Have you ever wondered what would happen if a company stopped hiding behind marketing language and started showing up as fully human?
What if leading with empathy and honesty wasn’t just good for culture, but also the smartest thing you could do for business?
That’s the question Southwest Exteriors has been answering for more than five years as part of the IMPACT and Endless Customers community. And the results have been remarkable.
In this episode, I sat down with Chris Wager, videographer at Southwest Exteriors, to talk about purposeful humanity, a philosophy that puts people before process and care before contracts. What started as a mindset has become a way of doing business that builds trust, loyalty, and measurable growth.
But it’s not just about being nice. It’s about choosing to show up differently; in your culture, your content, and your conversations. Chris’s stories reveal how a team grounded in genuine care can turn everyday interactions into meaningful moments that move customers to act.
By leaning into purposeful humanity, Southwest Exteriors hasn’t just built stronger relationships with clients. They’ve redefined what it means to market with heart in an industry often ruled by transactions.
When I asked Chris to define purposeful humanity, his answer stopped me mid-sentence.
“For us, purposeful humanity is just being aware of the people behind the work.”
Simple. Honest. But the more he talked, the deeper it went.
He explained that it’s a way of operating at Southwest Exteriors. Purposeful humanity means every project, every video, and every conversation starts with empathy. As Chris put it, “If we forget the person behind the project, we’ve already missed the point.”
That mindset runs through everything they do, beginning with the people they hire. The company looks for what they call a servant’s heart; someone who doesn’t just want to do the job well, but wants to help others feel seen and cared for. “You can teach anyone to install siding or windows,” Chris told me, “but you can’t teach someone to care. That has to come from who they are.”
He said one of his favorite parts of the hiring process is when candidates are asked to describe a time they helped someone without being asked. “You learn a lot about people in that moment,” he said. “You can hear their heart.”
That focus on people traces straight back to Scott Barr, the company’s founder. When he launched Southwest Exteriors in 1989, his goal wasn’t to become the biggest or fastest-growing contractor; it was to build relationships that lasted. “Scott always said most businesses are about the transaction,” Chris recalled. “Once it’s done, they say goodbye. We wanted something different. We wanted to build something relational.”
And that’s exactly what they did.
If a homeowner calls with a small problem (even something that technically falls outside the scope of a warranty), someone from the team still shows up. Not because it’s profitable, but because it’s right. Team members text customers to check in long after a project wraps up. They handwrite thank-you cards. They even remember birthdays. “It’s not about ROI,” Chris said. “It’s about showing people they matter.”
That right there is the heartbeat of purposeful humanity: relationships over results. Ironically, the results follow anyway. When you lead with care, people remember. They tell others about you. They trust you.
That care doesn’t just shape how they serve customers; it shapes how they treat each other. “You can’t care deeply about your customers if you don’t care deeply about your coworkers,” Chris said. He talked about how their team starts meetings by checking in on each other, not just about projects, but about life. It’s normal for someone to say, “Hey, how’s your dad doing?” or “I heard your kid had a soccer game. How’d it go?” Those moments may sound small, but they add up to something powerful.
It’s rare to see a company build that kind of culture and sustain it over decades. And honestly, it made me pause. We live in a time when so much of business feels optimized, automated, and efficient, but often, it feels a little cold. Southwest Exteriors proves that warmth scales, too. You can care deeply and perform at a high level. You can lead with heart and win in business.
Because at the end of the day, people don’t stay loyal because you’re the fastest or the cheapest. They stay loyal because you cared when you didn’t have to.
That’s purposeful humanity. And it’s exactly the kind of leadership the business world needs more of right now.
When Chris joined Southwest Exteriors, there was no content department, no equipment, and definitely no “strategy.” It was just him, a camera, and a belief that helpfulness would always win. He and the content manager decided to start small, one video at a time, guided by one principle: if a customer asked it, we should answer it.
No fancy production schedule. No polished marketing calendar. Just consistent curiosity and a lot of trial and error. “We didn’t have a roadmap,” Chris said. “We just started talking about what people wanted to know.”
