.

Until next time,

Kelly

Perhaps some of you had a hand in this. BuildFax, which has created a national database on historical building permit data, reported that remodeling activity was up this past August, with an increase of 6.3% from July and 29% from the previous year. August 2011 also represented the 22nd consecutive month of continuous growth since April 2004, when the company’s BuildFax Remodeling Index (BFRI) began tracking numbers.

Not all regions, however, fared equally well. Both the West and the Midwest saw month-over-month gains of 9.3% and 10.8%, respectively, while the South had a slight uptick in activity at 1% and the Northeast experienced a decline of 8%. In addition, BuildFax is estimating that 3.3 million residential remodeling projects will be permitted in 2011—a 9.5% increase from last year, which issued 3.1 million permits.

Want more good news? On the new construction front, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for October indicates that builder confidence in the market for single-family homes is up by four points, representing the largest one-month gain since the home buyer tax credit program helped spur the market in April 2010.

But don’t begin celebrating just yet. According to NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, despite the vote of confidence, builders are still feeling a little wary, thanks to “overly restrictive lending policies that are discouraging prospective buyers, problems with new-home appraisals and widespread uncertainty regarding federal support for homeownership.” In addition, noted NAHB chief economist David Crowe, foreclosed homes are exerting a negative effect on home prices while the cost of building materials is rising, “further squeezing already tight margins.”

The regional findings of HMI roughly mirror those of BFRI, with the West gaining nine points (the highest for that region since August 2007), the Midwest and the South each logging in with increases of four points; the Northeast stayed unchanged at 15.

I’m working with clients right now with whom we had taken a lot of time to select the tile backsplash for the new kitchen. It’s a brand new tile board, and we can’t wait to see it. We’re halfway through the project now when we get a phone call: “The tile will not go into production for another six weeks. Do you want to pick another tile?”

Casual—just like we hadn’t spent four trips, several go-rounds, much anxiety and indecision on behalf of the client, a counter that was chosen simply because it went with the tile and now a delay on a kitchen that should have been done by Thanksgiving.

To add insult to injury, we ordered the tile over three weeks ago. Yes, you read that right—the manufacturer waited three entire weeks to tell us that they weren’t even planning to manufacture the tile yet.

I can accept timing delays; Things happen. What I can’t accept is the manufacturer taking three entire weeks without informing anyone that they weren’t even producing the tile when they released the boards.  And when a client blames me for “not doing due diligence” when there was no warning from the manufacturer in the first place, well…there are no words (that should be said out loud).

By the way, this is not the first manufacturer to do this, nor will I suspect it’s the last. One of our cabinet manufacturers came out with new brochures, but the door samples took a long while to show up. A quartz manufacturer had their new colors up online, but we couldn’t get the samples for over a month. There is a large disconnect in our field between the manufacturer’s sales departments releasing items too soon when production is not ready.

I’m not saying their names yet, because we will be calling the factory for answers.

My question is: Do we accept this as a norm? Or do we start ignoring our suppliers and checking in with the manufacturers?  Do we speak up and let the manufacturers know that we’re not going to take it any more? Or do we quietly refuse to specify their products?

Until next time, Kelly