Selecta Systems Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, talks about the use of digital marketing and on-line platforms as a way of being customer ready; in the event of consumer demand starting to cool and when the market starts to become more ‘competitive’.
After two years of consumer demand at levels not seen for many years, we ultimately see ourselves heading in to 2022 and beyond speculating how this and next year will possibly pan out. Taking in to consideration that the last couple of years has been fraught by supply chain issues and rising costs, it has remained a challenging, yet prosperous time for many involved in our industry.
Whilst this demand has been welcomed, investment in marketing and support may have been put on the back burner. I’ve always said it’s very easy to fall into the trap that when business is good, some may think you don’t need to invest in your marketing and customer support. I believe that it is probably the perfect time to invest for the future good of the business and customers. It’s certainly far tougher and more costly to market and build your business and brand, to generate new and maintain existing business, in bad times than it is in good times. So how well prepared are we all if and when consumer demand does start to cool?
What has been made very clear is that customer service, support and care is as important as ever, irrespective of how good a products qualities are. Investment in these areas are key to not only maintaining existing business, but also attracting future business once the market becomes more competitive.
What is now apparent, is that we are now well and truly entrenched in the digital age and these last couple of years has undoubtedly transformed buying habits. Enhanced websites, interactive product designers and ordering systems, lead generation tools, customer support portals and social media presence are now more of a must, than just fancy like-to-have luxuries. Digital marketing and on-line solutions should undeniably form part of any forward-thinking businesses marketing plans. There is now a more distinct prerequisite to focus on the whole customer experience and support mechanisms, to be able to fully ‘connect’ with a customers journey.
A key digital marketing strategy and plan is currently underway to take Selecta marketing and customer support to a whole new level. Firstly, a new revamped and fresh Selecta Systems website is on its way, being responsive, informative and easy to navigate. This will be supported by a completely new homeowners website, full of consumer based information and a Find a Fabricator / Installer function, a simple and effective lead generation tool for our customers.
On average 20-25 homeowner leads per week are currently captured on our existing Selecta website, of which are passed on to customers. The new websites lead generation capture and reporting functions will provide a far more slicker and sleeker platform for consumers, whilst the planned homeowner inspired digital marketing campaigns will push further traffic to the website. There are also arrangements for further website and on-line add-ons to enhance the homeowner experience and support our customers further, with the intention of generating additional sales leads.
There are also plans in place to ‘stay connected’ with the Selecta customer base, with our on-line customer support portal, Connect, which is accessible through our website undergoing a major upgrade with a host of new features that will further support, expand and improve the customer experience. At Selecta, our focus has always been on providing a personal and extensive customer service and support package, whilst being able to go above and beyond competitors capabilities. By being independently and family owned, the Selecta structure has always allowed for greater flexibility than the majority of other systems companies. Combining this with the advancements in digital technology and on-line support, we are confident of providing the perfect mix to support and enhance the whole customer journey.
In a series of ‘behind the scenes’ features we explore the inner workings of PVCu window and door systems company, Selecta Systems. In our first feature, Extrusion Manager, Kevin Smith, provides us with an engaging insight into the extrusion process, starting with material mixing through to the extrusion process, inspection and testing.
To some it’s just a window or a door. To a few it’s just a piece of plastic. To Selecta Systems it’s a precision engineered product! A product that undergoes a cycle of meticulous processes, a sequence of inspections, a series of rigorous internal and external tests to ensure it complies with a comprehensive range of standards and regulations – this is where the window and door journey starts.
From Powder to Plastic
So, what is PVCu or uPVC as it is often referred to? PVCu is Poly Vinyl Chloride, which is a lightweight and yet robust type of plastic used in consumer goods. The “u” stands for un-plasticised, meaning that the plastic isn’t softened in the manufacturing process, thus ensuring its strength is maintained. So how do we go from a raw material powder to a fully formed and robust window or door profile?
Bulk tanker deliveries of lead-free raw materials arrive on site on a daily basis in the form of resins, stabilisers, impact modifiers etc. and are pumped into large storage silos and holding stations, where material is accurately weighed to Selectas formulation. Each raw material delivery is QC checked and tested to ensure that it is to our material specification, before acceptance.
The PVCu “ingredients” and ratios used in the extrusion of the Selecta window and door products are specific to a tried and tested Selecta formula and colour. The precise proportions of resin, stabilisers and modifiers are transferred in to what is effectively a large “mixing bowl”, a high speed mixer. The computerised system allocates the volumes and blends the various raw material ingredients to the Selecta formula. QC checks are carried out every two hours and automated monitoring ensures the consistency of the Selecta formulation. The blended mix is assigned to a silo and recorded for traceability purposes, with all the production processes controlled and managed via the ISO 9001 quality management system.
A window or door profile section tool consists of a main die and a sequence of tooling calibrators, whilst the extrusion machine is split in to sections, the die head, calibrator and cooling section, haul off, saw centre and tilt table, with each carrying out a particular process during the extrusion of profile. The start up of a new profile section run begins with the extrusion machine set to the specification of the master setting sheet for that specific profile section. Dependant on the extrusion machine there are approximately thirteen temperature zones within the head of the machine and die zone, each are set to a specific temperature to aid the gelation of the dry blend. Each profile section has specific settings for screw speeds, line speeds, pressure, vacuums etc. within the set up of a new run.
Once fine-tuned and set-up, the dry blend of PVCu material is pumped in to the head of the extrusion machine from the silo, which in turn via the heat in the machine head and die zones, softens the material in to a PVCu gel. This softened PVCu gel is then forced through the tooling die to form the profile shape. The warm and soft PVCu profile section then goes through a series of calibration dies to maintain the profile shape, whilst chilled water is sprayed over the profile during the cooling process.
An underground water chamber holding thousands of gallons of water, pumps water to the extrusion machines via large chillers, which ensures that the water is preserved to a set temperature. The water is regularly checked for bacterial growth and an automated system douses chemicals in to the water chamber to maintain a safe closed loop water system.
Once cooled inside the seven-metre-long calibrator and cooling chambers, the profile sections rubber gasket is co-extruded in to the gasket channel and the profile section is printed upon, every one metre, with the company name, reference to standard EN 12608-1, our climatic zone classification, our resistance to impact by falling mass classification, wall thickness classification, product code, date and shift identification. This aids traceability of the profile section throughout it’s journey.
The next stage is the haul off, which is reminiscent of two large tank tracks, that pulls the profile along the extrusion machine before the protective tape is applied and the computerised saw cuts the section at six metres before hitting the tilt table for packing.
During the profile sections journey along the thirty-metre-long extrusion machine, on-line dimensional, operational and visual QC checks are carried out and recorded every couple of lengths. QC lab checks are carried out every two hours of extrusion, with full dimensional, colour and operational checks with associated profiles, reinforcements, accessories and ancillaries.
Upon the start-up and then every two days of a profile sections production run, physical property tests are carried out within the QC lab. This consists of a series of tests that simulate adverse climatic effects to ensure that the profile section continues to perform to a high standard when subject to these extremities.
To simulate extreme cold conditions, cold impact testing consists of ten profile section samples cut to 300mm and conditioned to -10ᵒc for a minimum of 1hr. Selecta, condition sections above the requirements with the freezer set to -13ᵒc and for a minimum of 2 hrs. Each one of the ten samples is taken out the freezer, once conditioned, and placed in a jig where a 1kg weight is dropped on the profile section from 1.5m in height. If the sample breaks, it fails and if the weight ‘bounces’ off, it passes. This is done for the ten samples and recorded. The test simulates a cold winters night / day and the consequence of an object making contact with the profile section.
Two further QC lab tests are carried out, one for determination of appearance (heat ageing) after exposure at 150ᵒc and determination of heat reversion. The latter determines the deterioration of a profile section after three 250mm section samples are placed in a conditioned oven at 100ᵒc for a minimum of one hour. The reversion, or deterioration, is measured as a percentage change of the final length relative to the initial length.
If a failure is identified, stock is quarantined and an investigation is carried out in to the root cause of the failure, corrective and preventive actions applied to ensure the issue doesn’t happen again. Passed profile is packed within stillages and transferred to the storage warehouse, ready for order picking.
All of the extrusion processes and QC testing is carried out in accordance with our product Kitemark licence, standard BS EN 12608-1:2016 and our ISO 9001 Quality Management System requirements. Company processes, procedures and testing are externally audited by British Standards Institute (BSi) every 6 months, with further audit test sampling carried out at BSi UKAS accredited labs based on the same criteria. There’s so much more to the whole extrusion process, going from that initial powdered raw material to PVCu window or door profile section. This behind-the-scenes feature will give those of you who are unfamiliar with the process, a quick overview and insight in to the methods and practices involved. It’s not just a window or door or a piece of plastic to Selecta. It is that precision engineered product that we envisaged from the start.
The Selecta success story continues to go from strength-to-strength with record numbers across all areas of the business. Sales Director, Andy Green, talks about the ‘winning formula’ at Selecta and the huge opportunities of being part of the UK’s only independent, family owned and award winning PVCu systems company.
As newly crowned winners of PVC Company 2021 at the National Fenestration Awards, we are extremely proud to be recognised by our industry peers for our achievements, especially after what has been a demanding 18 months for everyone in the industry. It’s our third win at the much-coveted awards ceremony, after picking up Systems Company in 2017 and PVC Company in 2018.
This is even more gratifying when you consider it was a year fraught by supply chain issues and rising costs with 2021 certainly being a challenging, yet prosperous year for many involved in our industry. With consumer demand at levels not seen for many years, it has pushed many of a business to their limits and beyond.
Indeed, Selecta have been caught up in the torment of supply chain issues. However, I believe we have come out of this far more quickly and respectfully than the majority in the industry, in-turn making us stronger, more focused and determined to continue to provide not just a quality range of products, but also a first-class service and personal support package to our customers.
Quality, reliability and trustworthiness have and continue to be of paramount importance to ourselves, just as they are to our customers, when we talk about the products, services and support of which we provide. It’s definitely a winning formula and one we have honed and personally developed with our customers over a number of years. It is often said we go above and beyond on what other systems companies do, but it is what we do and again that is down to the flexibility, knowledge and longstanding experience within the business.
During our record-breaking year, we have grasped the opportunity with both hands to bring forward our expansion and growth plans with new silo’s, extrusion machines, lamination machine and delivery vehicles, coupled with a staff recruitment drive. These investments demonstrate our ongoing commitment to our customers and employees, or Selecta family as they are fondly referred to. These kind of expansion and growth plans are a big statement to the industry as a whole and clearly shows our intent to support and grow with our customers.
From a marketing support perspective, 2021 saw Selecta broaden our focus on furthering our personal customer and marketing support package. Our flexible and engaging approach to providing a personalised marketing support package has been greeted with great positivity, with more customers than ever taking advantage of our free graphic design service for re-branding, logos, flyers and vehicle graphics.
To support this even further, we have some very exciting plans well underway to stay ‘connected’ with our customers in 2022 and we are confident of taking our service and support package to a completely new level. For us, winning PVC Company 2021 at the National Fenestration Awards has certainly put the icing on the cake, as we look back on a record year at Selecta. We’re certainly looking forward to a positive 2022, where we will be celebrating 40 years of helping fabricators build and grow their businesses!
It seems that many companies are adopting ‘new’ strap lines and hashtags around new-found sets of values and a fresh company ethos in light of the current pandemic and industry plight. Selecta Systems Sales Director, Andy Green, talks about the strong and longstanding values and ethos of the family-owned business, that has become characteristic of Selecta and have really shone during recent events whilst also standing the test of time.
Over the last 12 months or so we have seen the way we live change considerably, with almost every person having to adjust and become accustomed to the new living conditions. The same can also be said of how many have had to do business and communicate. It does, however, seem that it has taken a pandemic and an industry boom, during which the industry has suffered material and product shortages, for a number of companies to react and actually realise that customer care, complete customer support and the whole customer experience are just as important as the product and services of which they provide.
When we opened up and shared our #bepartofthefamily company ethos at the beginning of 2016 it was both bold and unique as a systems company, especially as we were within an industry where large investors and investment groups had taken control of system houses. We were and continue to be the only UK based, independently and family owned PVCu profile systems company, something we are extremely proud of, especially when you consider how many systems companies have fallen by the wayside over the last twenty years.
This valuable and focused message has allowed us to lift the lid on the Selecta ethos and company values, connecting with the industry as the friendly, approachable and caring company who are more flexible and accommodating than the competition. The clear message being that customers become ‘part of the family’ and not just another number on the books. This whole family ethos is ingrained within the business, with longstanding, knowledgeable and experienced staff looking after those that choose to be part of the journey and more importantly the family.
Providing a personal and unrivalled customer care and support package has always been an integral part of Selecta’s culture with the approachable and flexible nature of the business being fundamental in our recent success, especially over the last 12 months or so. Sales records have continued to be broken, with March recording our strongest sales ever and new customer numbers exceeding all expectations.
It is often said we go above and beyond on what other systems companies do, but it is what we do and again that is down to the flexibility, knowledge and vast experience within the business. You deal with the ‘doers’ on a daily basis and decisions can be made quickly without a large board of directors and shareholders breathing down your neck. All-in-all, what I am trying to say is that Selecta have always been customer care driven, approachable and supportive to our customer base, one big family and the recent events haven’t changed that stance. With some now adding the ‘family’ hashtag into their communications, we haven’t had to change our family ethos and values during these challenging times for all. It is like we got it right, right from the start. In fact, here we are some five and a half years on from sharing our #bepartofthefamily ethos and values with the industry and it is a message that now seems even more stronger and pertinent than ever before.
The developments in door design, over the last few years, have truly whet the appetite of the homeowner as they seek to improve the versatility and kerb appeal of their home. Selecta Systems Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, describes how the advancement in doors has led to them becoming more of a lifestyle choice and design statement.
What we should remember, first and foremost, is that an entrance door to any home has to serve three main purposes; to act as a welcome to the homeowner, family and friends, to keep unwanted visitors out and also to protect the property from inclement weather. However, homeowners are now looking for more from their doors, with greater expectations on styles and colours, as they look to not only enhance kerb appeal, improve the space and light in their home, but they also need to fit in with the homeowners lifestyle.
The events of the last 18 months or so has certainly demonstrated this, as the home and garden improvement boom gripped the nation. With restrictions on movement and more time spent within the home, people have been paying more attention to their property, spending more time in their gardens and it has generally changed the way they live. There is certainly more of an appreciation of the home and garden as homeowners look to add that ‘wow’ factor to their home or garden improvement project.
One of the greatest appeals of modern doors, on top of improved security and thermal performance, is colour choice. This has now given homeowners the opportunity to create a bespoke entrance to their home or garden that sits comfortably into the style, period and location of their property. So, whether it’s a classic Chartwell Green, Cream or wood grained effect or a modern Anthracite Grey, Black or smooth effect, there’s a comprehensive colour palette now available to blend into their home and make a style or design statement.
Homeowners have also a newfound desire to create a glass wall and panoramic view they are proud of and comfortable to live with – almost becoming a lifestyle choice. The opportunity to open up their living space and create large glazed walls is appealing, particularly when extending properties or when looking to open up the home to the outdoors.
The popularity of garden rooms, garden offices, summer houses and the proverbial man-cave have increased during these times as homeowners make use of their garden space, whether for work, relaxation or entertaining purposes. The style, colour and design of doors chosen during these projects vary in how the space is used and depending on its purpose and style. Speaking from a personal level, I’ve also caught the home and garden improvement bug! I’ve added my own man-cave / pub shed to my garden, where I installed our Advance 70 Anthracite Grey French doors to my build, providing me with a secure, thermally efficient and elegant entrance to my project.
So, whether it’s standard single leaf and French doors, sliding panoramic patio, bi-fold or Selecta’s EASi-FOLD doors, it now means that the type of door you choose can now be an integral part of your everyday life, be a design statement and add that elusive ‘wow’ factor to your home or garden build. With all these latest developments in doors, they are no longer seen as just an entrance to your property or build. They’ve become more than just a door. A chic choice to fit in with your newfound lifestyle, a security option to protect their family and home and an astute decision to improve energy performance and reduce energy bills. Modern doors are now a product that the fashion and technical conscious consumer is ready to invest in, open up their living space and create that grand entrance to their home or garden build.
Selecta Systems Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, talks about how on-line interaction, sales and social media engagement have soared in recent months and the necessity to adapt marketing and communication strategies and plans to suit the current climate.
Over the last 12 months or so we have seen the way we live change considerably with almost every person having to adjust and become accustomed to the new living conditions. The same can also be said of how we have all had to do business and communicate. Those that have and do adapt are the ones who seem to have had the best chance of retaining and picking up new business in the future. Movement restrictions have seen a boom in on-line interaction, video and social media engagement and so, can any business afford not to have these form part of their current marketing strategy and plans?
With our industry experiencing a boom, some may proclaim to be ‘too busy’ to market their business, communicate and build their online and social media presence, but surely now is the ideal time to market yourselves and not sit back. Why not demonstrate your success via social media and grow your future potential audience and customer base? And improve your communication and support channels with your existing customer base? It’s certainly far tougher and more costly to market your business and brand, to generate new and maintain existing business, in bad times than it is in good times. Building your reputation and putting in solid foundations during those good times will prove vital when and if bad times hit.
For me, it’s very easy to fall into the trap, when business is good, to think you don’t need to invest in marketing, when in fact it’s the ideal time to invest for the future good of the business. Think of all those businesses over the last 12 months that have been extremely successful throughout the pandemic. Have the likes of Amazon and your large supermarket chains reduced their marketing presence and yet they have been seen as essential and used by millions on a daily basis. They’ve continued to communicate and have a marketing presence to their customer base.
