Be Natural, Genuine, and Authentic with Your Customers (with Andrew Haring) | Ep. 10

Darn Good Distributors

Branding can carry a mythical connotation, but the real signal shows up in how you communicate when the waters get murky. In this conversation, Kyler Nixon sits down with Andrew Haring to contrast blanket price increases with a customer-first stance that says we are here to serve our customers and we are in your corner. Andrew unpacks proactive pricing announcements, why trust and service trump price points, and how being natural, genuine, and authentic builds a single version of yourself that customers recognize. The discussion moves from personal brand to channels and tactics, including robust social, a strong email calendar, consistent point of purchase, printed catalogs, and create once and distribute everywhere. Andrew details segmentation by product brand categories and buying behavior, the role of quarterly specials and product launches, and a simple playbook focused on shortening lead times, regional support, and technical service that makes marketing easy to promote.

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👤 Guest Bio

Andrew Haring is a Friend of the Glass Industry and CMO at FHC. He has 20 years in the glass, construction, and architectural industries with an emphasis on marketing, education, sales, and advocacy. He served as Vice President of Business Development at the National Glass Association and previously as Vice President of Marketing at C.R. Laurence. Recognitions include Glazier Nation’s Advocate of the Year and a USGlass Magazine Most Influential People mention. He is a calculated noisemaker who likes glass and values brand equity.

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📌 What We Cover

• Handling tariffs with proactive communication, mitigation, and a customer-first pricing announcement
• Trust and service outweigh price points, with actions that back partnership and support
• Authenticity over polish: fewer versions of yourself, what you see is what you get
• Channels that work in a squirrely industry: robust social, strong email calendar, point of purchase, printed catalogs, trade publications
• Create once and distribute everywhere with automation and programmatic advertising
• Email as both relationship and transaction: quarterly specials, product launches, staying top of mind for project-driven purchases
• Segmentation by product brand categories and buying behavior across commercial and residential profiles and company sizes
• A simple playbook for growth: shorten lead times, add locations for regional support, invest in technical service, and make adoption easier

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🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Kyler Nixon on LinkedIn
• Andrew Haring on LinkedIn
• FHC — Frameless Hardware Company