Going the extra mile
In an uncertain market, Warwick North West director, Greg Johnson, explains why going above and beyond for customers is the key to navigating the storm.
Looking to the new year, Jeremy Hunt’s recent forecast that the economy is set to grow by 0.7% in 2024 doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, especially when interest rates remain at a 15-year high with the Bank of England warning of a ‘stagnating economy’.
It’s set to be another challenging year for the country – and for the fenestration industry – but despite a slowdown, this doesn’t mean we need to put a pause on futureproofing our businesses.
In fact, on the contrary, a rather bleak forecast poses the ideal opportunity to assess our businesses, invest in product innovation, streamline operations, boost marketing initiatives and optimise efficiency.
For Warwick North West, while we’ve of course invested a lot of time and effort into all of the above, we’ve also placed particular importance on customer support – after all, even the best products won’t get you anywhere if you’re not going the extra mile and keeping your customers happy.
Expanding product range
As a long established Eurocell PVC-U fabricator, we offer a range of high-quality windows and doors, including Modus, the seven-chambered flush sash casement that can accommodate a 44mm triple glazed IGU, achieving U-values as low as 0.7.
A big product development for us in the last 18 months was the introduction of aluminium, opening up new opportunities for existing customers and attracting new customers to the business.
After reviewing the market carefully, we chose to partner with Sheerline for windows and lantern roofs and Cortizo for patio doors and bi-fold doors. Both products have proven to be a big hit with customers for multiple reasons, not least the full depth Eurogroove on Sheerline windows which means they can accommodate the same hardware as our PVC-U range.
Dedicated account managers
Throughout the entire sales process, we are dedicated to delivering the best service to our customers, starting with dedicated account managers.
Rather than a ‘lucky dip’ approach where customers speak to whoever answers the phone first, all our customers are assigned their very own account manager with relevant experience for their individual needs.
We serve customers across the trade, new build and commercial markets, and we always ensure that each customer is matched with an account manager that’s best suited to their sector.
Our account managers get to understand each customer’s preferences and ordering habits, resulting in a seamless sales experience.
Honest service
In addition to an in-depth knowledge of our customers’ needs, our account managers have a commitment to ‘doing the right thing’ when it comes to our quoting processes.
We often receive quotes where we can see that the customer has made a mistake – for instance, they might be asking for products that are not compliant with Building Regulations, or are not compatible with the design of the building.
In these instances, we will honestly advise the customer where they have gone wrong and quote the job properly. Even though this inevitably works out more expensive than what they originally asked for, we’ve found that customers very much appreciate this honesty, and subsequently lean on us to help steer the overall project.
On the flip side, doing this does sometimes price us out of some jobs, but from a moral standpoint, we would only ever want to supply products that are safe and fully compliant – even if it means losing business from customers that don’t share the same view.
On-site support
Lastly, our dedication to customer service extends to the installation itself, for which we offer extensive on-site support.
Our team members are all experts in what they do, have vast technical knowledge and decades of experience, and offer technical support that can even extend beyond just window and door installation, and include advice on the overall construction of a project, helping to solve problems which may impact the glazing further down the line.
Weathering the storm
Despite the challenging economic forecast in the coming year, I’m confident that there is still opportunity for business to thrive.
At Warwick North West, we’ve focused on customer support as a key part of our success, from offering a wide range of high-quality products and assigning dedicated account managers to customers, to delivering honest quotes and providing extensive on-site support throughout every step of the installation process.
There is no doubt a challenging year ahead, but overall, I have complete faith that Warwick North West is well positioned to navigate the storm and continue to provide exceptional service in an uncertain market.