Overview The factors that affect the U.S. marble industry are general economic conditions and the construction industry. The general economic conditions are as folows: ¨ Growth in GDP:3.7 % (last quarter of 2004) ¨ Inflation:2.3% ¨ Unemployment Rate:5.8% (as of December 2004) SOURCE: BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS . http://www.bea.gov/bea/glance.htm Overview of the U.S. Marble Industry As of March 2005, there are 13,390 active companies in the U.S. marble industry, which includes wholesale, installation, fabrication, retailers, etc. 6361 companies started their operations within last two years. The breakdown of other companies in the marble industry in terms of age are as follows: 1410 (3-5years), 1528 (6-10 years), 2242 (11-20 years), 1849 (more than 20 years) Based on the credit status of active companies in marble industry, the following information represents the general credit view of the industry: 48% low risk, 32% middle risk, and 20% high risk Source: Dun&Brad Street Industry Report- March 6, 2005 Imported U.S. Marble Market Imported U.S. Travertine Market The Above data presents only finished materials in tiles and slabs. Source: Data collected from U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. Treasury, U.S. Department of Commerce. We would like to thank S tone Business Magazine Marketing Problems of Turkish Marble Producers in U.S. 1.Strategic Planning 2.Unnecessary competition among Turkish suppliers 3.Failing pricing policies 4.Lack of quality control 5.Unsatisfactory customer service 7 Ways to Profitable Direct Marketing of Natural Stones in the U.S. Marketplace 1. Analyze the market. Analyze the market segments in –depth and decide how to market to each segment. Potential customers of business-to-business market are construction companies, architects, design specialists, showrooms, contractors, wholesalers, installers, fabricators and retailers. Potential customers for the business-to-business market are: construction ..etc 2. Set goals. Set a sales goal for each fiscal year. Prepare a sales budget per state or terratory. Budgeting helps you set certain goals in measureable manner and gives you control points in order to compare actual and budget figures periodically. 3. Set pricing policy. Set pricing policies based on regional and customer groups. Each market segment has unique needs, wants and expectations. If companies adapt themselves to their customers, fair market price will help them increase profitibility and help Turkish marble have a better reputation in the marketplace. What do customers think when you give them discount? It is not always possible to create customer loyalty by offering discounts because discounts can lead to the following potential negative effects: - The customer may decide that your list price is higher than the fair market price. - The customer will concentrate on price instead of the value that you provide. - Customers are encouraged to do longer market research. - You rivals can copy your price but established relationships with customer can not be copied. 4. Zip code analysis.For marketing and selling to end users, it is important to study demographic analysis by zip code to know where to focus your efforts. There are zip code analyses for marketers. You can use them and make sure that there are potential customers in the target region. 5. Use customer loyalty.You can use customer loyalty programs and customer referral programs in order to acquire new customers. 6. Direct mail. An on-going customer communications plan can help you take customer relations to a better and more profitable level. Direct mail is an effective tool to reach customers and maintain the relationship 7. Partnership. If importers (especially Turkish companies) organize a partnershipi among them, better rates can be gained from freight forwarding companies, warehouses and other logistic firms. How to Create a Brand for Turkish Marble Eventhough marble prices have been reduced in general, the position of marble products as a “luxury item” has not changed in the eyes of American consumers. . Based on the statistics given above, Italian marble products dominate in the industry. Furthermore “luxurious” is the position of Italian products. However Turkish products have the same quality as Italian products. Since this position for Italian products has been set in consumers’ minds, it is almost impossible to change. If there is a leader in any given market, number two has to differentiate itself from the leaders. Marketing is a war of ideas not products. You might have the best product in the world but if you don’t have a creative idea to market it, the product will fail. My idea is competing Italian products with a detailed plan and organization. Turkish marble has to be positioned as “Exotic Turkish Stone”. Today Americans see Turkey as an exotic, mystic country due to its history, culture and geographic location. “Exotic Turkish Stone” slogan and marketing position can differentiate Turkish products from “luxurious Italian” products. Branding can increase profitability and improve Turkish products’ reputation in the marketplace. As to planning, creating a brand in customers’ minds is a long process, which requires patience. You can make the process faster by orchastrating different media in order to give the same message to customers. Consistency in message will help company build the image in the marketplace. His e-mail address is hasankursaddevecioglu@yahoo.com