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For most of us, this time of year can be stressful in many ways. Nick Dutton says it’s also the ideal time to look back and reflect – and then look ahead and plan for action

No one is pretending 2005 was anything but tough. Some companies experienced growth, but most saw an average drop in sales of 15%. Some were much worse off as the housing market cooled and consumers lost confidence and spent less on their homes.

A number of systems companies changed hands, merged or dropped out of the market – some quite suddenly - leaving their customers in the lurch.

The crucial question for fabricators became how safe is your systems company? It’s no good investing in the right things, and developing your product offering and your markets, if your systems supplier suddenly goes under and you have to find a new one quickly.

Red tape and regulations

There have been many changes in the industry. Indeed the market has probably changed faster in the last three to four years than at any time in the last 20 to 25 years. We’ve seen the introduction of new building regulations; an avalanche of red tape and paperwork governing health and safety and employment; the introduction of FENSA; threatened legislation on doorstep selling; slowing sales of domestic replacement casement windows; fast growth in conservatories and other changes in product mix.

Next year is likely to be as tough, if not tougher than 2005 and without innovative product development and strong marketing the difference between one brand and the next can be hard to make out.

Too long on the treadmill

While the smartest have been making the very important and not always easy transition from window companies to home improvement companies, some fabricators and installers decided to retire while they were ahead. Others simply worked harder and longer to keep the treadmill going hoping that effort and luck would see them through.

But if the market is changing and getting more difficult, you can’t expect to do as well or better than you have if you continue to do what you’ve been doing. And if you simply do what others are doing, you cannot expect to overtake them.

There is great value in studying the market; identifying where your business fits in and how it’s going to gain market share. Taking stock is a useful exercise if you’re brutally honest and you know your business inside out. You may outwardly claim to be customer focused, but do you genuinely answer every enquiry and honestly follow through on every complaint? You may believe you have a vigorous marketing strategy, but are your sales expanding?

if you simply do what others are doing, you cannot expect to overtake them

I am often asked how Synseal manages to grow fast when others are treading water. But it’s no secret. It’s just common sense and doing what we say we do.

Customer time

We are passionate about listening to customers, because if you give them the products, services and support they need to do well, then we will do well. Our sales to them will grow, and we’ll attract new business. We continually review and when necessary, improve or reinvent our products, service, systems and support. We take decisions quickly in real time that is to say in customer time, not corporate time.

In many large companies customer time gets forgotten as committee after committee has its say and passes the decision further and further up the chain of command to people who know less and less about the customers and market. Decisions we take in a day can take some firms months or years. If the market is changing fast, you must change at least as fast as the market just to stand still. Flexibility, nimbleness and closeness to the action are key considerations. Synseal Holdings were able to acquire PFL Ltd from Laird recently, and become the largest PVC-U company in the UK, partly because our decision time was faster than other bidders.

Time also played a part in the phenomenal growth of the Global conservatory roof. Designing the innovative roof so it could be made and installed faster – in about half the time of its leading rival - meant that installers could get more done and make more money. More recently, we restructured our order and delivery systems so we could offer customers a three day delivery service on the Global roof: order Monday, get it Thursday, install it Friday and get on to the next job.

Learning to conduct marketing campaigns at customer speed is also vital if you want to grow. We’ve just reached the finals of the Construction Marketing Awards for cost effective marketing.

Getting wind of a recent merger, we direct mailed the company’s customers who suddenly found themselves forced into a relationship with a supplier they may not have liked. The Monday after the merger was announced Synseal began sending a postcard a day to the target companies, offering to meet and listen. This continued for seven consecutive days and was followed by a telemarketing call. It resulted in £2.3 million worth of new business - not bad for an outlay of £430.

Move as fast as the market

A year end is a good time to reflect and make decisions. The New Year is traditionally the time to make new resolutions but this year, you need make only one: to move at least as fast as the market. To do that, listen to your customers, and give them what they need. And perhaps next Christmas you will be able to look back with satisfaction and look forward with confidence.