They built their foundation around the They Ask, You Answer framework, now known as Endless Customers and The Big 5 (cost, problems, comparisons, reviews, and best-of lists). Those five categories, he told me, “gave us direction when we were just trying to find our voice.” They started answering real buyer questions like ‘How much does siding replacement cost in San Antonio?’ and ‘What’s the difference between James Hardie and vinyl siding?’
It wasn’t glamorous, but it was honest. “At first, we were making videos in the parking lot or in front of half-finished projects,” Chris laughed. “We didn’t have lighting kits or scripts. We just wanted to be helpful.”
Some of those videos flopped. Others quietly took off. But what mattered most was that the leadership team trusted them enough to experiment. “We were given a leash to go and create,” Chris said. “That trust gave us confidence to keep pushing.”
And that trust started to pay off. Customers began leaving comments and questions under videos. Some even called the office to say, “Hey, I saw your video, can you do one about this next?” Suddenly, the content wasn’t just being consumed; it was sparking conversations. “That’s when we knew we were onto something,” Chris said.
Then came one of my favorite pieces of their journey, the “Serving with Heart” video. Chris didn’t plan it. He stumbled on it while reviewing old footage and realized he already had everything he needed to tell the story of who they were. “It came together because the footage existed everywhere,” he said. “You can’t fake that. It’s just who we are.”
If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. It’s not a sales pitch. It’s a love letter to the people who make Southwest Exteriors what it is, from installers to customer care reps to homeowners. Furthermore, it’s the kind of video that makes you stop scrolling and just feel something.
That authenticity runs through all their work, especially in the bio videos and 80% videos they create for their sales process. Each team member records short introductions so homeowners know who they’ll be meeting, what to expect, and how the process works. Using Quick Page, these videos go out before every appointment, so when the salesperson or installer shows up, they’re already a familiar face.
As Chris put it, “We want every touchpoint to feel familiar. When people meet our team, they already feel like they know them.”
That’s not marketing. That’s connection.
And it works. Their reviews prove it. Homeowners don’t just write “Southwest Exteriors did a great job.” They write, “Jake came out, fixed my door, and stayed late just to make sure everything was perfect.” Or “Lauren’s video made me feel comfortable before we even met. She felt like a friend.”
Those details matter. They’re proof that this kind of content, the kind built on service and sincerity, changes how people experience a brand.
I told Chris during our conversation that what he’s doing isn’t just smart marketing. It’s a form of care. “You’re building a bridge of trust before the first handshake,” I said. He smiled and replied, “That’s the goal. If people already trust us when we walk in the door, everything else just flows.”
When you bake trust into every part of your business, from the first video to the last handshake, the results don’t just show up in analytics. They show up in the way people talk about you.
At Southwest Exteriors, the numbers are impressive. Their website traffic climbed from roughly 2,000 to more than 40,000 visitors per month. Their YouTube channel, which started as a handful of short videos filmed on borrowed equipment, has grown to over 5,000 subscribers. And their content now plays a direct role in nearly every deal they close. But if you ask Chris, those stats aren’t what matter most.
“If a video gets ten views on YouTube but every sales prospect watches it, that’s a win,” he said. “You can’t measure trust building. There’s no metric for that.”
That right there might be one of my favorite lines from our conversation. Because it cuts to the heart of what so many marketers and business owners miss. In a world obsessed with clicks, conversions, and dashboards, we forget that behind every metric is a person trying to make a decision.
Chris told me about a homeowner who watched nearly every video on their channel before booking a consultation. When the sales rep showed up, the customer already knew the process, the people, and even the answers to most of their questions. “He told us, ‘I already trust you guys,’” Chris said. “That appointment took half the time it normally would, and he signed on the spot.”
That’s what happens when your marketing isn’t about persuasion but preparation. When you educate instead of pitch, your prospects show up ready to buy.
It’s not just their sales team that feels the difference. Their customer care reps tell Chris that conversations are smoother, follow-ups are friendlier, and buyers come in with realistic expectations. “It saves us time and stress,” he said. “People feel like they already know us, and that sets the tone for everything.”
