Imagine a place where a diverse group of the best and brightest minds gather to discuss the professional events and topics of the day. No, it's not the hallway water cooler or a local diner but rather a virtual society where tips, techniques and opportunities are openly shared -- and encouraged. Welcome to the world of message boards, chat rooms and online forums; a world where builders can glean information, knowledge and new business by becoming registered users to an online community and specific sub-forums or specialty niches.

To fill this market space and provide builders with the latest information on the market, Moen Incorporated recently launched a Builder Forum on its website, builder.moen.com. The Forum offers four primary topics for builder discussion that directly correspond to the four phases of the building process: 1) Presale/Marketing; 2) Product Selection; 3) Construction and 4) Post-Sale/Close.

"We are in constant communication with our builder partners to see how we can help make their job as a builder easier," said Kathy Yates, Moen's builder target market manager. "We recently conducted a survey to see how Moen could provide additional assistance, and the overwhelming feedback was to provide builders with an interactive resource to share thoughts and ideas on important industry topics."

In addition to the areas which focus on the phases of the building process, Moen also shares company announcements and news through the Forum and offer builders the opportunity to correspond directly to Moen executives through an "Ask Moen" function.

"We are thrilled to be the first manufacturer to provide builders with a resource such as the Builder Forum," added Yates. "We look forward to seeing how builders, both large and small, interact to share their questions, concerns and best practices. We are excited to open the doors to such a unique tool and provide this resource to our builder partners."

There is a long list of potential benefits to belonging to an online forum but a user must be dedicated to active participation -- at least daily. Benefits include: brainstorming exchanges, helping others succeed (think of the referrals), learning new ideas and improving existing practices, influencing the forum's development and industry growth and direction, staying abreast of current events, and generating new business.

An existing forum offering these and a vast array of other resources can be found online at BUILDEROnline.com. The site features a talk forum designed to facilitate networking with other pros plus marketing research, databases of home building associations, home builder contests and awards programs, building codes, information, construction market data, and a construction glossary. There is also a book search function that directs the user to the BUILDEROnline.com's bookstore. Plus, the left hand column of the home page is replete with easy access to many databases to items such as product specs and manufacturers, house plans, free subscriptions to e-mail newsletters, and services and software.

Relationship building is integral to future success as we move deeper and deeper into the online global community, a vast exchange of information and knowledge builders can use to tap unlimited resources and income potential. Get online. Participate and make a difference. And, prosper.

Published: October 8, 2007

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Peter L. Mosca is president and founder of BAK Communications, Inc. He has over 22 years of communications and media consulting experience, serving a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the CCIM Institute and the REALTOR Association on all three levels – national, state and local. He is the Spokesperson Trainer for the CCIM's Jay Levine Academy and trains hundreds of residential REALTORS nationwide to be effective industry spokespeople. He is consistently ranked as "excellent" by about 90% of those who attend his presentations. While his principal consulting focuses are public speaking and media relations development and content delivery and management, Peter is also the host of the Voice America Network's weekly radio program, "Income Property Investment Talk," a one-hour program that brings the powerhouses of commercial and residential real estate to property investors every Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST. Peter is married 17 years to his wife Barbara. They have two children: Ashley, 15 and Kelli, 12. Hence, the name BAK Communications, Inc.