We’ve always said about the WOOD 100 companies, they may not be the biggest, but they are among the best. Though not all increased their profits in 2009, these secondary woodworking firms found numerous ways to improve their businesses through: new marketing initiatives, innovative business strategies, productivity enhancements, technology integrations and customer service.
Below is a small sampling of their strategies of success:

• “We make every attempt to meet our clients’ deadlines, no matter what, and this has demonstrated to our customers that low bid is not always the best value. We are passionate about our work and our customers get a comfort level with us knowing the job will be done right and on schedule,” commented the president of a custom millwork firm.

• “We found in order to compete in today’s market we could not simply reduce our prices. We evaluated the process we used and streamlined it. After doing so we were able to manufacture faster and the quality of the finished product actually improved,” added another president of an architectural millwork company.

• “In recent years, our company has purchased several pieces of computerized machinery to keep our production more competitive in a downsized economy. The new equipment has enabled us to expand not only production, but also our highly prized total custom capabilities. With our new capabilities, we upgraded and revamped our 1,000-square-foot display and began production of a new 3,800-square-foot display,” commented the president of a cabinet and millwork operation.

• “Sustaining a steady flow of work is our number one concern. Therefore, over the course of the year we have aggressively looked at revamping our marketing efforts, such as, redesigning our Website and logo. For immediate response we made numerous sales calls to existing and potential clients, which have been very successful and encouraging. To keep our prices competitive we are constantly striving for efficiency in the business as a whole.

“The commercial office furniture industry is closely tied to the economy. Many larger companies that we considered customers delay spending when indicators point to a sluggish economy. Although this has not significantly hurt our growth the past several years, we are always concerned it could at some point in the future. We address this concern by driving continual diversification in our product offerings to reach the largest market base possible. It is our strategy that if one market is not spending, another may, or if target customers are not buying wood, they may be interested in a lower cost solution like painted lacquer, laminate or melamine,” said the president of a mid-size contract furniture company.

Read more about their methods for improving business in today’s economy and see what you can apply to your company’s path to success.