Digitization in the Craft Sector: Find Available Installers Quickly 

Reach available installers via digital distribution channels

There is no end in sight: the construction industry is booming and with it the demand for services from installers, specialist tradesmen and installers in the field of building technology. Whether heating, solar, electrical installers, fire protection experts, plumbers or air conditioners: specialist installers are booked up for months at a time. Available installers hard to find. At least in metropolitan areas. At the same time, another trend is emerging: more and more construction customers are first obtaining information about products on the Internet as a result of digitalization in the trades. And that could be the solution to the problem ...

In sum, the following points will help you find the right and available installer or erector for your end customers. In the current situation a very clear competitive advantage!

Learn how digitization in the craft sector, especially in multi-level distribution, can help you

"We expect to have completed a good 300,000 housing units in total last year," said Hans-Hartwig Loewenstein of the Central Association of the German Construction Industry in Berlin recently. Around 320,000 new homes could be built in 2018. That would be twice as many as in 2010 - and still not enough to meet current demand.

According to the business climate index, the mood in the entire construction and finishing sector even surpasses the boom year of 1992, when Germany fell victim to construction fever due to reunification.

The problem: the low availability of skilled tradesmen and fitters - for example in building technology and home automation, an exponentially growing industry. The photovoltaic market expects sales growth of 30% this year. And the trade fair for lighting and building technology, Light + Building, has recorded over 1600 exhibitors this year. Guild companies in the sanitation, heating and air-conditioning trade have a significantly stable order range of 10.6 weeks on average in winter 2017/2018 (winter 2016/2017: 9.3 weeks).

44% of companies report increased sales in the last three months. Available installers are hard to find. For the end customers, the builders, these are tough times. That's because it means more coordination work for them. That means construction projects are stalled or delayed, and that in turn means rising costs.

The solution: digitization in the craft sector - examples

At the same time, building owners have been increasingly looking for solutions and suppliers of building technology on the Internet for years, instead of first going through specialist retailers. The websites of manufacturers such as ABUS, Bals, Gira, Schüco oder GROHE are increasingly sophisticated and interactive, offering online configurators, cost calculators, information material and white papers. In this way, they collect data about potential customers. Data that they can in turn pass on to their sales partners. The customer's path, the so-called customer journey, has thus changed direction: from the customer via the manufacturer to the installer, instead of from the customer directly to the installer. What does this mean?

At this point, however, another necessity sets in: How are these customer inquiries to be forwarded to the right sales partner or installer as quickly as possible? As a manufacturer of building technology, how can you ensure that these inquiries do not come to nothing, either because there are too few specialist trade companies with free capacity or, even worse, because you cannot even reach the right, available installers or erectors?

Craft Digitization: Let installers choose their customers instead of the other way around!

The only solution is therefore: the customer inquiry must not be forwarded on the off chance to the nearest specialist company, which may not have the time. The manufacturer no longer has to approach the sales partner and assign him a lead, but the sales partner who has time, know-how and capacity "gets" the customer. This might even be a craftsman's business that is not directly on site, but a little further away from those in metropolitan areas that are hopelessly booked up.

In short: The tables are simply turned! And the lead distribution process is automated. Prospects are offered directly from the manufacturer's website on a digital platform. And in real time, because automated. After all, every day that goes by without a customer inquiry being processed is cash lost to the manufacturer. And likewise for the customer, because he gets stuck with his construction projects.

The positive side effect:

Craft digitization: This would not solve the shortage of personnel in craft businesses. But it would definitely guarantee more transparency and faster processing of customer inquiries. A great image gain for manufacturers and their partners in digitization in the skilled trades!