If the UK is to achieve the 2050 net zero emissions target set by the government, millions of homeowners will need to make their homes more energy efficient and sustainable.
And that means more customers investing in improving their home’s energy rating and looking for installers they can trust. For window installation businesses in particular, this could be a prime sales period as consumers invest in insulation options to try to lower their energy bills.
No matter what trade you specialise in, increasing customer conversions on a weekly or monthly basis is essential for consistent business growth.
However, not all conversions and leads are created equally, which makes finding a way to increase the number of high-quality leads for your window-fitting business essential. Fortunately, with the right know-how, this is very easy to do.
Keep reading to learn more about window leads generation, including how to grow your business’s online presence, and why joining our Which? Trusted Traders scheme could be just the customer boost your business is looking for.
Besides ensuring that your business is growing and has a continual pipeline of future work, increasing your business’s window and double-glazing lead generation comes with two important benefits – it will promote your business to a wider audience and show potential customers that you are a qualified and respected company.
Essentially, and as you’ll see below, increasing customer conversion rates actually focuses primarily on improving aspects of your business’s marketing and presentation, all of which help you look more professional while also putting you in front of more customers and above your local competitors.
Before getting stuck into our tips for improving your window and double-glazing leads and conversions, we wanted to start by briefly covering what not to do when it comes to lead generation – specifically when it comes to buying leads.
As a general rule of thumb, we would not recommend buying leads, no matter the source. Not only will this cost you money, but these leads will likely be of poor quality and not result in a good return on your investment.
No one method guarantees increased lead generation. However, by improving the quality of your business services, presentation, and reputation, you can significantly increase the likelihood of generating higher levels of customer conversion in the future.
Take a look at our top tips below for where to get started:
First things first, if you haven’t already, it’s absolutely essential that you put the time in to create a professional website for your window-fitting business. Not only will this give you a presence online, but it also provides your customers with an obvious and clear destination to go to should they want to get in touch with you.
A professional website doesn’t have to be complicated. All you need is a clear home page that clearly shows your contact details, plus an easily fillable form that customers can use to make inquiries. Also include various pages highlighting the different services you offer.
Ensure website navigation is simple and straightforward to avoid confusion – the fewer clicks your customers need to make for an inquiry, the better.
Naturally, if you’ve never had to make a website before, this can all sound a little intimidating. Fortunately, there are plenty of website-building tools out there designed for beginners to use, and you can always pay someone to make a bespoke website for your business if you want.
Once you have a website, the next step is to optimise your various website landing pages to target customer searches in your local area. Again, this is much easier to do than it sounds, and simply involves incorporating keywords and phrases into your landing page copy that potential customers in your local area are searching for.
For example, if you work in the Leeds area, using words and phrases such as ‘Leeds window-fitting business’ or ‘double-glazing in Leeds’ in your copy will help you appear higher in the search results for customers not coming directly to your business.
Like website creation, this can appear a little intimidating at first, but there are many businesses out there that can do this keyword research and copy optimisation for you if you don’t have the time.
Moving on to a much simpler yet equally important tip, if you’re not already on the GMB listings (Google My Business), then you should absolutely set the time aside to get signed up.
Essentially, a GMB listing is the box that appears on the right-hand side of the results page when you make a search. So, by signing up and filling in the details (your business address, contact information, photos, etc.), your business will appear here when customers make local searches in your area.
Signing up for GMB is free and will also set your business up on Google Maps, allowing local customers to find you more easily if you have a physical location, while simultaneously proving to them that your business does in fact exist.
Whether you like it or not, social media has become a key marketing and lead-generation tool in the modern day, especially for trade businesses. Potential customers like to see evidence of the work you’ve done, and reviews left by your previous customers, both of which social media allow you to display.
From Instagram to Facebook, setting up a social media page for your business and posting regular window-fitting and glazing content and reviews on it will go a long way towards promoting yourself to local customers through word-of-mouth marketing, while also enhancing your business’s reputation further.
Speaking of reviews, similar to social media, collecting and displaying reviews from your customers is an excellent way of proving to other potential customers that you’re a reputable business that can deliver on its promises.
These reviews can be displayed as a banner on your website, on a separate page, or on your social media account – anywhere where customers looking at your business can easily find them.
While not an essential lead generation tool, especially if you’re a smaller window-fitting business, dabbling in PPC advertising could be useful if you want to expand your service area.
In simple terms, PPC adverts are sponsored ads you see at the top of the Google search before the actual results appear, putting you directly in front of customers before they start scrolling and promoting your business above your competitors.
PPC can be a rather complex topic, so it’s always a good idea to speak to a local PPC expert in your area if you feel you don’t have the time to learn how to do this sort of marketing correctly.
Last, but not least, an excellent way to promote your business online and generate more leads is to create useful online content, such as videos and blogs. For example, as a window-fitting business, you could share tips on how to prevent drafts in the home or the difference behind certain glazing options.
Much like your landing pages, you can also optimise these with keywords to specifically target searches related to these blogs, both on a local and wider level, giving your business a greater reach and drawing in more customers.
Although no longer as impactful as using online marketing to boost customer conversion rates, you can still generate a sizable number of window and double-glazing leads through traditional marketing methods:
As true now as it’s always been, investing in a professional-looking brand is crucial for improving how potential customers perceive your business. Simply put, the more experienced and qualified your business looks, the more likely a potential customer is to reach out to you.
And much like a professional website, professional branding doesn’t need to be complex to be effective. A high-quality logo, good online branding, and possibly a branded van and uniform are all you need to show your customers that you’re serious about your work.
Despite being older methods of marketing, there’s a reason why email and certain physical marketing methods have remained a consistent part of many business marketing strategies – because they still work.
From newspaper ads and leaflets to emails targeted to local customer groups, a small investment in these areas will usually see some form of worthwhile return, allowing you to target those customers who aren’t necessarily looking online for a window-fitting business.
As we’ve already mentioned, word-of-mouth marketing is still a potent force for lead generation, and one of the best ways to take advantage of this is by networking with other local and similar trade businesses that aren’t your direct competitors.
For example, if your window-fitting business specialises in windows alone, then partnering with a local door-fitting company can be a great way to promote lead generation for both businesses, allowing you or your partner to refer potential customers to each other directly.
While not for every business, there are plenty of benefits that come with joining an online directory. For example, if you join the Which? Trusted Trader community, you will you get your very own business page to display your work and reviews, and we’ll put you in touch with your own account manager to help you set things up. We take the bold stance that we won't guarantee leads, but we will help you convert the leads you drive via other channels, and help you align your business to the Which? brand consumers know and trust.
Which? Trusted Traders can also make use of our dedicated Dispute Resolution Service should they have a disagreement with a customer, alongside our wellness and legal helpline for extra assistance in handling the non-work side of your business.
Simply put, customers like to work with businesses that have a clearly established reputation for reliability and excellent customer service – which is exactly what you’ll be displaying to them by becoming a Which? Trusted Trader.
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