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Sam Kennedy, Managing Director of leading systems company Spectus
Window
Systems, explains why growth is at the heart of every sustainable and
successful business.
Is growth relevant when many in our industry are struggling to stay
afloat?
Is it not better, some people argue, to cut back and hunker down defensively
until the
market picks up again? In my view, growth is not just important, growth
is essential.
The moment you stop growing, you start shrinking. You start dying.
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No time for a breather
Businesses need to grow to stay still.
You must constantly create some growth to
make good the inevitable loss of customers
who grow old and die, buy less or move
away. It's like walking up the down escalator.
It's very hard to remain in the same place.
The minute you stop to take a breather you
slip back, and when you think you're
standing still you're actually sliding down.
Most companies manage to grow in a fast
growth market, but in a market that's not
growing - and the window market is not
currently growing - your competitor's growth
comes at your expense. As US marketing
gurus Al Ries and Jack Trout famously
observed, "Marketing is war". Any business
that is serious about growth must recognise
it's going to have to fight for it, and come up
with effective strategies to help it win.
This means a more active and competitive
approach in the pursuit of new business.
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~ Sam Kennedy, MD ~ |
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| More to offer, more
to say
The PVC-U market is a huge market but it's in transition. First
time casement window
replacements have mostly been done, and while second generation
replacements
are growing it's still a relatively small sector. It's also changing
from increasingly
competitive, low margin, discounted 'distress' buying where the
buyer makes most
of the running, to higher margin, higher spec 'discretionary'
selling where the seller
has more to offer and more to say. It's an exciting time with
enormous long term
potential for the industry, but transitions always tend to be
difficult and this one is no
exception. It's made more difficult by the need to change our
thinking and our approach
to match the switch from distress buying to discretionary selling.
It's not just a challenge for domestic window companies though:
it's a challenge for
the whole supply chain and the industry. If installers cannot
sell up, and sell at
prices that produce good margins, the entire supply chain feels
the pinch.
Apart from your competitors, the market and the economy, the
two biggest
influences on your company's growth are your own organisation
and your suppliers.
| Sand in the
works
The skills, focus and drive of the
management & workforce generate the
momentum for growth. Businesses are
also held back by the mistakes they make
and the friction they create, like sand in the
wheels. Too much sand and the wheels
stop turning. As businesses get larger they
get more complex. More people and a
more varied mix create complexity, and
complexity slows a business down
and can make it less productive too.
We tend to be less aware just how
important suppliers are in helping the
business to grow, or what damage they
routinely do in holding it back.
Growth is a question of timing: being in the
right place, at the right time with the right
product & knowledge, and the right level of
support to take advantage of opportunities.
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Not being able to take advantage of an opportunity in a
no-growth market pulls you
behind your competition. It's a fine balance, but the effects
of a missed opportunity
are lasting.
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| Held back
by your supplier?
Companies need to be alert to anything that might prevent or
inhibit growth.
This is particularly true when it comes to their choice of supplier.
You can only ever grow as fast and go as far as your suppliers
will allow you to.
Bad suppliers create friction that frustrates growth. This is
something we understand
and why Spectus strives to be a growth-positive supplier.
Four factors to help you grow
When the market - and growth - was easy fabricators could ignore
gaps in a systems
company's range. An attractive three-chamber casement with a single
leg bead, and
rolled-in gasket was enough to keep most going. Now you need a
product range to
exploit every opportunity.
A range for every reason
Spectus's product range is said to be the most comprehensive
and coherent for the
UK market, and I agree. With products to exploit key growth markets
such as Bi-fold
doors, a fully reversible, a vertical slider, a frame former for
new build, curtain walling,
and a modern five-chambered 63mm and 70mm systems with all the
bells & whistles,
our fabricators can win business others can't reach.
Intelligent design
But we can't stand still. An important element of any strategy
for growth has to be
continuous and intelligent product development.
On time and in full
When our logistics centre at Trentham was commissioned we went
through a long
and difficult period. State-of-the-art sometimes means you have
to work harder to
make it work. But that was over three years ago and we've streamlined
every part
of our service. Now, the figures for "on time and in full"
orders are consistently 98%
or above. It gives customers a service edge in the market that
enables them to grow.
Generating new leads and enquiries is vital. Whatever marketing
you do, you need
to keep doing to survive. But are you doing it well enough and
doing enough to grow?
Are you getting the right support from your systems company supplier?
Are you being well served? Well, are you?
Choose your systems company with care. It matters more than you
think.
Long-term, sustainable growth is the product of an active, close
and intelligent
partnership between a fabricator and system company. Are you
being well served?
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