30 | MARCH 2019
Installer Support
Proud sponsors of the
Installer Support feature
SUPPORT OFFERING NEVER STANDS STILL
Ultraframe Marketing Director, Alex Hewitt, discusses the constantly evolving
and comprehensive support package that is available to its installer customers.
Here at Ultraframe we
understand that for us to
prosper, our customers
must prosper, and so our
installer support offering is
of the utmost importance
to us. By working closely
in partnership with our
installer customers and
really understanding what
they need to drive their
businesses forward, we
have developed a compel-
ling support package which
spans marketing, technical,
sales and more.
As with our product
range, our support offering
never stands still. We are
constantly enhancing it and
launching new tools and
services and it’s great to
see these being embraced
by our installers.
One of the most recent
marketing support tools
we’ve launched is a series
of 12 virtual reality tours of
different styles of conserv-
atories and extensions that
can be added to our install-
er’s own websites, free of
charge. These virtual reality
tours allow a web visitor to
look around every aspect of
a conservatory or exten-
sion, from the walls to the
roof, and really get the feel
for how this could look on
their own home. They are
a fantastic tool to enhance
the ‘stickiness’ of a website
and make a web visitor
more likely to convert into a
sales lead. The virtual reality
tours are just one aspect of
the range of online tools
and support services that
can be used by Ultraframe
installers at little or no cost,
to enhance their websites
and ensure they generate
and convert a share of the
online home improvement
market leads. Other online
tools we offer include apps
that sales people can use
while on an appointment in
a consumer’s home, allow-
ing them to quickly access
literature, imagery, videos
and technical information,
all the way through to entire
new websites.
Our installer support isn’t
all about marketing though
– we’re also there to offer a
helping hand for technical
support and have recently
added WhatsApp to our
already extensive range of
communication channels
for installers needing help
on-site. Fitters, like most
of us these days, are never
without their phone so mak-
ing communication as easy
as possible for them means
that technical help in the
form of imagery, video tuto-
rials and documents is only
ever a WhatsApp away.
We also offer a wide
range of training courses
to ensure our installers
are always fully up to date
with our
products and
services. Our courses which
take place both at our Lan-
cashire base and at loca-
tions around the UK, cover
everything from surveying
and installation through to
product-specific courses and
can be tailored to the needs
of individual companies
if required. In fact we’ve
recently completed a series
of courses that invited in-
stallers to ‘take a fresh look
at Ultraframe’ and the many
support services we can of-
fer. If you’d like to find out
more about how you could
benefit from our extensive
range of support services.
www.trade.ultraframe-
conservatories.co.uk
VEKA Group’s core colour offering – laid out in black and white
Straight-talking PVC-U
systems supplier VEKA Group has
simplified its Variations colour
offering, to make it even more
useable, helpful, and easy to un-
derstand for customers.
95% of VEKA Group foil sales
will now be from stock; 27 colour
combinations across 14 colours.
Working out ex-stock colour
availability can be a confus-
ing and time consuming task,
requiring the cross-checking of
brochures, swatch books and
availability charts. In reviewing
their colour policy, VEKA wanted
to simplify the whole process as
it constantly refines its offering
for the benefit of fabricators and
installers.
Marketing Director Dawn
Stockell explains: “The demand
for coloured products presents
a huge sales opportunity for our
customers, which is why we’ve
made it even easier to order
coloured profile.
“We stock what our customers
sell, so there’s no ‘chasing rain-
bows’ when it comes to availabil-
ity. We’re committed to providing
the colours our customers want,
when they want them, in the
most straightforward way.
“There are 27 colour com-
binations from a palette of 14
best-selling shades, and no need
to wade through a big book of
swatches and availability charts.
All of the colours in our new
brochure are ex-stock, sharing
the same lead time as standard
profile and available across our
full product range.
“You can’t get simpler than
that.
“The Variations colour offer
also means a number of the in-
dustry’s less popular colours can
be requested made to order, and
these specialist shades typically
have a four-week lead time.
“We’ve designed our new
brochure with clarity in mind,
and all the information is in one
place. Rather than having to flick
backwards and forwards, the col-
our swatches, colour combination
table and lamination charts are
on the pages right alongside the
relevant system.
“Laminated profile now makes
up 40% of VEKA Group sales and
we predict that the demand for
colour is going to keep grow-
ing. 40% of VEKA Vertical Sliders
are now coloured and around a
third of those are laminated both
sides.
“We’re seeing this trend across
residential, commercial and public
sectors and we are investing mil-
lions in the manufacture of lami-
nated profile, to continue provid-
ing the best product and service in
the industry.
“A large proportion of the £5M
invested in the VEKA Group plant
in 2018 was focussed on the lam-
ination department, including the
purchase of a building adjacent to
the existing VEKA HQ. This will
allow the current 380,000 sq ft site
site to expand by a further 40,000
sq ft and potentially increase lam-
ination capacity by a staggering
50%. An impressive feat, consid-
ering we extruded a record 10.2
million metres of laminated profile
in 2018!”
www.vekauk.com