The importance of relationships at every level in the heating and plumbing sector has seen many businesses making a huge effort to keep all their relationships on an even keel — whether that is between manufacturers and merchants, manufacturers and installers or within the business with the employees. Speaking with the firm’s Marketing Manager Chris Harvey, PBM investigates the ways in which Stelrad is engaging with its target audiences.
Customer service is at the top of the tree when it comes to importance for the newly floated business with major investment made in building a dedicated customer service team and a set of targets identified — and hit — by the team to see Stelrad “hitting world class targets” as a result if the efforts of the team based in South Yorkshire.
July 2022, for example, saw that latest benchmarking exercise in support of its membership of the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) and its important ServiceMark accreditation. ServiceMark is awarded based on customer satisfaction feedback and an assessment of employee engagement with the organisation’s customer service strategy.
Overall, Stelrad’s Business Benchmarking customer service index is at 90.5%. To put that in context, the UK sector average is 78.4% and the average for the area Stelrad fits into — retail (non-food) — is 81.9%, so the company is setting high standards by this method of measurement.
Furthermore, the survey highlights that Stelrad customers are most satisfied with the reputation of the organisation, with the competence of its staff and the helpfulness of the team. The kind of words they use to describe Stelrad as a business include ‘satisfied’, ‘happy’, ‘informed’, ‘professional’ and ‘friendly’.
The importance of these figures and phrases are further reflected in the excellent relationships Stelrad has in place with merchant businesses — national and independent alike — up and down the country. This, the manufacturer asserts, has come about in simple ways — by talking to them, by taking them into consideration when making decisions about the company that will also affect its customers, and by having in place teams of good people able to communicate on behalf of the business.
These include the important Brand Specialists team that has been the face of Stelrad, going into merchant branches day to day up and down the country, talking both to the installers that use those branches and the branch staff to ensure they have everything they need to be the go between Stelrad and its ultimate customers — those installers who regularly visit the branches.
Important things that have worked well in building relationships through the branches include the manufacturer’s Installer Loyalty Club which sees installers able to claim loyalty gifts because of the money they spend in the merchants on premium products. And as a result, they can claim branded workwear, radiators plus many other sought-after rewards.
Conversations with merchants and installers are also said to have helped shape new ranges, sizes and models — for example, the arrival of K3 radiators to help make renewable heating systems operate even better, growing the LST range to provide safety products from stock rather than special orders, and the new Compact 900mmm high which provides the larger radiator outputs that some installers have asked for when switching from a boiler to a heat pump, helping to ensure that the radiators provide the comfort needed in cooler months.
The business has also extended the range of coloured radiators for those who want a greater choice, rather than the standard white radiators that are still by far the firm’s biggest sellers.
Stelrad Head of Marketing Chris Harvey said: “We’re grateful for the loyalty of the merchants and the installers to our range of radiators and we’ve done everything we can to respond to that loyalty by listening to what our customers want.
“We’ve all been through challenging times in recent years, what with the pandemic making life difficult for us all. But we’ve used that time to grow our National Distribution Centre, extending its capacity so it can hold substantially more radiators in stock ready for standard delivery within 72 hours up and down the country.”
Chris continued: “Our distribution partners have been excellent for us, ensuring that our logistics operation is world class and we’ve introduced the new Express service where we can guarantee delivery in the UK within 48 hours for a small additional charge.
“These are testing times for everyone still, but we have a business built on solid foundations, with great partnerships that we’re proud to work hard at. We’re looking forward to seeing Stelrad radiators heading out of our site in Mexborough in ever growing numbers — and in ever more diverse batches — with the latest introduction the launch of our Electric Series of electric radiators and towel radiators joining the Stelrad portfolio.”
Click here for more information on Stelrad’s growing product range and its support services for merchants.
A version of this article appeared in the July/August edition of Professional Builders Merchant. Click here to view the full issue online, via the PBM website.
