Understanding the customer journey
Across the board, what we’ve seen from installers is that they want the expertise and the knowledge that we have as manufacturers to help them better serve their customers. To get them the right help and right tools, we started looking at the entire customer journey and the challenges installers face.
Steven Eales: “We had to ask ourselves: ‘What are installers struggling with? What have we learnt from talking to them? How can we help them adjust to the energy transition?’ Our starting point always is to hear what our customers are saying and take their needs into account.”
Digital services are the way to go, and we need to create awareness around the energy transition and enhancing operating efficiencies. Digitising services can help installers educate end-users about their energy consumption and how to use the most efficient energy source at any one time.
Then there’s the boost to operating efficiencies. “Enhanced connectivity means installers can be more effective and efficient in their jobs, because they know what to expect, and they can offer better customer service to the end-user for the same reason,” says Ignacio Contin. “They can plan their jobs better improving their operations, which allows for a smarter use of time and saves money.”
Going digital to better serve our customers
In this new digital world, installers need to be prepared and understand how to best help our customers. Customers who demand immediate fixes and services at the touch of a button. Helping our installers be ready for the digital world is one of the things we are focusing on at BDR Thermea Group.
Learning through listening
“Where some installers may have been resistant to some of these digital innovations, there is increasing acceptance,” says Steven Eales. “As with end-users, technology is moving them that way. They’re also seeing the benefits of the tools that are there to make their lives easier.”
In their development efforts, teams learn from face-to-face workshops, voice of the customer sessions, and hard data and analytics, to help identify installers’ needs. “It’s about being able to identify obvious pain points for customers – ones they didn’t even know existed – and acting on these to find solutions,” says Ignacio Contin.
“We’ve adapted our ways of working to support installers better. We’re constantly developing new solutions and functionalities, with weekly product sprints and building Minimum Viable Products (MPV’s), which allow fast learning and improving quickly,” added Steven Eales.
The result is the steady rollout and piloting of innovative solutions for installers. It’s a constant process, in different countries, at different speeds, but always close to our customers.
Looking to the future
One of the breakthrough solutions currently in development is a dedicated installer app that will serve as a one-stop shop for installers. It will streamline the functionalities of a series of existing apps into a simpler, more user-friendly product.
The digital possibilities are endless as the world becomes ever more connected and connectivity increasingly plays a role in the energy transition. “But,” cautions Ignacio Contin, “it’s not a goal in itself ‘to be digital’, but for it to be harnessed as a tool to improve processes. Digital solutions are there to help the installers to create a positive customer experience, by enhancing Customer Services and improve its Operations.”
We’re already living in a connected world, and this will expand more and more into the world of heating. “The connected heating appliance will be the norm a couple of years from now,” says Ignacio Contin. “Installers will adapt and benefit from this technology. Our responsibility is to make sure these valuable solutions are safe, easy, efficient and fun to use.”
