Sonnhalter and Viega Honored with PRSA Rocks Award

Marketing communications firm wins silver award in the “feature article” category for its article on the subject of water quality.

CLEVELAND – May 2019 – Sonnhalter, a communications firm marketing to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, received a silver award in the “feature article” category at the 16th Annual Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Cleveland Rocks Awards competition.

Rosemarie Ascherl-Lenhard, PR foreman, Andrew Poulsen, PR technician, and Matt Sonnhalter, vision architect, of Sonnhalter accept the  silver award for feature article category at the PRSA Rock Awards.

The feature article, “Go with the Flow: Best Practices for Maintaining Water Movement in Plumbing Systems,” was written in collaboration with Viega, a leading manufacturer of pipe fitting installation technology. In 2018, Sonnhalter targeted and reached out to a top trade publication in the plumbing industry and pitched a feature article on the subject of water quality. Once accepted, Sonnhalter interviewed and collaborated with Viega personnel to develop an article that focused on how to reduce the spreading of water system-related illnesses. The winning feature article outlined a number of best practices for maintaining water flow and temperature with the intention of informing plumbing system designers and installers of some of the new ways to combat the risk of waterborne diseases. (more…)

Share this:

Updated Sonnhalter Plumbing Market Overview Now Available

Information on plumbing market codes, standards and certifications, key trade shows, industry associations, buying groups, training providers, top distributors, industry publications, blogs, online forums and more.  

At Sonnhalter, we pride ourselves on working only in the B2T, or Business-to-Tradesmen, industry. And that means not only being up to date on what our clients are doing, but with their industries as well.

To that end, we have developed comprehensive Market Overviews for relevant industries, and continually update them. Our latest update is for the Plumbing Market. Please feel free to download, review and share, and if you have any questions, contact us.

Sign up for our updated Sonnhalter Plumbing Market Overview here.

Share this:

Sonnhalter Continues Support of Cuyahoga Community College With Annual Scholarship for School’s Construction Program

Agency’s fifth annual scholarship donation toward construction program adds to its longstanding relationship with trade professionals.

CLEVELAND – April 2019 – Sonnhalter, a marketing communications firm to the professional tradesman in the construction, industrial and MRO markets, continues its support of Cuyahoga Community College’s (Tri-C) “Construction Program Scholarship” with a $2,500 donation. This marks the fifth year in a row Sonnhalter donated to the program.

With more than 5,000 students enrolled, the construction apprenticeship program at Tri-C is one of the largest of its kind and helps students learn a valuable trade within the construction industry through quality assurance, drawings, project management, scheduling, problem solving and communication.

“On behalf of Cuyahoga Community College, we are very grateful for Sonnhalter’s continued generous support,” said Megan O’Bryan, vice president, development and president, Tri-C Foundation. “This gift helps students realize a dream that otherwise may not have been possible by providing scholarships which are an essential tool in ensuring access to the education and training our students will need to work in the construction industry. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of Tri-C students.”

Students receive up to 250 hours of classroom instruction, as well as up to 1,600 hours of on-the-job training. During their apprenticeship, students have the opportunity to earn wages and learn from experienced union workers and vocational instructors. Students who complete certification in the program will have the skills to take on careers that include cost/quantity estimating, project scheduling and CAD technician work.

“With the construction scholarship, I was able to improve my skills and enter into the Carpenters Apprenticeship Program,” said Brian, a 2019 pre-apprenticeship training graduate at Cuyahoga Community College.

“Each year, Sonnhalter is pleased to extend our support for this program and all the work it does to shape the minds of future hardworking professionals in the construction industry,” said Matt Sonnhalter, vision architect at Sonnhalter. ”These types of programs at Tri-C are especially critical as the industry faces a tremendous skills gap. We are pleased that we can help encourage students in our community by helping to provide career opportunities that they might not have considered.”

Sonnhalter developed an extensive database of vocational education and technical programs in the United States similar to Tri-C’s construction apprenticeship program. The database, which includes more than 20,000 programs, contains useful and easy-to-read information about each program, including addresses, phone numbers, websites and more. To download Sonnhalter’s updated, comprehensive list of vocational programs in the U.S., visit sonnhalter.com/vocational.

About Sonnhalter

Established in 1976, Sonnhalter is the leading B2T marketing communications firm to companies that target professional tradesmen in construction, industrial and MRO markets. Sonnhalter is located in the historic Brownell Building in the heart of downtown Cleveland. Sonnhalter’s brand identity highlights its expertise in marketing to the professional tradesmen. Its tagline, “Not Afraid To Get Our Hands Dirty,” promotes the employees’ willingness to roll up their sleeves and dig deep into clients’ businesses, also, it refers to the market it targets: the tradesmen who work with – and dirty – their hands every day. Sonnhalter developed the acronym “B2T,” which stands for “business-to-tradesmen” to capture the essence of its specialty. For more information, visit the company website at Sonnhalter.com.

 

Share this:

Pricing Challenge: Price Leaks

This post originally appeared on INSIGHT2PROFIT.com

Welcome to INSIGHT2PROFIT’s 2019 Pricing Challenge! Each month we’ll discuss a common pricing challenge faced by businesses and provide some tips to help improve your profitability.

First up, let’s talk about price leaks. You’ve set your product pricing, but after considerations like discounts, freight costs, program allowances, rebates and payment terms, how much of that price actually reaches your bottom line? Today we’ll look at how just one factor – expedited orders – can dip into your profit margin and how you can quickly address that challenge.

 

Has this ever happened to you? Your customer calls and says they need their product in three days instead of the usual two weeks. You jump through hoops to make it happen – interrupt your production cycle, delay other customers’ orders, pay extra for freight, pay overtime – and you do it for free to keep your customer happy. You just offered your customer tremendous value; you should be getting paid for it. How might you go about making that happen?

First of all, ensure your customers have a clear understanding of what your standard lead time is. If they ask about expediting, and your production team says it’s feasible, let your customer know there will be an associated surcharge.

Based on our historical tracking of expedited order requests, one of two things will happen:

  1. You’ll save money. When faced with a fee, about half of your customers will decide they don’t actually need the order that quickly and can deal with the regular lead time. You neither disrupted production nor incurred additional expenses to meet a need that wasn’t real.
  2. You’ll make money. The other half of your customers will appreciate that you offer the option to expedite orders and will gladly pay the surcharge, because it’s a small price to pay for being able to meet their critical need.

What practices could you adjust to stop price leaks and have an immediate impact on your company’s profitability? Download our 50+ Most Common Price Leaks Infographic to identify other areas in which you might be leaving money on the table instead of putting it in your pocket.

What’s your pricing challenge? 

 

 

Share this:

Updated Alternative Energy Market Overview Now Available

Information on the alternative energy market, from key trade shows and industry associations, to training providers, codes and standards, industry publications, online resources and more. 

At Sonnhalter, we pride ourselves on working only in the B2T, or Business-to-Tradesmen industry. And that means not only being up to date on what our clients are doing, but with their industries as well. To that end, we have developed comprehensive Market Overviews for relevant industries, and continually update them.

Many of our clients know they need to get into the “green” arena but do not know how to approach it or how to bring value to the “green” market. Our updated, 28-page overview of the alternative energy industry (focusing on certain segments within the larger context) can be used as a means of educating and planning for the types of products and services needed in the future.

The overview covers the following segments of the Alternative Energy market:

• BioMass/BioFuels/BioProducts

• Geothermal

• Hydropower

• Solar

• Wind

Please feel free to download, review and share, and if you have any questions, contact us. Sign up for our updated Sonnhalter Alternative Energy Market Overview here.

Share this: