Suppliers track down local builders with Insight
Posted on 07/06/2012
Insight Data's Sales Manager Sonia Punter discusses the on-going trend of diversification in the window industry - a process recently highlighted by Anglian Windows - and how local builders are part of the process and they continue to buy in more and more windows and doors.
The recent announcement by the UK's biggest window company, Anglian Windows, that it has changed its business model and branched out into offering home conversions, highlights a wider trend of companies diversifying into other areas in a bid to stay one step ahead in an increasingly competitive home improvement market.
For Anglian Windows changing social trends and the slump in the housing market, prompted the move. To keep pace with the growing number of homeowners staying put and investing in their properties rather than moving, Anglian has widened its products and services to now offer home conversions, solar panels, driveways, garage doors and much more.
Diversification
This type of diversification is happening all across the window industry. Window companies are becoming home improvement companies and local builders are becoming window installers, some of which are installing more double glazing than specialist window companies.
Having built a porch, carried out a loft conversion or landscaped the front garden, local builders are often forging trusted relationships with homeowners, putting them in the ideal position to sell them windows and doors.
In fact local builders are increasingly gaining more market share, something that looks set to continue thanks to the current housing market; with property experts predicting that the average homeowner will now stay put for 15-20 years, increasing the likelihood they will invest money to improve their property which in turn increases opportunities for local builders.
Under the radar
But for far too long this growing market has been slipping under the radar of manufacturers, distributors and suppliers due to the difficulty of tracking the local builder down.
Local builders are notoriously difficult to get hold of and marketing to them can be an expensive and time-consuming process. Many don't actively market themselves and operate solely on word-of-mouth recommendation, with some having little more than a mobile phone number for a point of contact.
To rectify this issue Insight Data launched the Local Builders database. Many of our existing customers had been asking us to develop a database for this specialist market, prompting us to invest extensive time and resources to compile a database of over 22,000 local builders.
Ideal for building product suppliers and window and door suppliers, the Insight Local Builders database allows companies to sell their products and services to this fast expanding market of buyers. When you consider that the contacts on our Local Builders database do not regularly receive industry specific marketing material and are not tied to particular products or suppliers, there has never been a more potent time to articulate your message to them.
Simple to use
Like all of Insight's databases the local builders us accessed through our online prospect software Salestracker. Users simply log on to Salestracker in order to instantly create prospect lists by category, region or postcode. This can then be used for direct mail, email marketing or telesales campaigns.
Furthermore, we ensure that the quality of market intelligence is more accurate and relevant than other providers. Our team of researchers continuously interview and verify the details of contacts on the Local Builder's database, checking they have the correct address, phone numbers, email address and fax number before including it on the Local Builders database.
Compare this to other mass data suppliers who hold records of millions of businesses across hundreds of industry sectors and often only update the market intelligence every six-months rather than in real-time, and you have the most powerful and in-depth market intelligence available related to Local Builders.
Never has it been easier to communicate with this notoriously difficult group of prospects and make them your customers. In an industry experiencing continuing diversification and an economic outlook that is uncertain, Insight Data's Local Builder database provides vital market intelligence firmly in tune with the mood swings of the market.
