Clearview National October 2018 - Issue 203 | Page 4

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FROMTHEEDITOR
Top Down or
Bottom Up?
Whether we’re trade
only, exclusively retail, or a
bit of both – why is it always
important to consider the end user?
» » BEFORE I SAT DOWN TO WRITE THIS
month’s editor’s letter, I was so certain that the subject
matter would be National Home Security Week. This
October issue, every section from hardware to machinery,
industry news to, well, the home security special feature,
seemed to mention NHSW, and rightly so, for it’s a topic
that has always been, and will always be, so important. But,
as I looked through the magazine’s most recent articles
and contributions, there was a sub-section – still relating
to NHSW – that just seemed to grab my attention. And
for once, it wasn’t the product; how it’s fabricated or
fitted, it wasn’t where we source our raw materials, or
the how we sell to installers, it was the very last link in
the supply chain; yet arguably the most important. The
Homeowner.
Now, whether you are reading this as someone
who only deals with trade or whether you sell to the
consumer direct or both, (and of course there are
commercial, educational, local authority projects, etc.), the
fact remains that without a homeowner, and their instinct
to protect their home, plus everyone and everything
in it, National Home Security Week would never exist.
Yet, I sometimes forget, with Clearview being very much
an ‘industry’ magazine, that there is an end-user and
instead just think of fenestration as a network of systems
suppliers, manufacturers, machinery specialists then the
fitters and installers. It made me wonder, does anyone else
do the same thing?
Several articles this month – especially relating to
NHSW – have flipped the switch to consider things
from the homeowner’s point of view before working
backwards, instead of coming up with a security solution
then making a problem to attach it to. Of course, I’m not
saying that’s what designers usually do, but speaking as
a homeowner, not an editor for a moment, do you ever
look at a product or service and think ‘why on earth
would I need this?’ (and that’s not just in fenestration by
the way).
In conclusion, for October, and every other month, I’m
think we could all benefit from thinking not just about
the end-user, but as the end-user, and see if it makes a
difference. And, I’ll start thinking as a reader more often
too, and see if I can make these intro letters a bit more
interesting…
Gemma, Editor
4 » OCT 2018 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Homeowners want to
be protected, full stop
We hear a lot about crime in the
media, and it’s that awareness
of crime that drives perceptions
and magnifies our fear.
» » HOMEOWNERS FEEL
vulnerable when they hear
that some police forces
have stopped investigating
burglaries because they say
they don’t have the time or
budget to investigate them,
and the chances of bringing
someone to book are very low.
Homeowners also puzzle over
conflicting reports about crime.
Depending on the source of
statistics, the type of crime,
how it’s recorded, and who is
recording it, crime ma