At Selecta, we have worked tirelessly behind the scenes and adapted our sales, marketing and communication strategies and plans, to both existing and potential customers. Regular communication updates have been sent to existing customers regarding coronavirus restrictions, business updates and industry news to ensure that every customer is fully up to date with the latest information. These have been communicated through email, post and Connect, our on-line support centre, which has been an invaluable source of information. Social media platforms and our website have continued to be important routes of communicating with everyone outside of the business.
With our Business Development Managers and Technical Engineers working remotely for the majority of the last 12 months, extended support has come from the internal team to offer alternative support and service solutions. For me, nothing beats traditional face-to-face interaction, but the extended use of phone, video and email communication with existing and potential customers, have been the perfect solution to combat the enforced restrictions of which we have all faced. Taking advantage of the technology that we have at our fingertips has been essential and smartphones have been an invaluable piece of armoury during these times.
Continued support has been offered through our marketing team, to assist our customer base, with social media and website support, branding and promotions with our free to use graphic design service proving very popular. We have also introduced a brand-new Marketing Support brochure for our customers, which includes a guide on promoting your business on social media and a series of do’s and don’ts for social media management and how Selecta can assist those who are unsure where to start.
The new Marketing Support brochure also provides customers with a comprehensive insight into our range of marketing support materials and services, from brochures and point of sale materials to our free to use graphic design service.
Increased market presence and communication have certainly been very important to both ourselves and our customers in this period of crisis, albeit abnormally a successful crisis. Our marketing and communication strategies, over the last 12 months, have certainly seen ourselves evolve and grow stronger as a business, continue that close bond with our customer base, whilst still being able to remain true to our roots. We continue to pride ourselves on being able to provide a personal and unrivalled service and support package, for whoever chooses to #bepartofthefamily, through both the good and bad times.
The number of PVCu window and door fabricators operating within the UK has seen a steady decline over the last few years and with it the emergence of the ‘super’ fabricator. Nevertheless, the number of window and door installation businesses has increased, with a surge in small installation businesses. However, Selecta Systems Sales Director, Andy Green, has seen a change in this pattern emerge over the last couple of years or so, as he explains.
We’ve all had to adapt in some way within our personal and business lives over the last 12 months, as we were all confronted with the damaging and heart-breaking effects of a global pandemic. From our industry point of view, we have prospered heavily with a newfound boom in the home improvement market. This in turn has generated its own issues, with our industries supply chain coming under severe pressure, owing to the increase in demand and the knock-on effects of the pandemic and Brexit.
Although recent times have been good, from a business perspective, there have been some high-profile casualties within our industry over the course of the last 12 months. There have been large trade fabricators and profile systems suppliers whose business models were insufficient to see them through these times. Casualties like these have increased the pressure on the supply chain as the home improvement boom continues.
What is interesting is that Selecta have seen an increase in both installers and new businesses moving into fabrication, with the clear reasoning from installers being, to ‘take back control’ of their business, whilst others have seen it as an opportunity to benefit from the increased interest in consumer demand.
The rationale behind this ‘taking back control’ spate has been clear and concise. Installers have recognised that ‘buying in’ manufactured products removes control over the fabrication, quality and service provided by the trade supplier and any vendor failings can significantly affect their installation businesses reputation. Being almost at the end of the supply chain has had its issues and so taking out the ‘middleman’ has been seen as a positive step forward for some.
We appreciate that in these times there has been increased pressures on delivery timescales, but these time and resource pressures can also extend to poorly and incorrectly fabricated products causing installation headaches of which they have no control over. These have damaging knock on effects to their installation business, not only their reputation, but also on the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations.
There’s nothing worse for installers than booking in a job, their customer having time off work and then having issues where the product hasn’t arrived or damaged during transit or when there are mechanical and fabrication problems, when fitting on site. There are certainly issues that may not be able to be resolved by the installation company, whereas it is seen that if they were fabricating, they have the opportunity to apply their own corrective actions. More importantly they see having greater control over what goes out the door and when as a key factor in moving in to fabrication. As for manufacturing and delivery timescales, the philosophy seems to be why wait when you can fabricate?
I’m not saying this is the case everywhere for trade fabrication companies, as there are a lot of quality fabricators businesses providing a first-class service, but we have certainly seen an increase in installers wanting to be in control of their own destiny. We have also seen an increase in other construction-based businesses looking at diversifying their businesses and start fabricating. Selecta have a strong and successful history of setting up fabricators and fabrication facilities from scratch and assisting in all aspects of the process from layout and floor plan design to full blown training, with your own personal technician making the transition as smooth as possible.
