#ShopLocal support
As Veka Group’s Head of Partner Programmes, Karen Lund knows that local, independent installers are some of the most professional in the country. So how do Veka and Independent Network help them compete on a level with the industry’s bigger players?
As consumers, the majority of us might prefer to shop local. Whether it’s supporting your local butcher rather than nipping to the supermarket, or using an independent garage instead of pulling into one of the national chains. It makes us feel good and, more often than not, we’re likely to experience higher levels of service, and benefit from local knowledge, experience and specialist skills.
The same goes for tradespeople. But when it comes to choosing a local company to carry out work on your home, it can be slightly more tricky. How do homeowners know where to look, or whom to trust? That’s where Veka Group comes in. We are committed to supporting installers up and down the country, helping them reach out to the greatest number of potential customers in the most effective ways. We strive to continuously meet the needs of our customers and their customers, to achieve a chain of customer satisfaction so strong that it ensures continued repeat business for everyone involved. We address what our installers have told us they want (to prove their high standards, to set themselves apart from their competition, quality sales leads and products that seal the sale) and what their customers want (peace of mind, professional work, and tradespeople that have been reviewed highly by others). Our installer support has been developed in partnership with our customers, to make sure we provide everything they need to succeed; Veka customers of all types can benefit from marketing support, sales training, technical advice, lead generation programmes and much, much more.
The Veka Group Installer Programme offers marketing support for all installers of Veka and Halo systems. Companies can access professionally designed adverts, leaflets and brochures, and build their reputation on Veka’s as a globally renowned brand. These can even be personalised via our marketing portal, so installers can get bespoke, branded items at a fraction of the cost they might expect. Veka Group is proud to provide the perfect product for every project, but we know that it means little without the ‘backup’ to go with it. Installers can offer potential customers a wealth of systems, styles, colours, woodgrains, energy ratings and more, and Veka is happy to assist with technical help and more, to take the project right from concept to completion. Independent Network is the pinnacle of our installer support package. It offers so many benefits to installers and to homeowners, that member companies tend to achieve significantly higher than average order values. This is largely down to the fact that homeowners can invest with confidence, thanks to the insurance-backed guarantee and the reviews prominently displayed on members’ websites. There’s even a range of consumer finance options to choose from.
Independent Network allows local, independent firms to act as part of a bigger group, with shared marketing, impressive buying power (especially from IN affiliate suppliers) and a reputation for quality workmanship or “Networkmanship” that is recognised across the country. By ‘banding together’ these companies can achieve much more than they could alone, without losing their individual brand identity. We encourage member companies to come together for training events and such, to discuss business, share ideas and celebrate their success. The ‘big event’ on the calendar this June is our annual Members’ Weekend. This year, the conference will be hosted by Business Consultant Specialist Jeff Grout, who is listed among the 100 best business speakers in Britain, and we’ll be joined by Football Presenter Chris Kamara to present the evening’s awards at the black-tie Gala Dinner. The conference will provide another opportunity to showcase the new online marketing portal, where Veka and Halo installers (not just IN members) can find a one-stop-shop full to bursting with marketing support, using a single sign-in. No more remembering multiple usernames and passwords!
Depending on your level of access, installers can potentially access; a leads dashboard to manage all sales enquiries, a professional image library with hundreds of high res shots, a web-to-print platform with bespoke and standard items (including digital resources), the ability to manage your IN website with customer reviews and news releases from the portal, a news feed from Veka including offers/promotions etc, templated contracts and much, much more. In fact, there’s never been a better time to join IN as the evolution from Network Veka to Independent Network has prompted a significantly increased spend on consumer advertising and PR, and this surge in nationwide publicity for the brand will reflect on members’ businesses by association. So, there you have it. It is possible to #ShopLocal and enjoy peace of mind, fail-safe guarantees and staged payment options. And, as Veka Group customers, it is possible for installers to retain their company’s unique, local identity and rely on the strength and experience of an industry-leading, global partner.
