Freefoam Building Products: Just walking the talk

Colin St John, Commercial Director of Freefoam Building Products, leading manufacturer of roofline, fascias, soffits, rainwater, and cladding, says customer relationships drive the company’s supply chain…

Customer relationships are vital to the long-term success of most businesses. But the best relationships are based on being in it together. Partnership is so much more than transactions; it’s about trust, connection, and communication. Freefoam’s core philosophy since Day One is that we don’t compete with customers – it’s a red line we won’t cross. Instead, we work with and alongside stockists and their installer customers. It’s our job to provide the range, service, and support to win business for them. Because when they grow, we grow. 

We don’t sell directly to installers, and we don’t have our own depots, branches or selling outlets. We contact stockists’ customers with their encouragement, to support them, so they sell more. 

What does that look like day to day?

Active help wins business

Matt O’Leary, ASM for the North West, has worked for Freefoam for nearly 15 years.

He comments: “Stockist customers rely on my expertise – they look to Freefoam for ideas and inspiration. When I visit, I’ll often show them new products and additions to ranges, or new marketing materials. But I also come with leads, bringing sales to them from conversations I’ve had with contractors, or seeing projects on social media. It’s not just coffee and catch-up; our job is to actively help them grow. 

“We design bespoke flyers for new branch openings or product offerings, support stockists at trade days with samples, boards, and brochures, even borrow extra stock from other businesses if necessary. Sometimes I speak to installers on a stockist’s behalf – they trust me to do that because they know it’s purely for their benefit. And it’s personal.”

Customers are people 

Steve Shaw, Freefoam ASM for South Wales and the South West, comments: “I’ve worked for big PLCs and independents. The difference in mentality is vast – for staff and customers. At a PLC, customers are companies or account numbers, not people. At Freefoam we’re on a first name basis with customers – and not just the owners, but the guy behind the trade counter, or who drives the forklift. I know what football teams they support, how long they’ve worked there, and the issues that matter to them.”

No multi-layered management structure

Freefoam is a multi-national business, trading across Europe as well as the UK, but it has kept its independent business model. There are no management tiers to go through to get the answers you need.

Steve Shaw continues: “In other businesses, the ASM might have to go to the Regional Manager, then another Manager. I make one call to the Sales or Commercial Director, and they’ll pick up.”

Having one purpose – to help customers grow makes it easier to ensure we’re pulling in the same direction internally. Our sales and service staff have the autonomy to make the decisions they need, so the complete process is quicker – 9/10 times a query is dealt with straight away.

No blank ‘no’s

No can be the worst word in a customer relationship. We try our best to accommodate what we can – so it’s ‘let me see what I can do’, rather than ‘Computer Says No’. 

If stockists need help with deliveries or orders they can ring their ASMs – or dedicated customer service rep.

Warren Thompson, Freefoam’s Customer Service Manager, comments: “We’ll always try and find a workaround – whether that’s adding to or changing their order, pushing something through after the deadline, or arranging an early morning delivery because they need to leave early.”

We regularly check-in with customers to see how their last order was – or if they need add-ons. If someone normally orders every Wednesday and it hasn’t come in, we’ll check and ask if we should hold back a minute. 

Warren Thompson continues: “They know we’ll work with them. It’s a true partnership. If we can push it through – we will.”

This has been the Freefoam response since we started – it works for customers, and us.

To experience the difference partnering makes, call 0800 002 9903 or visit www.freefoam.com. 

Contact:

Freefoam Building Products,
77-83 St James Mill Road,
Northampton,
NN5 5JP
United Kingdom

Tel: 01604 591110

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