Window and Door Fabricators
Whether you’re a fabricator or installer, our aim at Selecta is always to provide a service and support package that suits everyone, from sales to delivery, technical to marketing. We have an extensive range of retail and trade-based marketing brochures, literature and sales videos, whilst providing a free to use graphic design service for all your branding and marketing material requirements.
There is further back up from our four strong team of technical engineers, whom have a wealth of industry fabrication and installation experience and provide a personal and first-rate technical support service for you and your business.
With the Advance 70 System now firmly recognised as one of the leading and most versatile window and door profile systems, whether you are fabricating, installing or both, you can be sure of a quality and comprehensive range of window and door solutions at your disposal. It is vitally important whether you’re a fabricator, installer or both that you have, not only the right window and door profile system, but also the right supplier that can service and support you and your business during the good and bad times. This I believe is essential in building a successful business partnership. That’s why fabricators are choosing our Advance 70 System and Selecta, as they become #partofthefamily
Selecta Systems Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, talks about how on-line sales and social media engagement have soared in recent months and it’s become more apparent that having a marketing plan for on-line presence should form a vital part of every businesses marketing strategy – especially social media.
Recent events have seen the way we live change considerably with almost every person having to adjust and adapt to the new living conditions. The same can also be said of how we have all had to do business. Those that have and do adapt will be the ones who will have the best chance of retaining and picking up new business. Movement restrictions have seen a boom in on-line sales and social media engagement and so, can any business afford not to have these form part of their current marketing strategy and plans?
Let’s start with one simple fact: your business needs a social media presence! A bold statement I agree, but social media is a very cost-effective form of advertisement that allows you to directly engage with customers, promote your brand and demonstrate your excellence and expertise within your field. It doesn’t matter if you run a small local fabricator / installation business or a big national company, social media should be an essential piece of your business marketing strategy.
Social media platforms help you connect with your customers, increase awareness about your brand and boost your sales leads and sales. With more than three billion people around the world now using social media, it’s no passing trend with Facebook, YouTube and Instagram leading the way for users.
What you might not know is that you’re ready to get your company’s social media off the ground right now. You don’t need to know every intimidating buzzword or have the magic number of followers. In fact, you can get started immediately and even enjoy yourself in the process! If people don’t know about your business, they can’t become your customers. Social media boosts your visibility among potential customers, letting you reach a wide audience and it’s free to create a business profile on all major social media platforms.
With customers becoming increasingly savvier and more discerning about businesses they support, customers are now more likely to do a quick search to browse your website and social media platforms before making a decision. It’s at this point where your have that opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, skills, services and brand to the shrewd customer.
There are a host of social media platforms out there and each one has its own unique way of engagement. Showing your latest projects and transformations, quirky videos of products or simple hints and tips, demonstrate knowledge, skills and services and encourage engagement through your posts. You can get a lot of value for your money with social media as most are free. You can pay for demographic and geographic advertising to target a particular audience, but there are plenty of opportunities for you to grow your social media presence organically by posting engaging content and offering incentives to share, like or follow.
I recently had a conversation with one of our local customers and they were saying that their engagement on their Facebook page had increased by over 1000% over the last couple of months and that a host of leads and eventual sales were coming in on the back of just a few simple posts demonstrating ‘before and after’ shots of recently completed installations. This was a customer who had previously not really engaged with or used social media as a form of advertising prior to the lockdown, but with the restrictions in place they utilised the platform as a way of increasing awareness of their products, services and skills and more importantly that they were operating in some capacity.
Since I had that initial conversation it has been a similar story with many customers and so, on the back of this, I started on creating and introducing a brand new 16 page Marketing Support brochure, which incidentally has 4 pages dedicated to having a social media presence. Enclosed is a guide on promoting your business on social media and a series of do’s and don’ts for social media management and how Selecta can assist those who are unsure where to start.
The new Marketing Support brochure also provides you with a comprehensive insight into our range of marketing support materials and services, from brochures and point of sale materials to our free to use graphic design service. We pride ourselves on providing a personal and unrivalled service and support package and the brochure endorses this.
As for social media, it’s a great source of marketing and customer engagement if done right. It’s a chance to show your personality too, so don’t be afraid to add humour, but make sure it’s in good taste. Social media can be your company voice, just as your website is your shop window. Let people hear and see what you can do. Show off your products, services and skills. Develop your reputation as a responsive, caring brand by offering support through social channels. Reach out to your customers. There are plenty of customers out there waiting to hear from you.
