Entrance doors remain a big seller, but the market is crowded so how do you make sure that you and not your competitors close out on the deal?
“The challenge is in differentiation”, says Richard Hammond, Sales Director, Universal Trade Frames. “There’s market demand but persuading homeowners to select your product over that of a competitor without sacrificing margin in a if not quite saturated, highly competitive sector, is increasingly difficult.
“That’s what our offer does. It delivers that differentiation, and while including the complete Solidor range, has our own spin on it, which gives our customer a distinct set of USPs.”
“It’s been a very important product for us”, continues Richard, “And consistent with our strategy to focus on products which maximise opportunities for sales and margin for our customers.
“USPs, for most composite doors are comparatively thin on the ground - each system delivers high levels of performance - its fabrication where USPs are added to door sets in the hardware and glazing options that are applied to slabs and prepped leafs.”
Differentiation is clearly the critical factor in retail, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Universal Trade Frames. Having first started manufacture of Solidor composite doors way back in the 1990’s , its offer has been carefully refined.
“We want to give our customers something different but also bring more flexibility to our service offer to give them the confidence that they can accommodate any job”, Richard continues.
This means that Universal Trade Frames offers the complete Solidor slab range including Traditional Collection, Italia Collection, matching side panels and stable and even panic bar exit door options.
In addition to carrying the complete Solidor glass range, it also offers customised glass designs. This is something that Richard highlights as important in creating USPs for its customers.
He continues: “Colour is a big part of that proposition. Premium and luxury colour options including Painswick or French Grey, make these doors look absolutely stunning, maximizing end-user appeal.”
“We also try to bring flexibility to our offer. If a customer has a special request for a particular design or technical specification, we’ll do our very best to source it.
“For example, we recently completed a door with a black pull bar for a coastal location, something which other Solidor customers can’t always do.”
“We believe we have an offer which supports installers in accessing opportunities but which also gives them the USPs to sell effectively against competitors.”
