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Power Marketing of Architectural Services: A Critical Look at the Services Provided by Architects and Designers

by Dr. Rene F. Jones Ph.D. MRAIC Assoc. AIA

123 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #01-0336; ISBN 1-55212-934-9; US$20.00, C$30.00, EUR19.50, £13.60

Power Marketing of Architectural Services is intended to assist the new graduate in marketing his or her professional skills.

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about the book      about the author      excerpt      catalogue info

About the Book This book is not designed to explore well-known marketing concepts. Instead, it is intended to look at applied, practical, and proven marketing approaches in a proactive manner that is designed to improve the nature and quality of architectural practice as well as that of other design professionals. It is primarily about the services offered by architectural and small design firms, but it also has as much to do with the notion of change within the design professions as it does with marketing concepts. As a result, the reader may find some thoughts and ideas somewhat provocative, but is intended primarily to bring a new perspective on the practice. Because of changing trends and rapidly changing market conditions, we must, as design professionals, prepare ourselves to communicate and interact with a much broader segment of society, even those who are not potential clients.

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About the Author Dr. Jones is a retired architect who had a small practice in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and in Whitehorse in the Yukon Territories as well as in Ontario and Nova Scotia. He subsequently worked for several years as a senior project manager with the Alberta Health Department, specializing in various types of health care facilities. He is a graduate of Dal-Tech College of Architecture of Nova Scotia as well as the University of Manitoba School of Archicture. He also holds a Ph.D in advanced management and administration from Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada as well as an associate member of the American Institute of Architects. Prior to his retirement he served as a senior property manager with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police where he was heavily involved in the design and construction of various forms of penal institutions.

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Excerpt

from the Preface

    The rapid changes in technology, the proliferation of new products and services, an increased affluence in society, the changing family composition, and the massive explosion of the information technology, have all contributed to the changing needs and characteristics of the marketplace. Moreover, the fierce competition in the marketplace has created a very high level of market fragmentation, allowing the consumer greater selectivity, and thereby forcing the producer of goods and service to fine-tune his marketing offer to potential clients/customers requiring specific products and services.
    As design professionals, we can no longer ignore the impact of these changes on our respective practices. In looking at the impact, we must ask ourselves some very pointing questions. For instance, have we modified our practice in any way to adequately respond to these changes? My guess is we have not, and it is that line of thinking that has given rise to this book.
    Furthermore, this book is intended to assist the new practitioner in avoiding some of the pitfalls commonly associated with those design professionals who fail in their respective practices. It should help in identifying common marketing mistakes that many young graduates make if they did not have the benefit of some common business knowledge and techniques necessary for a successful practice. In this respect, it is hoped that this book may serve as useful reading material for those who plan an early plunge into their own practice.
    Power Marketing is also meant to encourage and promote such innovation and creativity that would breed new life in the marketing of architectural services. It is also intended to foster and promote a more aggressive approach to marketing of professional services from one that is relatively passive to one that is more proactive while keeping intact the dictates of current practice and industry trends. At the same time, it will examine some much needed changes dictated by some of these trends. In this respect, this book tries to deal with the heart of the matter by providing the tools for further dialogue and discussions in order to conduct further study on a comprehensive marketing program.
    The author, therefore, welcomes any constructive ideas that may serve to enhance the marketing of the profession. If you are in agreement with the ideas presented, that's great. On the other hand, if you disagree with these ideas, that's great too, as long as you are willing to establish why you disagree and are prepared to set up a mechanism for alternate solutions to the problems we face in attempting to properly market the profession. But Power Marketing takes this discussion one step futher. It shows you how to make your firm and indeed your practice stand out in the crowd by reinforcing some change strategies that are too often neglected or taken for granted. That comes with thorough planning and organizing, and which should give the designer a clear understanding of such motivational and communciation skills that will enable him to produce the kind of advertising needed, that is, the ones that would increase the firm's productivity and profit margin.
    I believe the profession as a whole needs a shot in the arm that would make it more relevant to the twenty-first century. We need to carefully examine a number of relevant areas in which we still function as we did during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and I believe that the initiative for this transition rests with the training institutions. It means having to make some drastic modifications to the present curriculum of training in order to fit the graduate for the changing practice in the real world. We also have to look at ways of re-establishing our position in the driver's seat of the design and construction industry as was the case at the beginning of the last century.
    Some segments of society refer to us as an invisible profession in spite of the dramatic changes we have made on the physical environment. Others refer to us as a secret profession but with some measure of justification. A well-known Toronto architect in dealing with this matter in one of his lectures, referred to the state of the profession in this manner, "not so long ago, architecture was seen as a dying profession." He is very optimistic, of course. I would sooner think of it as a profession that is still going through a near death experience. However, in taking a more positive approach to these points, one chapter in this book is called "Blowing Your Own Horn" and yet another chapter is titled "Getting the Right Exposure". Both of these chapters emphasize the need for getting out of the comfort zone and making our services more well-known and relevant. Every sincere practitioner today would agree that there is a pressing need for some form of change or reform in the manner in which we offer our services. It is well known that a number of smaller firms continue to experience on-going struggles for survival, and would welcome any directive that would help to improve their practice.
    In this regard, it is fair to say that there has been more than just a shortfall in the manner in which we run our business. The future cries out for change, and we can no longer rest on our oars and let the boat sail on any course directed by the winds and waves. We know that the best way to deal with any problem is to bring it to focus, to analyze it, and to look for possible solutions. If this book has succeeded in doing so for marketing the services of the architectural and other design-related professions, then it has indeed met its objective.

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Catalogue Information

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