In a marketing book I recently read, ongoing communication about the value of a product is essential to tell people why your product should be chosen over another.
Another important aspect of effective marketing is asking customers what they like about your product so you can share positive feedback with prospective buyers via testimonials. Testimonials are great because no one tells a better story about your products than customers. You may know your product or service inside and out, but it’s generally a customer’s experience that consistently sells others.
When I was a contractor, I regularly had an early morning coffee or breakfast with fellow contractors. We constantly talked shop. These super reliable guys were the same ones who taught me my trade. Although we did similar types of work, competition was never a concern. What made our bond so strong was we were always comparing notes and helping each other. We even gave each other job leads when our plates were full.
Mike Dougherty
Joe Maty
Craig Morris
Traves Ogilvie
Chris Sullivan
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January 2020
Danny Barrera, owner and founder of Concrete Marketing Crew, has more than 10 years in the digital marketing space. He specializes in helping residential and decorative concrete contractors grow their business online to their maximum potential by integrating proven internet marketing to their business. He can be contacted at (305) 902-4888 or danny@concretemarketingcrew.com. See Danny’s article on page 20.
Mike Dougherty is vice president of Hudson, Wisconsin-based Concrete Arts, a Bomanite franchise partner that installs a variety of architectural concrete applications. He sits on the board of directors for the Bomanite International Society. Dougherty studied journalism at the University of Minnesota and is a member of American Mensa. He can be contacted at mdougherty@concretearts.com. See Mike’s article on page 40.
Craig Morris, a 36-year veteran of the flooring industry, is business development manager of finished surfaces for Ardex Americas. In that role, he promotes an appreciation of polishable overlays and educates contractors about installation and maintenance procedures and protocols. You can reach him at craig.morris@ardexamericas.com. See Craig’s article on page 24.
Traves W. Ogilvie, LEED AP, is head of sales for the U.S. and Mexico for Poraver North America, the market leader in the manufacture and sales of expanded glass granules. With nearly 30 years of experience in the commercial construction and building products industry, Traves has a broad knowledge of all types of composite materials from concretes and mortars to thermoset FRP and polymer concrete. As a LEED accredited professional, he has worked extensively with the USGBC to quantify how recycled content contributes toward LEED points. Today, Traves travels the country as an expanded glass formulation expert in GFRC, concrete, FRP and polymer concrete. He can be reached at togilvie@poraver.com. See Traves’ article on page 36.
Chris Sullivan is vice president of sales and marketing with ChemSystems Inc. and a member of the Decorative Concrete Hall of Fame. He has led seminars and product demonstrations throughout North America. Reach him at questions@concretedecor.net. See Chris’ column, “Concrete Questions,” on page 44.
e prepared to see a lot of color and whimsy at the fourth annual Decorative Concrete LIVE! during the World of Concrete Feb. 4-7 in Las Vegas. On the flip side, also be prepared to appreciate the subtleties and sophistication the same material can offer.
“This year we’re going to take decorative concrete beyond simply replicating the finishes you see on buildings in places such as downtown Chicago to something new and exciting that will get WOC attendees amped up about the possibilities concrete has to offer,” says Bent Mikkelsen, publisher of Concrete Decor magazine and the driving force behind Decorative Concrete LIVE!
It’s designed to be in full compliance with ASTM F2659 to assist in preliminary evaluation of the comparative moisture condition of concrete, gypsum, and other floor slabs and screeds.
The versatile C555 also features an onboard ambient temperature and relative humidity sensor as well as a “Relative Measurement” mode for comparative measurement of other smooth surface materials such as brick or cement block. The C555 comes with an “On-Demand Calibrator” platform to perform fast and easy calibration to factory settings while in the field.
he American Concrete Institute honored the winners of its 2019 Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards during the institute’s concrete convention and exposition in October in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The highest honor was presented to King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, located in Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.
Also known as Ithra, the Arabic word for “enrichment,” the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture is a 914,930-square-foot (85,000-square-meter) building surrounded by Knowledge Park, a sprawling space that inspires the imagination.
o some, Instagram may seem like a platform where you go to look at pretty pictures all day. But did you know it can be a powerful money-making marketing tool that brings project opportunities for your decorative concrete business? What if I told you that by using Instagram correctly for your business, you can get discovered and dominate your market?
With just a few changes to your account, you can start driving more engagement to your page. This engagement drives trust and trust drives sales. If you follow at least one of my tips, you’ll see a dramatic change in your profile. If you use all of them together, you can turn your Instagram profile into a project-getting machine.
OLISHABLE overlays are a popular alternative to polished concrete where the existing concrete slab isn’t a good candidate to be polished. Infilling trenches, patching, spalling and removing existing modular floor coverings often result in a concrete surface that doesn’t meet with customer approval.
Additionally, wavy concrete and edge curl will often yield a polished surface with varying degrees of aggregate reveal. While this may be acceptable to customers, often a flat, smooth, level surface with predictable aggregate distribution is what they really want. In these situations, a polishable overlay is often the answer to achieve that look.
With polishable overlays, as with polished concrete, one consideration above all others will ensure the success of the installation — managing customer expectations. This is best achieved through creating a mock-up on the project site.
