This year’s Building Products Customer Workshop once again brought product, brand, sales and marketing leaders in the building products industry together to discuss what’s changing, what’s constant, and how building product brands can best connect with their audience to drive growth in 2026.
In partnership with Venveo, our team at The Farnsworth Group brought together three live customer panels, spanning builders, architects, dealers, and specialty tradesmen, along with a fourth panel of influencers to compliment the understanding of buyer behavior coming out of primary market research conducted for our annual event.
We host this event to enable peer-to-peer conversations and create the space to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping our industry in 2026 and the years to come. Below are the top takeaways from the 2026 workshop.
"The workshop exceeded my expectations in terms of the quality and quantity of content, as well as the engagement with the audience. The panelists were a smart integration into the agenda. The timeliness of the workshop was perfect as we are rolling right into our National Sales meeting next week. I have solid research to help reinforce some key points I’ll be addressing. Well done!"
Macro Trends: Demographics and Dollars
The economy is always the backdrop for building product demand, and Dave King's presentation on the matter reinforced that, despite consumer sentiment often being touted as the core canary in the coal mine, that data supports disposable income remaining the single strongest leading indicator for spend.
At the same time, shifting demographics are set to reshape the customer landscape. The average age of first-time homebuyers has now reached 38, delaying the entry point for many consumers into major remodeling projects. Meanwhile, the long-anticipated wealth transfer from Baby Boomers to Gen X and Gen Y is on the horizon—and manufacturers need to prepare now. When that shift happens, the decision-makers driving home improvement and building product purchases will look different, expect different buying experiences, and hold different brand loyalties.
If there was one theme that came through when unpacking our findings from the 2026 Building Products Customer Guide, it was this: knowing your audience and building strong relationships, is THE core strategy to invest in. By show of hands, most brands in the room target four to five different customer groups, each with distinct behaviors, preferences, and expectations, made evident by the findings in our 2026 Building Products Customer Guide.
Builder & Architect Perspectives
We were excited to host a panel of Builders and Architects this year. When asked what they want from manufacturers, the panelists kept it straightforward: be easy to research, easy to use, and easy to contact. While that's easier said than done, it's a good reminder to focus on winning at the basics. That means providing clear product information online, streamlined ordering and support if an issue arises, and a direct line to human help when needed.
One builder put it plainly: “I will pay more for products I know won't have call-backs.” Reliability and reduced time lost are worth more to builders than a slightly lower price point.
DIYers Have Shorter Attention Spans Than Ever
Young DIY customers continue to stand out for how much social media influences their behavior, particularly video platforms like YouTube and Instagram. Publishing short-form video in the right social channels, especially videos under 17-seconds, are a must-have for reaching millennial and GenZ DIYers especially. Access to direct answers via short-form content is becoming the standard, not the exception, among the next generations of homeowners, and tolerance for "fluff" in content is low.
Going back to the earlier point about how building products brands are typically targeting 4-5 audience segments, supplier switching when a supplier "offered online pricing" shows sharp distinctions, which also trickles into the use of various channel suppliers. Manufacturers and retailers need to be aware of how supplier loyalty is impacted by convenience and transparency factors like offering online prices. For DIYers, the decision to try a new supplier can begin with online accessibility and price clarity.
Influencer Perspectives: Authenticity Wins
Our influencer panel, comprised of Mark Willie (The Build Show), Sean Collinsgru (Premier Outdoor Living), Sara Bendrick-Torres (Sarita Landscapes), and Steven Baczek (Architect) emphasized that successful partnerships with manufacturers aren’t about one-off promotions.
They stressed the importance of long-term relationships built on trust. As they put it: “We want partnerships, not transactions.” Their audiences expect authentic recommendations, and influencers want to stand behind products they genuinely believe in. For brands, that means investing in ongoing collaborations that reinforce credibility and loyalty.
Specialty Trades Value Strong Relationships
The specialty trades panel discussion revealed one of the most striking insights: Pros often have zero corporate loyalty, but extreme sales rep loyalty. Their trust in reps runs deep and they WANT a solid relationship with their rep.
That means empowering reps is essential. Manufacturers and suppliers should ensure reps have direct authority to negotiate, offer perks, and, most importantly, build genuine friendships with their customers. As one panelist emphasized: “People want to do business with their friends.”
Other takeaways from this group included:
- Pros are researching more online and spending less time researching products in-store.
- Even without supply chain disruptions causing product availability challenges, new brand trial is on the rise.
- Training and empowerment matter and Pros want product certification to be fully accessible to themselves. The panelists were telling manufacturers how they would rather be personally trained and equipped to solve product and installation problems themselves than wait on the dealer or manufacturer to step in.
Channel Insights: Dealers Add Value to Pros
The dealer channel remains important for Pros, as dealers are often the first point of contact for pros seeking product answers and recommendations, and manufacturers should be intentional about equipping dealers to serve that role.
As with specialty trades, training and empowerment came up repeatedly. Dealers want the ability to fix problems quickly without layers of red tape, and they value manufacturers who invest in equipping their teams so they can better serve Pro customers. Again, we heard it repeated from every panelist that relationships drive everything.
In terms of what specifically manufacturers can be doing to improve performance through dealer channels, one panelist summarized it best: “It’s no one thing manufacturers need to do, it’s the culmination of things.” Brands that consistently show up, invest in relationships, and remove friction for dealers are the ones that earn trust and repeat business.
AI and Digital Strategy
Artificial intelligence remained the elephant in the room, and continued to come up in questions posed by attendees to presenters and panelists alike.
AI is already reshaping digital strategy, from how content is created to how it’s consumed. But the workshop panelists warned that “pros will sniff you out” if digital experiences feel hollow or overly automated. Brands looking to leverage AI effectively must balance efficiency with authenticity.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 Building Products Customer Workshop reinforced that the industry is navigating a period of uncertainty mixed with rapid change, demographic realignments, digital acceleration, and evolving expectations from every single customer segment, from dealers to Pros to homeowners.
Yet, amidst all that change, the fundamentals remain: know your customer, build strong relationships, and make it easy to do business with you.
Turning Insights Into Action
While events like this workshop provide a valuable pulse on the industry and a high-level view of the behaviors and attitudes of core customer segments, the best opportunities become clear when brands dig deeper into their own audiences. Every customer group has unique needs, decision drivers, and expectations and those nuances are what determine whether your marketing, product strategy, and channel support efforts are on point.
That’s where custom usage & attitude research should be used. By uncovering the motivations, behaviors, and perceptions of your specific target segments, you will be able to:
- Identify which audiences offer the greatest growth potential
- Pinpoint the factors that drive purchase decisions in your categories
- Tailor messaging, content, and channel strategies that resonate with the right buyers at the right time
- Empower your sales reps and dealer networks with insights that strengthen relationships and close more business
At The Farnsworth Group, we specialize in building product and home improvement research that connects these dots. If you’re ready to move from broad industry insights to actionable strategies tailored to your customers, we're here to help.