There have been many positive and negative, happy and sad articles and reports over the last 6 months or so as the whole world got to grips with the devastating effects of a global pandemic. Selecta Systems Sales Director, Andy Green, speaks about how Selecta have coped during this time as they become one of the industries success stories of this extraordinary year as they see exceptional demand for products soar to record levels.
What a strange year 2020 has been! We started the year with optimism and confidence on the back of an excellent 2019, where 46 new fabricators were converted to or started fabricating our Advance 70 System. In January we saw a 25% increase on 2019 figures, with February and March producing similar increases in sales on the previous year. We were then to shut down for a total of 6 weeks, as the majority of our industry did too, at the end of March before a phased return to work began on the 11th May.
I duly believe that there’s not a single person in our industry who could have predicted, planned for or been able to forecast events prior to or post lockdown. Demand from an increased number of at home on-line shoppers certainly caught everyone within our industry by surprise as the home improvement market boomed. With orders stacking up, Selecta returned to work with demand for our products at a level never seen before. Within a couple of weeks everyone was safely inducted back to work from furlough and working at full speed.
Whilst handling that initial demand was logistically tough, as it pushed production, supply and transport to its limits, it did however allow ourselves to bring forward and fast-track our planned programme for growth. Plans were already in place for expansion and investment with another 27 small, medium and large fabricators already converting to our Advance 70 System so far during 2020.
The sales surge from existing customers and the recent influx of new customers joining Selecta, saw sales increase by almost 50% in June, 42% in July and 36% in August, compared with the same periods for 2019. At the time of writing, September is showing no sign of slowing down either! We are currently forecasting a sales increase of between 40 and 45% for September compared with 2019 figures. To keep up with this demand and increase our capacity further, we have added extra shifts to our warehouse, distribution and profile foiling departments. Coloured profiles are now contributing to approximately 50% of all profile sales and continue to grow. We have also increased the delivery capabilities and capacity of our fleet of HGV delivery vehicles to ensure that transportation of our goods remains efficient and effective. A recruitment drive has also seen our staffing levels increase by 9.5%, with further plans to increase resources within other areas of the business over the coming few months.
Lead times across the industry supply chain have primarily been affected by the home improvement boom, where there has been a lot of talk regarding this circulating within the industry press. Selecta have experienced similar issues to many others across the window and door supply chain. In fact, we’ve just been informed that raw material supplies and coloured profile foil may be affected by the recent high demand, with no ‘extra’ deliveries outside of any arranged purchases and possible outages of Anthracite Grey foil stock widely predicted. These are issues that are going to affect the whole supply chain as the suppliers of these materials are commonly used by the majority of the industry supply chain. Being up front and honest in explaining these potential issues is of major importance at the moment, to help each other plan and move forward together.
We have continued to be transparent and up-front with our customer base with longer lead times for certain products than previous, hence the growth plan investments being brought forward backed up by the tremendous hard work and dedication of the Selecta team. However, there are times where the best laid out plans cannot alleviate conditions outside of our own control.
Personally, I would like to thank all our customers for their patience, understanding and co-operation during these times of exponential growth. Their response to the current situation has been endearing and they have shown a tremendous amount of compassion and support. Similar thanks go to our team here at Selecta, with many going above and beyond to ensure that we continue to build and maintain excellent relationships with new and existing customers. We are in a very fortunate position to be experiencing the higher volumes than expected, but that also has a lot to do with the quality of our products and the conscientious, meticulous and hardworking nature of the team here at Selecta. We were experiencing excellent growth prior to the lockdown and the home improvement boom and so to hit the levels we are currently at is exceptionally pleasing, at a time, where we hear so much negativity from the mainstream media.
Moving forward we have further exciting expansion and growth plans afoot to build upon and extend our production and storage capacity and capabilities. I’m sure we are not the only one who’s, as the saying goes, ‘making hay whilst the sun shines’, but we all still need to be cautious as we move in to 2021. I’m confident that whatever 2021 throws at our industry, that Selecta have a business model and structure that provides long-term stability and continuity, mostly owing to independent ownership and a business model that ensures that. We are looking beyond what is looking like being an exceptional and unpredicted 2020, whilst prudently having one eye on how the industry will develop.
