Chris Vallance, sales and marketing director at UK shower pump manufacturer, Salamander Pumps, has seen some interesting statistics on homeownership that the plumbing and heating industry needs to take on board…
People have different views on what makes a ‘trend’ but two bits of information recently reported have caught my eye. Firstly, a 12% increase in planning applications across the UK, with the London region recording the biggest home improvement growth of 27% in 2014*. Secondly, there are some signs that the UK’s enthusiasm for DIY is waning. Is there a connection and if so what’s happening?
As I’ve always suspected, a high proportion of DIY projects require a professional to complete them but the new buzz acronym is DIFY – or ‘do it for yourself’– which is putting the focus firmly on homeowners for choosing and sometimes buying the products they want. It’s the internet, of course, that has empowered consumers to discover and shop for more technical products and, therefore, having more influence on what and where to buy. That certainly applies to our industry and plumbers are having to get used to a ‘fit only’ role which is having a big impact on the way we talk about our products and to whom we talk.
Relevant insight into consumer behaviour when dealing with water pressure problems should be an important building block in communication strategy and, indeed, product development programmes. Consumer and installer needs might differ slightly but products that meet them all, whether that’s reliability, easy fitting, service back-up, design or price, will ultimately win. For the manufacturer, it’s about supporting the DIFY conversation using the right information and communication channels at every point along the consumer journey that will influence and, eventually, result in a sale. This then should develop into a long term supply and demand relationship.
Nearly all consumers can diagnose a water pressure problem and they immediately go online to find out more. In fact over 20,000 water pressure related searches are made every month. Not every consumer will proactively engage on poor water pressure, but just reading conversations can be a valuable research tool for thousands of others. Consumer awareness of water pressure problems is prompted by circumstance, sometimes sparked by the experience of good pressure somewhere else, but more often no longer being prepared to put up with a weak shower or slow filling bath (most water heating appliances, including combi boilers and electric showers, have an automatic cut out if incoming water supplies fall below a minimum pressure). The surge in home improvement is a cue to connect with this new consumer dynamic. Selecting high performance showers and taps for a new bathroom or en-suite project will make demands on the domestic water supply. Stored water may not be able to cope with the increased demand and mains pressure may already be struggling at times of peak usage. How to get more water from the existing system must always be part of the planning and specification process.
As a result, the race is on to become the champion of water pressure solutions online, encouraging water pressure conversations, gaining consumer confidence and recommending not only the right product but also a competent local installer.
The development of online resources will become a key tool in accessing an increasingly important decision maker – the consumer. PDFs, videos, apps, and calculators are all part of the digital offering that is required to ‘talk’ to the consumer. This content demands not only new skill sets within manufacturing organisations but also a strategic will to reach consumers with the right language and in popular digital formats. It’s also a game changer for the trade who need to adopt a similar digital approach using websites, maybe YouTube and certainly social media. Installers needn’t be wary of ‘connected’ customers who can confidently talk about water pressure and plumbing systems – DIFY tells us that the conversation is well worth having.
*Source Barbour ABI