Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
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November 2015 | KitchenBathDesign.com | 5 Editorial { Janice Costa, editor } Facebook.com/KitchenBathDesignNews @KBDN Techno Smarts: Matching The Tool With the Task One of the greatest challenges of the digital age is fguring out how to maximize the benefts of today's technology without 'unplugging' from the more personalized aspects of running a customer-focused business. T echnology is a tool that can make your business run faster, smarter and more efciently. But when used incorrectly, it can also make your business look like amateur hour. Just ask any baseball fan about the slew of Fox "Who pulled the plug?" jokes that fooded social media channels after the broadcast cut out mid-game during the World Series. While this particular "disconnect" was glaringly obvious, it's often the little disconnects that distort the impact of technology and cause business- es to lose their edge. For the kitchen and bath pro- fessional, it could be something as simple as using the wrong cus- tomer relationship management software, leaving clients feeling like your "personal" messages to them read more like spam. It could mean becoming so enamored with your iPhone camera that your portfolio begins to look like a DIY project instead of the high-end, profes- sional representation of your work that it should be. It could mean using multiple software programs that don't integrate well with each other, creating opportunities for errors to sneak in. Or it could simply translate to forget- ting the need for human oversight, which should be required no matter how good the technology. It's also all too easy to disconnect in small ways during the work day… like losing focus while trying to juggle emails, social media posts and the ever- present temptation of surfng the Web. Who hasn't at some point gone looking for product specs online, only to end up distracted by a news story, a quick trip to Amazon to check out the pre-Black Friday sales or an online quiz about "What Your Favorite Color Says About You" (it's color related; you're a designer…that makes it work related, right?). Today, there are even apps to help you track your distraction level and keep you focused on the project at hand (see related story, Page 22). Most often, however, the problems with technology aren't with the technol- ogy itself – rather, it's about fguring out how to successfully integrate it into your business. In short, it's all about choosing the right tool for the right task. In his Design Technology column this month, Eric Schimelpfenig talks about the evolution of digital photography and how it's changing the game for design pro- fessionals, as well as how designers are learning to use digital cameras – or even their cell phone cameras – to document projects. But he also talks about when and how to do this, where it's appropri- ate and when the job needs to be handed of to a professional (see related story, Page 18). It's okay to fall in love with the getting-better-all-the-time technology of smart phone cameras, he explains, as long as you don't forget what that tool can – and can't – accomplish. Additionally, this month, KBDN looks at what's going on with software, from design and product ordering software to contact management, accounting and business management programs – with designers weighing in on what they like, what challenges they still struggle with and what's on their wish list for the fu- ture (see related story, Page 38). Interestingly, even some of the most tech-savvy designers admitted a prefer- ence for doing some of their work "old style"– whether including hand drawings in certain presen- tations, sending out personalized notes to clients post-project or switching from all-digital com- munications to phone calls or personal meetings in order to ensure that they can still get a "read" on client satisfaction levels – without having to try to "read between the lines" of an email or text. Indeed, the best kitchen and bath dealers and designers blend technology tools with their own personal touch to try to maximize the customer experience – and relationship. As one designer so aptly pointed out, "I'm only as good as the tools that I use." Technology offers a vast array of new tools for doing business. Use them wisely and you'll maximize your speed, efciency and connectivity – without accidentally pulling the plug on the re- lationships that matter most. "When it comes to technology, it's all about using the right tool for the right task." ® Publisher Paul DeGrandis Publisher Emeritus Eliot Sefrin Editor Janice Anne Costa Managing Editor Anita Shaw Associate Editor Ashley Lapin Olian Group Editorial Director Patrick O'Toole Contributing Writers Kim Berndtson Joe Dowd Jamie Gold, CKD, CAPS Elizabeth Richards Denise Vermeulen Columnists Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID, CAPS Hank Darlington Leslie Hart Bruce Kelleran, CKD, CPA Stephen Nicholls Ken Peterson, CKD Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, CAPS Sarah Reep, CMKBD, ASID, CMG, CAPS, IIDA Bryan Reiss, CMKBD Eric Schimelpfenig, AKBD Creative Director & Production Manager Tracy Hegg Graphic Designer Cathy Petersen Circulation Manager Mike Serino Reader Service Manager Jeff Heine Digital Programs Manager Tim Steingraber Operations Manager Marie Snow Projects Manager Heidi Riedl Copyright © 2015 by SOLA Group Inc. All rights reserved. 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