Lisa Grosse of cladding brand Cedral, and Nathan Thomas of south-west-based contractor Thomas Facades, explains the benefits of the Cedral Select Professional Installer Scheme
Last summer fibre cement cladding brand Cedral unveiled its online platform called Cedral Select Professional with the aim of putting homeowners in touch with certified installers across the UK. With 45 cladding contractors now signed up to the scheme, the trade seems to have shaken off its characteristic cynicism to embrace a new way of working.
Lisa Grosse, Brand Manager at Cedral, said: “One of our frustrations in the past was the lack of consistency across the installer market, which meant that however great our products were, they were only as good as the team that installed them. Listening to contractors, we understood that one of their challenges was maintaining a consistent flow of new projects. Getting good quality customers took up huge amounts of their time and often detracted them from what they were good at – installing cladding or roofing!”
Barriers to entry
One of the reasons the Cedral scheme seems to have hit the target, is the fact that it’s not easy to join. To become accredited, applicants must pass an initial installer assessment and only then is comprehensive product training provided. A technical validation is then completed on a recent job site to confirm the applicant’s ability to install Cedral products.
Commenting on his experience, Nathan Thomas said: “It’s a straightforward but robust process, if you know what I mean? I say that because I’ve come across other schemes that were frankly too easy to join, with no checks or balances on the qualifications of the installer or the quality of their workmanship.
“Once we’d completed a short application form, Cedral then assessed the quality of our work by seeing a number of recent jobs. In our case, they visited three of our projects – two recently completed and one current job. Overall, our work was up to standard. However, we were also given some constructive technical feedback on how we could improve on one or two finer points of our installs. We found this really helpful.”
Generating customers
“The big idea behind Cedral Select Professional is that we handle the initial customer engagement and ballpark pricing,” said Lisa Grosse. This leaves the installer to do what they do best – provide detailed quotes and then getting the project done.
Nathan Thomas agrees that this splitting of roles works well for everyone involved. He said: “The scheme is incredibly well run and provides us with a steady flow of qualified leads. We are able to begin sensible conversations with potential customers through the platform, which encourages them to provide loads of detail about their projects, even uploading photographs – so we get a really good picture of what’s required.
“Cedral’s investment in the platform gets us and homeowners off on the right footing, minimising misunderstandings and managing both side’s expectations. Cedral have also been really good when it comes to other marketing support materials, that have helped us stand out from the competition. The cladding and trim samples have been really well received by customers and the branded polo shirts and vinyls for the van have been great.”
Buyer confidence is key
A big part of the scheme’s success is the confidence it gives homeowners, in choosing a known, ethical product that comes with a 10-year product and workmanship guarantee. In addition to this, Cedral ask Cedral Select installers to provide homeowners with something called an Insurance Backed Guarantee, which covers the workmanship on the job.
Nathan Thomas adds: “It costs us about £20 a month, but is worth it as it gives customers real confidence in selecting Cedral, fitted by us.”
“Customers we’ve spoken to see initiatives like this as a breath of fresh air in the building trade. Cedral Select Professional makes everything transparent and above board, which gives homeowners the confidence to choose the product, which is then fitted by professionals. We were a bit worried that the additional cost of insurance would make us appear expensive, but not one customer has commented about this. People are happy to pay that little bit extra for a quality service, backed up by a 10-year product and 10-year workmanship guarantee.”
While manufacturer-backed schemes are not for every contractor, this one from Cedral seems to be hitting the nail on the head. Certainly, for the right installer, who sees the value of customer care and technical ability, it’s an ideal scheme.
Lisa Grosse said: “We’re increasingly keen to see installers take their training seriously – part of their DNA that sets them apart from the competition. The guys at Thomas Facades impressed us with their attitude here. The team of three are all qualified with IPAF cards, Gold Supervision CSCS cards, first aid as well as NVQs in passive fire, cladding and roofing.”
The acid test
Granted, there is an additional cost (and effort) involved in taking part in a credible manufacturing-backed scheme such as Cedral’s. Equally, there are tangible benefits. Nathan Thomas concludes: “Before we signed up last year, we just relied on other contractors to hand us jobs or use Google or paid ads to generate leads. In previous years we have started the new year looking for work; this year, I had three leads on the first day back to 2023 which were agreed the same week. That’s the difference the Cedral Select Professional scheme has made to us.”
For further information on the Cedral Select Professional Scheme visit Contact us – Cedral.