And let’s be real, those results go far beyond web traffic or engagement rates. They build something far harder to earn and far easier to lose: loyalty.
In fact, customers who trust a brand are 88% more likely to buy again and 62% more likely to forgive a company after a mistake. That kind of trust doesn’t come from clever ad copy or polished visuals. It comes from showing up honestly, over and over again, until people start to believe you mean what you say.
Chris summed it up beautifully: “We don’t chase views. We chase conversations. We chase connection. That’s what keeps people coming back.”
And that’s what I love most about their story. Because the truth is, this kind of success can’t be faked or fast-tracked. You can buy ads, automate emails, and polish your branding all day long, but you can’t automate authenticity. You have to earn it.
And when you do, everything changes.
How Southwest Exteriors built a culture that scales humanity
Cultures like Southwest Exteriors’ don’t happen by chance. They’re built with intention; modeled, reinforced, and lived from the top down. When Chris talked about the people leading the company, you could hear the respect in his voice.
He spoke about Ryan, their CEO, and Scott, their original founder and self-described “steward.” Together, they’ve created an environment where people are encouraged to lead with kindness, own their work, and genuinely care about each other. It’s not just part of the mission statement; it’s the daily atmosphere.
“I’ve never had bosses tell me they love me before until I worked here,” Chris told me. “We’re told we’re loved and appreciated daily.”
That line floored me. You could feel how much it meant to him, not just as an employee, but as a human being. Because when leadership chooses vulnerability and affection over fear and authority, everything changes. People stop working for the company and start working with it.
It’s easy to dismiss that kind of language as soft or sentimental. But it’s actually strategic. When people feel safe, valued, and trusted, they bring their best ideas forward. They take creative risks. They support each other. And when things go wrong, as they inevitably do, they don’t hide from mistakes; they rally to fix them.
Chris shared a story about a recent team meeting where a new hire admitted she’d made a costly error on a video project. Instead of blame or punishment, her teammates thanked her for owning it and helped her solve it together. “I’ve never seen a culture like that,” he said. “There’s no fear of failure here. We just learn and move forward.”
That’s empathy in motion, the kind that turns a company into a community. And it doesn’t stay internal. It flows outward to every customer interaction. When employees feel loved and supported, they naturally extend that same energy to the homeowners they serve.
As I listened, I couldn’t help but think about how rare that is. Too many businesses talk about culture like it’s a campaign, a perk, or a recruitment slogan. But at Southwest Exteriors, it’s baked into the system. It’s measured not in productivity metrics, but in how people treat each other when no one’s watching.
Here’s what struck me most: empathy spreads. When leaders practice it, it moves through teams like a ripple in water. It shapes conversations, influences decisions, and ultimately reaches the customer. A homeowner might not know why a company feels different, but they can feel it.
That’s what makes Southwest Exteriors so remarkable. They’ve turned humanity into a system. One that’s structured, repeatable, and scalable without losing its soul. Every policy, every meeting, every interaction reflects the same truth: when people feel loved at work, they share that love in everything they do.
How do you balance technology, AI, and humanity?
You can’t talk about modern business or modern marketing without talking about AI. It’s everywhere. And like most of us, Chris uses it daily. He’s not against it. In fact, he embraces it. But his take is refreshingly grounded.
“AI should help us be better,” he told me. “Not replace what makes us human.”
That line stuck with me because it captures the tension we’re all living in right now. We’re surrounded by tools that can write, edit, design, and automate faster than ever. Efficiency is easy. But empathy? That’s the part you can’t outsource.
Chris shared a recent story that perfectly illustrates this. He was gathering quotes for a project and reached out to two different companies. The first replied within minutes; an email so polished it almost sparkled. But it was sterile. No name, no warmth, just a generic, AI-written pitch asking for more details.
The second company took longer to respond, but the difference was immediate. A real person wrote back, introduced themselves, offered a calendar link, and said, “I’d love to learn more about what you’re trying to do.”
Guess which one got the job?
