Building materials industry cautiously positive for 2014

For the 9th time, the international management consultants Homburg & Partner have conducted an opinion survey of Germany’s top marketing and sales executives in the building materials industry, together with the industry journal “Baustoffmarkt” (Building Materials Market). The study, entitled “Baustoffmonitor” (Building Materials Monitor) focussed particularly on the past and expected future business development, as well as on current challenges and problems in the sector. It also asked for opinions regarding the central factors governing success in sales and marketing. In comparison with the last Building Materials Monitor, the degree of satisfaction with the current business situation of the German building materials industry remains moderate: on a school grade scale (1 = excellent, 5 = poor), the satisfaction index value was 3.0 – analogue to the value for the first half-year of 2013. Even though the business expectation index for the coming six months has fallen slightly compared to that for the first half-year of 2013, from 2.4 to 2.7, expectations for the future are nevertheless more positive than the current satisfaction rating. For the year 2014, building materials manufacturers expect their market to show a plus of 4.4 %. The recorded business development expectations indicate a positive trend for 2014.
For the first time, the greatest reported external problem is the development of foreign markets, which was the opinion of 38 % of the participants in the study. With regard to the main internal problems of the industry, participants still see “pricing” as the problem requiring most urgent action, particularly with regard to enforcing price increases. Currently, the central factors governing success in sales and marketing are seen to be the expansion and optimization of sales, customer retention and support, and e-commerce.
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