Building digital bridges to the customer

When Mirco Dietrich is out and about in his neighbourhood, he sometimes feels like he is travelling back in time to the Middle Ages. The 40-year-old technician finds it all a bit crazy that, “when it comes to our cars, phones and computers we put the emphasis on state-of-the-art technologies, yet for our homes, we’re a still a little bit ’Middle Ages’ about the whole thing.”

Presentation with partners: Elexium members at a conference in Hager Forum Obernai

For Mr. Dietrich – whose company, Lichtconcept Laser GmbH in Hessen, Germany covers all the classical aspects of an electrician’s work, along with KNX technology – the conservatism of many homeowners is quite incomprehensible. Mr. Dietrich, shaking his head in disbelief, is convinced that a smart home offers huge potential in terms of flexibility, convenience, safety, energy efficiency and quality of life. “Unfortunately, many people still do not understand the full potential of what there is for them and their homes. You come across a lot of superficial knowledge, made up of bits and pieces of information people have picked up or seen on YouTube videos.”

Thanks to Hager’s PlusProfi network, Mr. Dietrich can effectively combat this. As a PlusProfi member himself, he is among those expert technicians able to convincingly spread the word about the intelligent home and bring it to life with up-to-date and even forward-looking electrical installations. “The initiative means that customers who were not previously aware of our extensive range of services, will now be able to find out about us,” he says. “At the same time, we are equipped with a whole range of marketing tools that we can use to develop our business.”

In early 2017, a similar initiative in France with the Elexium network was set up. The name of the network is a combination of the terms Electrician + Excellence + Premium. Its mission is as simple as it is ambitious: on the one hand, offer customers an excellent user experience and, on the other hand, identify electricians who can guarantee services of an equally high standard.

To this end, Hager Group contacted around 10,000 electricians from all over the country in the last year. Anyone who wants to be a member of the Elexium network must fulfil a whole range of ambitious requirements: customer enquiries must be answered within 48 hours and detailed quotations must be submitted within 7 days. Providing a premium service should be just as natural to an Elexium technician as offering rapid advice and action in the event of an emergency.

To start with, 650 electricians were selected for the network; by 2020 there should be around 2,000 Elexium partners across the entire country. Using the Elexium app and website, these partners can prominently advertise their services and customer references; equally, customers are given the opportunity to comment on and evaluate the work and service of ’their’ technician. “In order to provide customers with a positive experience, we need excellent solutions coupled with equally excellent on-site advice,” says Mike Elbers, Chief Marketing Officer at Hager Group. “With the Elexium and PlusProfi networks, we guarantee both to our customers. At the same time, we are helping our trade partners attract potential customers for themselves, and of course for us.”

The system works in Germany in much the same way as it does in France: using campaigns such as Google AdWords, newspaper and radio ads, and online banners on websites like immobilienscout.de, potential customers in Germany are targeted and directed to the website das-intelligente-zuhause.de. The Hager-operated website provides trustworthy information on all the benefits a smart home can offer. By entering their postcode, they find recommended qualified companies in their area that know how to future-proof their property.

Also offered to members of the PlusProfi network is a range of attention-grabbing advertising media to promote to their customers. Mirco Dietrich has the unmistakable logo of the initiative displayed on his company car and is thus recognisable from afar as an expert in installing smart homes. With specialist seminars on every aspect of the smart home, electricians are able to continue their on-going professional development. With an informative brochure, a very persuasive PowerPoint presentation, as well as the intelligent PlusPlan planning app, there are all sorts of means available to engage in conversation with customers and offer credible advice.

Mirco Dietrich, for example, often uses the presentation when first meeting with customers as it informs them of the benefits of a smart home in a quick and concise manner. “For builders and homeowners, the intelligent home is a giant step forward,” he comments.

For customers, comprehensive advice offered by professionals on-site has enormous advantages. After receiving an enquiry and making first contact, the expert technician can answer all practical questions on-site. In which rooms would it be worth installing multimedia solutions? Where is the best place to put motion detectors? What functions can be programmed into intelligent home automation as scenarios? Are just a few examples. The expert then ensures that the electrical network is prepared safely to allow the desired components to be installed and networked with one another. This ensures that everything works flawlessly, is easy to use and operates just as you would have imagined it.

Some time ago, Mirco Dietrich’s company equipped a classic car workshop with a state-of-the-art lighting concept which is controlled via a KNX system and literally shows the dealership’s vehicles in the best possible light. Dietrich laughs at the delicious irony. “Here is a customer whose cars are from a bygone age, but whose property is, in terms of its electrical installation, something from the future.”