Minimalistic
magine the convenience and versatility of a decorative concrete finish that can be applied to walls or floors.
Actually, it’s not a matter for the imagination. Such decorative finishes already exist.
A more striking facet of these materials, however, may well be their role in enhancing visual effects in certain architectural settings — spaces where “less is more” in terms of color or mind-bending decorative patterns.
Such is the proposition put forth by Ideal Work, an Italian-based developer of cementitious coatings and other decorative finishes. And Exhibit A in Ideal Work’s case for this concept is museum space.
“Museum buildings, like art galleries, have to act as a blank backdrop that show (art and other items on display) at their best, making them easy to follow, access and comprehend,” Ideal Work notes in marketing literature highlighting museum-space applications of its Nuvolato Architop, Microtopping and Lixio products.
Minimalistic
magine the convenience and versatility of a decorative concrete finish that can be applied to walls or floors.
Actually, it’s not a matter for the imagination. Such decorative finishes already exist.
A more striking facet of these materials, however, may well be their role in enhancing visual effects in certain architectural settings — spaces where “less is more” in terms of color or mind-bending decorative patterns.
Such is the proposition put forth by Ideal Work, an Italian-based developer of cementitious coatings and other decorative finishes. And Exhibit A in Ideal Work’s case for this concept is museum space.
“Museum buildings, like art galleries, have to act as a blank backdrop that show (art and other items on display) at their best, making them easy to follow, access and comprehend,” Ideal Work notes in marketing literature highlighting museum-space applications of its Nuvolato Architop, Microtopping and Lixio products.
istorically, repurposing glass for use in concrete mixtures has simply involved crushing and grinding the glass to a smaller size. Resizing alone doesn’t bring glass processing far enough to create a functional raw material for the concrete industry. Rather than a re-engineered raw material you just end up with a resized material. Crushing is indeed the first step in the process of recycling glass … but, it can’t be the last step if you’re trying to create something new and innovative.
The last issue featured an article on using crushed waste glass in concrete. It pointed out the problem associated with this is alkali-silica reaction (ASR). Alkalis, present in portland cement, that encounter “reactive aggregates” initiate a chemical reaction that forms a gel. Add in a little moisture intrusion and the result is a bad day at the beach for the concrete as the gel expands when hydrated.
nspired by urban living, Eric Weil, sculptor and founder of Oso Industries in Brooklyn, and his team individually handcraft multifunctional furniture and architectural elements featuring concrete and other materials in clean, geometric forms.
In 1996 Weil graduated from Oberlin College where he studied sculpture. He also studied woodcarving in Ghana, where he was inspired by traditional furniture design. After moving to New York City and recognizing concrete’s untapped potential for use in design, he focused on this adaptable material. In 2004, he founded Oso Industries, a design studio focusing on new applications of concrete for furniture and custom interior design.
EAVE a mark. That sentence can mean different things.
Google that phrase and it tells you: “to have a lasting or significant effect.” Personally, it reminds me of the time my mother left my younger brother, Mark, at a Super America gas station in St. Paul when he was about 5.
After about five minutes of covert snickering at the thought of “leaving our Mark,” I reluctantly informed my mother we should probably go back and get our “Mark” back. After realizing I wasn’t pulling her leg, she hurriedly returned to Super America and found our “Mark” safe and sound.
- Fritz-Pak47
- Graco13
- GranQuartz23
- Ideal WorkInside Front Cover
- McKinnon Materials3
- Graco13
- Pulse-Bac1
- RockStar Epoxy27
- Torginol15
- Trimaco17, Inside Back Cover
- Z-Poolform19
- RockStar Epoxy27
- Fritz-Pak47
- Graco13
- GranQuartz23
- Ideal WorkInside Front Cover
- McKinnon Materials3
- Graco13
- Pulse-Bac1
- RockStar Epoxy27
- Torginol15
- Trimaco17, Inside Back Cover
- Z-Poolform19
- RockStar Epoxy27
For information from any of these advertisers, go to connect.concretedecor.net/PIRC
he first time I delivered “Trends in Decorative Concrete” was at the Concrete Decor Show in Fort Worth, Texas, in February 2014. It was initially created to present a quick snapshot of what was trending in our industry, targeting primarily the design community. At the time, I never anticipated the presentation would grow into the program it is today.
Over the years the presentation has been updated and expanded to include market information from installers, designers and manufacturers from around the world. In 2018, it become the first of its kind American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Accredited member benefit program, offered through the American Society of Concrete Contractors’ Decorative Concrete Council.
I was honored to present the updated program at the 2019 Concrete Decor Show in Arlington, Texas, in October.
oing museum-quality work doesn’t always entail fashioning blank backdrops to show items of interest at their best. Sometimes, as is the case of a pollinator-themed playground at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., it involves colorful GFRC carvings that are larger than life.
Children learn about bees as they buzz around the interactive space complete with lofty flowers, hollow trees, pollen particles and dripping honey. Hands down, though, the biggest draws are the GFRC replicas of a European honeybee and a blue orchard mason bee.
