The generally accepted commentary for this year is that it’s going to be challenging. A word I’m sure we’re all going to be bored of hearing about by Easter. So the challenge is going to find where growth for companies is going to come from. Perhaps the facet which is going to face the most challenging conditions are the fabricators.
The battle for new customers
The past few years has seen perhaps the most intense period of product diversification in the fabrication sector for decades. In the search for new customers fabricators went on a product binge. Whilst choice is generally a good thing, it’s left installers with an almost endless supply of choice and range to cherry pick from. That leads to things like dual or even triple sourcing, where installers use an increasing number of suppliers to expand their own offerings to home owners.
In the end it leads to a diluting of revenue streams and suppliers don’t get as much of the installer pie as they would like.
So where will the growth for the fabricators come from this year? One place fabricators should be looking, and I know plenty already are, is their existing customer base.
Helping existing customers grow
The battle to sign on new installer customers and persuade them away from their existing suppliers is going to be a tough ask this year. So a more resourceful and productive avenue for fabricators will be to focus on their core customer base and helping them sell more.
For fabricators, if their installers sell more, the more the fabricator produces and sells down the chain. Everyone is a winner. Also, most installers should already have a good working relationship with their fabricator. It should be easy for both fabricator and installer to work together on plans to boost leads, boost sales and boost profits for both.
Quite often your existing customer base is the most valuable source of new business. There are plenty of golden nugget installation companies out there where their full potential is yet to be realised. If fabricators can support them and help installers unlock the potential business in their local areas, fabricators can actually increase their market share without having to go find new installers to do it.
Finding growth in 2016 is going to be difficult. There are a number of challenges both at home and around the world that are combining to create a grinding economic landscape. Those looking for growth in 2016 need to tap into the often ignored yet sometimes under-appreciated potential of their existing client base.