“That first email might have been fast,” Chris said, “but it made me feel like a data point. The second one made me feel seen.”
And that’s the crossroads every business faces right now: the choice between speed and sincerity.
Automation will continue to evolve. AI will get better. But no matter how sophisticated the technology becomes, people can still tell when something’s missing. They can feel it when an interaction is transactional instead of relational, efficient instead of empathetic.
According to a HubSpot study, 82% of consumers say they’re more likely to stay loyal to companies that offer real human support alongside technology. The more we automate, the more people crave connection.
And honestly, I get it. As someone who uses AI every day, I love what it can do. It helps me brainstorm faster, organize my thoughts, and even edit smarter. But at the end of the day, I still have to bring me into it: my voice, my warmth, my perspective. Because people don’t connect with perfection, they connect with personality.
Chris put it beautifully: “AI can clean up my writing, but it can’t feel my intent. That’s my job.”
That’s the lesson here. Use AI to enhance your humanity, not erase it. Let it make you more efficient, but never more distant.
Write the email, then add the line that only you would say. Record the video, then smile the way you really smile. Reach out to customers and remember there’s a real person on the other side of the screen.
Because in a world that’s getting faster, colder, and more digital by the second, the brands that will stand out are the ones that stay deeply, defiantly human.
It’s so easy to overlook the small things. We get caught up in metrics, meetings, and deadlines, thinking the big moves are what make the difference. But the truth is, it’s the small, human moments that ripple the farthest.
Think about it. The kind email you send after a tough meeting. The “thank you” you give to a teammate who quietly went above and beyond. The phone call to a customer just to check in, not to sell something, but to see how they’re doing. Those moments don’t show up in quarterly reports, but they’re the foundation of trust, loyalty, and love (yes, love) that holds a business together.
That’s purposeful humanity in motion. It’s not a tactic or a campaign. It’s a way of being.
And Chris and the team at Southwest Exteriors live that every day. Whether it’s a design consultant tightening a homeowner’s door hinge instead of selling them a new one, or a teammate showing grace when someone makes a mistake, it’s the little things that define who they are. Their humanity is a daily practice.
When we bring that same approach into our marketing, leadership, and communication, everything shifts. Customers stop feeling like targets and start feeling like teammates. Employees stop showing up out of obligation and start showing up out of pride. The work feels different. The conversations sound different.
It reminds me of something Chris said earlier in our talk: “You can’t measure trust building. There’s no metric for that.” And yet, that’s exactly what drives growth. Not the clicks, not the conversions, but the quiet confidence that people have in you when you’ve proven, time and again, that you care.
We live in a noisy world. Every brand is shouting, every feed is crowded, and every tool promises faster, easier, smarter. But kindness? Care? Sincerity? Those still stop people in their tracks.
That’s the magic of small moments. They scale in ways no algorithm can.
When you make empathy your default and kindness your consistency, you stop chasing customers and start creating relationships that last.
If you’re ready to bring empathy, transparency, and connection into your marketing and turn your culture into your competitive edge, our team can help.
Talk to our team today to see how Endless Customers can work for your business.
Chris is the videographer at Southwest Exteriors, where he leads video storytelling that puts people first. He partners with sales and service to create bio videos, 80% videos, and training content that answers real homeowner questions and makes every touchpoint feel familiar. On YouTube and on the blog, Chris focuses on the Big 5 topics buyers care about most, turning complex choices into simple, honest guidance. He’s been part of the team’s multi-year shift toward helpful, human content that supports faster, calmer sales conversations and stronger reviews.
How long does it take to see results from human-centered marketing?
Most companies start seeing higher engagement and trust within 6–12 months of consistent, people-first content and follow-through.
Do I need video to build a connection?
Video helps buyers see and feel your team’s personality, but the principle works in any format: emails, blogs, or conversations.
How often should we publish new content?
Aim for at least three high-quality, question-based videos or articles per week. Consistency matters more than perfection.
What if our industry isn’t emotional?
Every industry serves people with real needs and fears. Leading with care always differentiates you, no matter the product.