Martyn Bridges, director of marketing and technical support at Worcester, Bosch Group shares his thoughts on the digital revolution and questions whether the rise in social media channels is a blessing or a curse for the heating industry and people that work in it.
“In today’s 24/7 society, digital communications have the power to influence every aspect of our personal and professional lives – from being able to shop online to get groceries delivered directly to our doorsteps, to engaging with famous people and thought leaders on Twitter – if you like the occasional tweet every now and then.
“Whilst this is all well and good on a personal level, the questions I’m often asked in my professional life include “what is the relevance of these channels for the heating industry?” and “how can we use social media to better effect for marketing purposes?
“Since Facebook was launched in 2004, social media has really boomed in the UK. Over the last 10 years this has proved something of a learning curve for many of us but, as with most things in life, the only way to really understand what you’re dealing with is to get involved in the conversation.
“The heating and plumbing industry is a long-established and thriving one in this country and whilst it is easy to stick to ‘doing what you know’, many of us are embracing digital communications to good effect – manufacturers and installers alike – in a bid to communicate better with our customers.
“When it comes to harnessing the power of the online world, it’s about making sure the channels we use are the most appropriate ones for our business. At Worcester we like to use Twitter a lot to engage with installers and consumers. We host a regular blog on our website and have increased the amount of video content available on YouTube, which shows how to fit our products and help installers tackle any challenges along the way, such as frozen condensate pipes for example.
“From experience, the one piece of advice I would give to any business prepared to get more involved with customers through social media is, once you have started to have a conversation online you must be prepared to keep that conversation going. News travels faster online and it’s important to allow time to respond to customer queries as well as being proactive with news about products and services. Compared to days of old, when marketing was more one-directional, today it’s a two-way street and customer service and reputations can often live or die in the time it takes to respond to a tweet.”
For more information about Worcester, Bosch Group’s online training visit:
www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/installer/training/online-training
[author image=”https://www.installeronline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/martynbridges.jpg” ]Martyn Bridges began his career as a heating and plumbing apprentice and has grown up with a strong knowledge of the technical side of boilers. He joined Worcester, Bosch Group in 1986 as a Technical Service Engineer and worked his way through the ranks to become Director of Marketing and Technical Support in December 2004. [/author]
