Andrew Scott, Founder and Managing Director, Purplex Marketing, argues that in a more transactional glazing market, customer loyalty is now won through human connection rather than price alone.
By any measure, the last decade has been a period of extraordinary change for the glass and glazing sector. During the pandemic and its immediate aftermath, demand surged and order books swelled. The pressure was no longer on winning work but on keeping up with it. Post-Covid, that boom has gone. Although we’re not in a situation we could describe as ‘bust’, the grey skies of stagnation seem constantly above us. Margins are under strain, customers are cautious and loyalty is no longer something you can take for granted.
Before Covid, most salespeople in our industry worth their salt lived on the road. They knew their customers personally, from the factory managers and buyers through to the directors. Deals were forged in offices, on site visits and over lunches, and those relationships were often the difference between a customer staying loyal or quietly drifting elsewhere when a competitor came calling.
Today those bonds have loosened. Fabricators, installers and trade counters work with several suppliers at once, constantly comparing lead times, pricing and added value. The relationship has become transactional, which is why customers will chop and change when it suits them. For suppliers, that is a precarious position to be in.
In 2026, it’s vital that glass and glazing companies to take a hard look at the way they engage with customers. If it’s all about the money you are always exposed, especially when price competition is easy to start and almost impossible to escape. The only real alternative is to position yourself as a genuine partner in their business.
Ask yourself: what do you think your customers actually think of you? What’s their experience when they pick up the phone or walk through your door? How easy you are to deal with, how swiftly are problems resolved? How often do you check in with them?
Many businesses have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to customers. This is foolish. A much better step is to rank them into tiers. Your largest and most strategic accounts should never be treated in the same way as an occasional buyer. At the top of that structure I like the idea of creating an inner circle. This is a small group of trusted customers who are invited into your world. You share your plans with them, discuss product development and talk openly about the challenges you face as a business. In return, you gain insight into their priorities and a level of loyalty that cannot be bought with discounts.
Where relationship-driven activity comes into its own is around creating the conditions for meaningful conversations. A lunch away from the factory floor, a dinner with people who share the same pressures, a race day or a golf event where the formalities fall away. Seminars, webinars and conferences that tackle the real issues customers are facing all help to deepen that connection.
Over time these interactions build trust and understanding. They allow you to see how your customers actually operate and what makes their businesses tick, and that knowledge feeds back into the way you serve them day to day.
Some suppliers worry about the cost of this approach. I’d argue that the cost of neglecting relationships is far greater. When customers view you as a premium partner, they stop chasing the lowest possible price on every order. They accept that you might not always be the cheapest, but they stay because working with you makes their life easier and their business stronger.
We already see this working across the industry. Fabricators who invest in installer training days, who open their factories to customers and invite key accounts onto advisory panels are the businesses creating genuine communities around their brands. When a competitor appears with a slightly shorter lead time, those customers are far less likely to be tempted away.
As we move through this year, the suppliers who succeed will be those who remember that behind every order is a person. People choose partners they trust, who invest in them and who make them feel valued. Get that right and you will be selected as a premium supplier regardless of where your prices sit on a spreadsheet.
In a market that has become increasingly transactional, relationships remain your most powerful advantage. So use them wisely.
Andrew Scott is Managing Director of Purplex Marketing, a full-service marketing consultancy helping fenestration, construction and home improvement businesses grow through stronger customer relationships and smarter marketing. To discover more, visit: www.purplexmarketing.com
