Fabricators, glass companies and conservatory roof suppliers are missing out on large volumes of work according to Insight Data’s sales manager Sonia Punter.

Insight Data provides the industry with marketing data and CRM software to manage customers and leads, but they also track trends across the building industry and report that local builders are now gaining large market share.

Sonia comments; “There are now over 20,000 local builders actively installing windows, doors, conservatories and roofline products, as well as other home improvements. In fact, builders are fitting more windows than some installers!”

The reasons are easy to see. Homeowners aren’t moving house as often, even with an ease in the mortgage market. They are staying put, and improving their homes. A new kitchen last year, extension this year, and maybe that en-suite bathroom next year. Local builders are picking up the work and building the trust-relationship with the homeowner.

So when the builder mentions that they’ve just built a conservatory for a neighbour, and it was £5,000 cheaper than the conservatory company down the road with their big overheads and sales commissions, guess who’ll land the conservatory project?

For manufacturers and suppliers this creates a dilemma. Your primary customer base – window and conservatory installers are seeing a decline in volume, and to combat this they are diversifying – garage conversions, block pave driveways, even kitchens. Great for them, but not great for your factory production.

Yet, there are now over 20,000 builders actively installing the products you sell. They are buying them from trade counter outlets, from builders merchants, from third-party distributors. And they are, collectively, buying huge volumes.

Manufacturers cannot sit back and wait to see what happens. The current trend is accelerating and the Insight “Local Builders” database is now growing faster the window installers database.

Whether you want to sell directly to this audience yourself, or create a ‘pull through’ strategy to promote your products/brand on behalf of your trade customers/distributors, now is the time to act.

For more information on the Insight Local Builders database, contact Insight on 01934 808293 or visit www.insightdata.co.uk