On the face of it, the prediction that came out of this year’s Glazing Summit of a tough next 12 months for the industry is worrying, and installers could be forgiven for fearing the worst.
Of course, we’d all like the buoyant market from the few years after the Covid-19 pandemic but there have always been peaks and troughs in demand for home improvements from consumers. The cost of living crisis is leading to low consumer confidence and with many fixed-rate mortgages converting to variable, consumers’ disposable income is likely to be squeezed even more.
And as the market has slowed, installers will have found it much tougher to get enquiries and win business through their own, self-generated, efforts. But the leads and enquiries are out there for installers, and installers who put plans in place when it comes to lead generation will continue to fill up their order books.
As the leading provider of double-qualified window, door and conservatory sales leads for companies in the home improvement industry, we are still seeing a huge number of enquiries through our comparison service and our online assets. It’s no surprise that we have strengthened our network and are helping more installers generate the leads they need to mitigate the market slowdown.
Installers can reach consumers online who they wouldn’t necessarily be able to reach with their own, branded advertising and SEO campaigns as we market ourselves as a comparison service for consumers, which is what more and more consumers want when it comes to their home improvements, particularly when times are tough. There could also be a shift to local business, so consumers will be looking for the right installer in their area.
Insight Data’s ‘State of the Industry Report’ at the Glazing Summit also revealed that the number of installation firms has steadily declined since 2017, going from 13,281 to 11,840, which is a 10% drop across that period. Less installers means less competition, so there will be chances to increase market share.
Installers will have to work harder to convert leads into business moving forward this year. But with a clear lead generation plan they can not only weather the storm but thrive. For more information about Leads2Trade, visit this link.
Andy Royle
Cofounder and director of Leads2Trade
