Software and Marketing Articles
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Despite smart home technology sparking significant industry interest, homeowners consistently rank it as a low priority. For the latest consumer trends report from Keystone Market Research, director, Charlotte Hawkes, sought to find out why. Open any fenestration industry magazine and it won’t take long before you see the words ‘smart home technology’. Touted as the next big thing, you’ve probably...
Kirsty Winter, general manager at Insight Data, identifies how businesses operating in the fenestration industry can unlock exponential growth. Like many industries, the fenestration sector is in the middle of an unprecedented transformation driven by established and emerging digital technologies. Where once a product or service could largely ‘sell itself’, perhaps driven by analogue advertising, today’s marketing strategies rely on...
Even the most established and respected businesses can benefit from innovative technology. The best results, in fact, often come when an already outstanding company uses tried-and-tested software to push the envelope even further, to offer a superb level of service that their competitors can’t match. That’s true in any field – but especially so in the increasingly competitive world of...
Installation businesses have been managing remote workers for decades, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. According to Rhonda Ridge of AdminBase, software is now necessary for home improvement companies to be truly connected and more productive. We hear a lot more about remote working since the pandemic hit a few years ago, but of course, working remotely...
Windowlink’s managing director, Mark Dudley, charts the rise and transformation of the great British conservatory – and discusses how installers can stay ahead of the curve. After almost 40 years making software, I feel like I’ve been around a very long time – but the great British conservatory has been around a lot longer. It’s been on a long, and...
Kirsty Winter, general manager of Insight Data, explores how the fenestration industry can harness the UK’s economic recovery and find new opportunities as the second financial quarter of 2024 turns a corner. As the UK is set to emerge from a challenging economic period, there's a glimmer of hope on the horizon for industries across the board. Among those poised...
The BM Group might have seemed a little bit quiet in the media of late, says Nick Bailey, head of sales, but all that is set to change as it has just been announced as a main sponsor of the G24 Awards and secured a high impact stand at the 2025 FIT Show. The BM Group has been one of...
If installation businesses haven’t already seriously reviewed their marketing tactics in 2024, now is the time to start, according to Rhonda Ridge of Ab Initio. Although at the time of writing we have finally had some good news in the form of the UK coming out of a recession, there is no denying the impact of the economic difficulties on...
Antoniya Stoycheva, digital marketing and communications manager at Aluk, presents her marketing tips for fabricators and installers. Whenever fabricators or installers ask for advice on marketing, I always start by saying – hire a professional! Whether that’s an in-house marketing manager or an external agency, any investment you make will be better spent. However, there are plenty of easy wins...
Installation businesses looking to survive and thrive in 2024, need to embrace software for streamlining purposes according to Ab Initio’s Rhonda Ridge, creator of AdminBase, but it needs to be the right kind of software. To streamline a business is to simplify processes with the aim of increasing efficiency. For example, when creating an order, generating an invoice, or arranging...
By Gary Dean, managing director of strategic consultancy, Truffle Pig Consulting Co. Throughout history, mottos have served as succinct expressions of ethos and identity for individuals, institutions, and nations. They provide a lens into the values, aspirations, and beliefs of their bearers. One such profound motto which I find of great interest and motivation is, ‘Loyalty binds us’, which is...
In recent years, augmented reality has attracted a lot of excitement in the tech world, sparking the imaginations of many business owners. PST managing director, Neil Travers, shares how the company’s unique AR app is set to transform the home improvement industry. The excitement around augmented reality over recent years is easy to understand – after all, this is a...
By Gary Dean, managing director at strategic consultancy, Truffle Pig Consulting. Sometimes, when I give talks about strategic management, I get questioned about whether military strategies can be applied to business situations. Though I have studied military strategy in some detail I usually avoid adding it to my discussions because war is predicated on the assumption that one side must...
Ab Initio’s Rhonda Ridge, creator of the installer management system, AdminBase, talks about the importance of focussing on quality over quantity when it comes to leads, and explains how a good CRM can help to capture and convert prospects. For any business to succeed it needs a steady influx of leads. However, while it can be easy to get distracted...
Neil Travers, managing director of Production Software Technology, shares how the company’s innovative software solutions can benefit all levels of the industry. In today’s fast paced world, the fenestration industry is experiencing rapid growth and evolving consumer demands. It’s why at Production Software Technology (PST), we’ve created solutions that enhance efficiency, precision and innovation. PST provides two main software solutions...
We all keep count of the leads coming in, but they need to be understood in context, argues managing director of Business Pilot, Elton Boocock. For the last four years, we have published the Business Pilot Barometer, a monthly summary of the window and door market in the UK, using data gathered from users of the Business Pilot CRM system....
At a time when feeling overworked and undervalued is almost the norm, businesses need to work on achieving a better balance between profitability, productivity, and spreading the workload. Rhonda Ridge of Ab Initio’s installer management system, AdminBase, explains how the right software can help. Not that long ago the idea of ‘big brother’ watching us at any time –...
With more than 30 years’ experience in marketing for the glazing sector, Andrew Scott, MD of leading full-service marketing agency Purplex, explores the best marketing approach companies should take to cut through the noise in an increasingly digital world. Rewind the clock to more than 15 years ago and the first Apple smartphone was released and not long after, the...
By Gary Dean, managing director of strategic consultancy, The Truffle Pig Consulting Co. So far this year I have written quite a lot of articles on key strategic tools. This article is certainly also built around a strategic tool in that sense, though I struggle a little with this description in the case of business ethics as it shouldn’t be...
As one of the industry’s most recognisable brands, FENSA is much more than just a competent person’s scheme. Glass Times editor, Luke Wood, highlights how the scheme has grown since its inception over 20 years ago and the raft of benefits it offers to installers today. There are not many glazing industry brands that can claim to be recognised as...