According to installer Darren Wilson, there are two ways to build a successful business: find a fantastic boiler partner and use social media.
Darren started out on his own in 1998 because he didn't feel comfortable working for any of the bigger companies.
"I felt that all the big players were too expensive. I wanted to offer an alternative, affordable solution that put the customer back in control.”
DD Wilson has grown successfully over the years and Darren now employs 10 people, including an apprentice and office manager.
"It feels like a long time since I was pestering my landlord friends to give me heating jobs and putting ads in the local paper. I love being able to help my customers and I can honestly say that Baxi makes that so much easier.”
Darren was introduced to Baxi by a friend back in 2008. He attended one of our free training days in Warrington in 2009 and was so impressed by the product and our customer-centric approach that he signed up to Baxi Works there and then.
"Baxi has always recognised who we are and what we're about. They still offer us training and support and give us the logos and images etc. to create professional promotional materials. We even have a Baxi representative who will help us with anything that needs immediate attention.”
"I can text our local rep Daniel Kinsella and he'll follow up straightaway. It doesn't matter if the support lines aren't open, he'll find out what we need to know and get back to us almost immediately. This was especially useful when I first started fitting Baxi boilers. I wasn't as knowledgeable about all the product benefits then, so if a customer was insisting on fitting an alternative brand, I could call Dan and say, 'what are the stats on this make', and he'd know it all.
"Now I only ever fit Baxi boilers. Since 2008 I've fitted more than 3,000 and I've not had one callback. I can't say that for any other branded part I fit. I always say that I will only sell products that I would fit for my mum, nan or best friend. Baxi definitely passes that test.”
In 2016, Darren decided he wanted to expand his business. He started with research about consumer habits and found some stats that said 80% of the world uses the internet, and 70% of that 80% are on social media.
"I'd never even used Facebook before, but I knew I had to get the company out there, so I just started looking around at other pages and gave it a go. I saw a huge lack of videos of gas engineers showing customers how to use appliances and giving recommendations for particular parts so that's where we started. Some of our videos have got as many as 50k views. I think customers like them because they're real and honest.
"The biggest benefit of having a strong social media presence is that customers can find out exactly who we are before we step foot in their home. We've put our cards on the table for them to see, which helps build trust right from the start of the customer journey.”
Meet your local rep at a local trade meeting so you can put a face to the name - and give your business a boost.