Review: December 2017

Before I release my annual review of the year and DGB’s performance in 2017, it’s time to take a quick look back at what December had to offer us in the window and door industry. Usually a quiet month as home owners and indeed the industry looks forward to some well earned rest.

December drop off

The start of the month remained fairly active on the face of it, with installers talking about relatively lively lead and sale levels before the end of the year. With those I spoke to, many had their fitting schedules full well before the month of December, many completing in October. For many, December was all about selling what they could to ensure that they hit the ground running in the New Year. That can be said at our place. We signed up a number of brand new glazed extension projects at the end of the year that wouldn’t begin until the New Year.

It’s always a good feeling to see the fitting schedules full before the year is out. It gives installers that satisfying feeling that they did the right things that year and it paid off.

Towards the end of the month that festive slumber did seem to set it, as you would expect. Lead levels began to drop off at our place and the jobs that were signed up were most definitely booked into the New Year. Attention at our place then turned to 2018 targets and what we wanted to achieve in 2018. After a solid 2017, our sales target was raised up 20% from our sales achieved in 2017. A hefty figure but we’re putting into place plans to maximise sales of certain products we already did well with and to push that further.

NFA17 Winners Week

The awards season ended with the annual Winners Week from the National Fenestration Awards. This is where a group of winners from that year’s campaign are announced Monday to Friday, taking over social media as the industry eagerly awaited who was voted as winners in their categories. It was the NFA’s biggest Winners Week yet, and you can check out all of the winners here: http://www.fenestrationawards.co.uk/2017-categories/

News about the 2018 campaign is set to be announced next week, as the industry returns to work in full and we all get our heads down for what looks set to be a year of challenges for us all.

Bad news breaks just before Christmas

As I mentioned in a previous post, the year ended on a somewhat negative tone. On 21st December Manchester-based Float Glass Industries went into administration. The company turns over £25m per year and employs 200 people. The company boasts some impressive clients, including Mulberry and Manchester United. The company continues to trade as the administrators try to find a buyer for the business.

On Christmas Eve, an article published on This Is Money held an interview with Anglian Home Improvements, who admitted that the current economic environment is causing the company to feel the pinch. They made a £3.3m loss in the last financial year, despite edging up their revenues. In the same article, the investors behind Everest have admitted their their investment in the company has not done well, pointing to troubles at the company.

You can catch up on that post here: https://www.doubleglazingblogger.com/2018/01/negative-stories-end-2017-point-uncertain-start-2018/

How DGB did in December

DGB rounded the year out on a high, take a look here:

Copy: ANOTHER MAJOR GROWTH MONTH FOR NOVEMBER
Infogram

I’m very happy to say that I was able to round off the year hitting every single major site traffic stat I set for myself at the start of the year. You lot know I like my numbers, and being able to see them at the end of 2017 does give me some sense of satisfaction and confirms that the things I did throughout the year to help grow the site worked.

So, it’s time to crack on and make sure 2018 keeps that growth trend going. In a post coming up in the next few days I will be setting out my goals for DGB in 2018, including three new DGB services that I plan to launch soon to help that growth keep on going. You can find out a bit more about those new services right here: https://www.doubleglazingblogger.com/2017/12/happy-new-year-6/

Looking forward to January

It’s the height of Winter, and home owners will be anxiously looking at their credit cards after Christmas. So will January kick off with a bang? Or will it be a slow grind back into gear as clients tentatively begin to think about their home improvements for the year. My guess it will be a steady start and will grow into momentum as we head towards February.

Look out in the next few days for my predictions for the year and what I want to achieve with DGB in 2018!