Sparks Electrical News September 2020

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

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Building a foundation for growth T his is the best possible time to step outside of your comfort zone and find customers in mar- kets you may not have considered before. As the country emerges from lockdown restrictions, elec- trical contractors need to find a way of refreshing their businesses and customer approaches so they can build new business foundations.

Prepaid sub-metering solutions can be installed on any property by a qualified electrical contractor, and they can be used to manage multiple utility situations with ease. The backyard rental market, for example, has seen impressive growth over the past year. People have realised they can use the excess space on their properties to earn money so are renting out rooms or space in their backyards and using the funds to pay their bills and their mortgages. In this situation, a pre- paid sub-metering solution ensures that everybody pays for their share without dispute, complicated billing systems or unnecessary confict. What you use is what you pay for. “The same can be applied to the property owner or estate manager market,” adds Scheepers. “You can provide them with reliable prepaid sub-metering solutions that allow them to walk away from costly disputes and time-consuming admin. An estate-wide sub-metering installation removes estimated billing and bill shock, and outraged tenants, in a simple move. Tenants only get what they pay for and our online plat- form ensures that property owners and managers can monitor the systems remotely. Tenants also benefit – they’re not paying more than they expect and can budget more effectively.” If you are looking for new ways to grow your busi- ness in the current economy, your expertise is invalu- able to many of these customers and markets. It is a skill that translates into providing customer-centric in- sights that they can use to invest in solutions that help them better manage their lives and incomes. Everyone is looking for answers, and you have the know-how and the market understanding that can provide them with exactly what they need.

“It’s been a challenging few months and most contractors are looking at the last quarter of the year with no small amount of trepidation,” says Carel Scheepers, General Manager: Sales at Citiq Prepaid. “It’s completely understandable. Some markets may have dried up, others may have become incredibly busy and, in all this, some customers may have dis- appeared completely. This is the landscape defined by the pandemic, but it doesn’t need to define your business.” What customers want now is a reliable guide – someone who can help themmake informed decisions around their properties, the solutions they use, and the ways in which they approach their tenants or their own utility management. The cost of utilities has risen over the past few months and people are feeling the pres- sure. They want to save money and manage their utili- ties more efficiently. “This is where you as electrical contractors can play an incredibly important role,” says Scheepers. “You un- derstand how solutions such as prepaid sub-meters work and how these can change the way people en- gage with their utility usage and spend. This is an op- portunity for you to expand into new markets with high quality prepaid sub-metering solutions that can help property owners, backyard property rentals, homeown- ers, and tenants manage their lives more efficiently.”

viding them with the tools, information and solutions they need. Together, we can build solid business foun- dations that help us all thrive and grow in the coming months.”

“We believe that electrical contractors are essential to the market, providing customers with highly relevant and targeted advice they can use to make informed decisions about utility management and control,” con- cludes Scheepers. “To this end, Citiq Prepaid is focused on working closely with electrical contractors and pro-

Enquiries: www.citiqprepaid.co.za

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

SEPTEMBER 2020