INDUSTRYNEWS
Big increase in new
members reported
»»THE CONSUMER PROTECTION
Association (CPA) has reported a big increase
in membership during the last five months,
with a 25% spike in companies joining the
organisation compared to the same period last
year.
The CPA is the home improvement
industry’s leading Insurance Backed Guarantee
and Deposit Protection provider.
Hundreds of companies make up the CPA’s
membership base, with the bulk of them
operating in the glass and glazing industry.
Directors at the company say that many of
the new influx of members are coming from
competing IBG providers, who are wellrecognised industry names.
TWO DECADES OF TRUST
CPA Director, Jeremy Brett, comments,
“We’ve been providing IBGs and associated
services for more than 20 years now; and
consumers know and trust the CPA name
and brand. In 2015 an independent survey
showed that 70% of consumers believe that our
members provide the most protection, making
them more likely to win business against their
competitors.
“We’re also noticing a shift towards
companies wanting to work with independent
providers rather than big organisations that may
not be specialist in providing IBGs; but still
offer the service.
“Feedback also shows that our new members
like the fact we give them added value products
such as quarterly reports that help them
improve business performance, as well as finance
options and marketing support. The CPA is
also recognised as the go-to resource for raising
standards in the industry and we engage and
lobby government for change on behalf of our
members.”
For the quarterly assessment reports; every
time an installer registers an IBG, once the job is
completed the consumer is sent a questionnaire
to fill out, asking a series of questions about the
installer’s work and approach.
This data is then collated by the CPA and
sent to the installer in the form of a quarterly
report, helping them to identify areas of
service for improvement and increase best
practice.
Jeremy says the quarterly reports and
marketing materials are incredibly popular
with its members; and says the CPA’s support
goes above and beyond increasing sales.
Karl Girling from Pedmore Windows - a
CPA member – had this to say about how the
organisation has helped Pedmore consistently
grow over the last two decades,
“As we are a member of the CPA, our
customers are able to see we are committed
to offering a quality service, backed by an
excellent independent Insurance Backed
Guarantee (IBG) provider. This support
structure has enabled us to grow over the
years, together with the sales and marketing
material we receive from the CPA.”
On the support he received from the
CPA throughout the year, Karl comments,
“Every quarter we receive lots of marketing
literature and a colour A4 graph chart, with
independent customer feedback on our
company’s installations. We display this in
our showroom and it is an excellent tool for
helping us to close sales.
“From our experience with the CPA, we
can’t see why other companies looking to
offer Insurance Backed Guarantees would not
choose them as the number one provider.”
What will a Brexit
mean for exporters?
»»LESLEY BATCHELOR
OBE, Director General of the
Institute of Export (IOE), who has
shaped policy and decision making
at the highest levels, says, “At a
time where a world recession
is biting and just less than 50%
of our trade is with Europe,
we should question whether
this is the right time. It’s a huge
distraction when we should be
working on trading with more
markets and selling more to
existing markets.
“With the increasing strength
leaning away from the western
hemisphere it makes sense to
consolidate and work with those
markets we are already strong
in, rather than try and develop
new markets when we know
that we still have much to learn
8 » JUN 2016 » CL EARVI E W- U K . C O M
about exporting from our trade
figures.”
The Director General says the
UK needs to learn how to export
properly - following the lead of
the Europeans, Germans, Dutch
and Italians.
She adds, “As Einstein said, first
learn the rules of the game and
then go out and play it better than
everyone else!”
‘First learn the rules
of the game and
then go out and
play it better than
everyone else!’