Taking the lead
In difficult economic times, investing in installer success is the best way to thrive, argues Amelia Gaughan, head of marketing for Affordable Window Systems.
In today’s fenestration landscape, it’s unfortunately not enough for fabricators to simply make a fantastic product. The sluggish economy shows no signs of improving, and budgets for home improvements remain tight.
Surviving and thriving in a difficult industry climate requires a proactive approach – and, at Affordable Window Systems, we believe that means investing to support our installers.
A shared success story
At Affordable Window Systems, we know that the success of our heritage PVC-U range, Timberlook, is intrinsically linked to the success of our installers.
We spent over a year pouring energy and resources into crafting one of the most authentic PVC-U flush sash systems on the market – designed to include the Timberweld joints, woodgrain foils and heritage hardware that installers need to compete in an ever-more demanding market.
The end result was our outstanding Timberlook flush sash window – but this was only one piece of the puzzle.
Ultimately, even the greatest products go nowhere without installers – and so, from the very beginning, we knew we wanted to offer free in-house lead generation.
Today’s homeowners are savvy online researchers, browsing social media for window and door trends.
By targeting homeowners searching online for heritage PVC-U styles, we ensure that installers in our nationwide network receive high quality leads that have potential to turn into sales.
This way, homeowners find their perfect match with local Timberlook installers, our installers receive free leads effortlessly, and our heritage PVC-U systems continue to grace homes across the UK.
In other words, we take the legwork out of lead generation, and it’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Strength to strength
The past few years have proved we were right to follow our instincts and prioritise consumer leads for our installers.
Our in-house lead generation programme has been incredibly successful; originally, we set a target of sourcing around 200-250 leads a month. As of the beginning of 2024, we are currently averaging over three times this amount!
The 600-700 leads that we are generating each month go directly to our valued Timberlook installers, fuelling the ever-growing popularity of the Timberlook range.
Marketing directly to homeowners has also offered another fantastic advantage: access to the end-user. This allows us to understand homeowner preferences, and adapt our offerings accordingly.
Those insights led to the introduction of the Pebble Grey colour, which we (rightly) predicted would prove hugely popular.
We also learned that homeowners were looking for a cohesive aesthetic across their windows and doors – which inspired the launch of our popular flush French Timberlook door.
As with our flush sash casement system, we developed it with consistent sightlines and concealed trickle vents to perfectly align with homeowner preferences – but its thanks to our installers that this door style has been such a resounding success.
At Affordable Windows, innovation never sleeps. We understand homeowner preferences evolve, so we constantly adapt to stay ahead of the curve.
Exciting updates to our popular single and double flush French door systems are coming soon – stay tuned!