As we all begin to get back to work, in what has been frequently described as unprecedented circumstances and exceptional times, Selecta Systems Sales Director, Andy Green, talks directly and openly on how Selecta have dealt with the whole situation, getting back to work and his thoughts on opportunities moving forward.
Selecta began the year with enthusiasm and excitement, having converted 46 fabricators of all sizes in 2019 and a further 12 switching to the Advance 70 System in the first three months of this year. January saw Selecta 25% up on the previous year, with February returning similar figures and March looking resoundingly impressive too. We were certainly looking forward with great optimism and there was a buoyant and confident mood amongst the team as we looked to improve on what was an already excellent 2019.
In February, I was in Tenerife as the Coronavirus outbreak hit a hotel not too far away from where I was staying, and I saw the panic and hysteria first-hand during the return flight back to the UK. No one could truly envisage the devastation and true effect of Coronavirus as it started to spread across the world. Selecta had already commenced introducing a series of workplace precautions and initiatives to protect staff and customers, prior to the government’s announcement at the end of March to officially go into lockdown.
As of 26th March there was an eerie silence at our Birmingham extrusion and distribution centre as extrusion machines were turned off, our fleet of lorries parked up and staff sent home as we closed all operations for what was to be an initial 3 weeks. It was at this point that a lot of people heard the word furlough for the first time, and it gave businesses an opportunity to temporarily shut down and secure their immediate future and the employment of staff. Our whole industry seemed to come together, temporarily closing down and coming to a standstill in just a matter of days.
In turned out that we were to shutdown for a total of 6 weeks before the government announced a new set of guidelines to encourage businesses within our industry to open safely. We re-opened our doors on Monday 11th May, initially with skeleton staff, as we prepared to introduce a series of workplace precautions and hygiene controls to allow further staff to return with a phased programme to full capacity. Upon our return, the response from customers has been immense as we began with a record volume of orders as the team worked tirelessly together to meet customers’ demands. I would like to personally thank every customer for their co-operation, understanding and patience during what has been a difficult time for everyone.
Our business structure has certainly allowed ourselves to be far more flexible and accommodating, being able to go above and beyond where required and provide service and support which may not have been achievable by other window and door profile system suppliers. This, I believe, is what always sets us apart from the competition and forms a huge part of the business ethos.
Since re-opening we have had a phenomenal response from a host of fabricators wishing to switch their profile system to our Advance 70 Window and Door System, with no less than a dozen fabricators currently in the process of being or been converted. It certainly bodes well for the immediate future and continues to demonstrate the strong appeal of working with an experienced and renowned UK based and family owned systems company.
What we have witnessed during the lockdown is a home and garden improvement boom, with families keeping busy upgrading and improving their properties. You have only got to see the huge queues at your local DIY stores and refuse centres, combined with the difficulty of getting materials delivered, to comprehend the surge in home and garden improvements. If you’ve tried to get hold of some grey fence paint or some plaster, then you’ll know where I’m coming from!
With the upsurge in garden improvements, I’ve observed an increase in garden room, summer house and ‘man cave’ builds during the lockdown, with some waiting lists as long as 2-3 months. Also, with working from home increasing and the possibility of this becoming the norm for some, converting garden rooms in to offices can and has provided escapism and solitude for folk wishing to ‘get away’ from some of the trials and tribulations of working in their everyday family home!
We have fabricators whom supply this market and they have been inundated with work during this period. This can and has also presented new fabrication, supply, build and installation opportunities and an option for businesses to expand and diversify, with PVCu windows and doors being used more frequently within these builds. Our Vantage Holiday Home System and Advance 70 System are capable of being installed into these structures with the ability of installing into wall thicknesses between 38mm – 100mm. There are an array of PVCu window and door options available that provide consumers with the reassurance of added security and warmth to their garden builds as they take enormous pride and enjoyment from their projects.
With holidays being cancelled, coupled with the closure of a large amount of retail stores and hospitality venues, this seems to have freed up those extra funds that consumers are using to finance their home and garden improvements. There are and will continue to be opportunities out there if we actively seek them. It’s certainly not a time for burying our heads in the sand. We are currently in unknown territory.
The global pandemic and resulting country lock down is something that a majority of us have never experienced in our lifetime and for some there will be challenges ahead. We all need to build partnerships around us to tackle these potential challenges and be proactive and practical in our approach. There have already been casualties arising within our industry with rumours of more on the horizon. That’s why during these times of uncertainty you need trustworthiness, dependability and assurance from your window and door system and systems supplier. One that can provide long-term security, by helping you and your business and offering a complete, flexible and personal service and support package. We’re here and ready when you are.