Being at the forefront in terms of services is an aspect that cannot be neglected in a market as competitive as today's.
by Osmer Castillo*
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is in a phase of growth and expansion. We walk the bridge between industrial society and post-industrial society, whose deep foundations are anchored in knowledge, imagination and human capital.
The old factories are being progressively replaced by services, a sector that grows exponentially around the world, generating wealth, decentralizing business models, blurring borders, reinventing concepts, generating new jobs, modifying cultural patterns, interconnecting governments, companies, communities, individuals and things.
Anyone anywhere can build small, medium or large fortunes from the design and development of innovations that leverage artificial intelligence, robotics, information technologies, social networks, big data, among many other interconnection platforms that spread incessantly, addressing issues as dissimilar as changing patterns of energy production and consumption, as well as responding to difficulties in accessing drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa.
To innovate is to accelerate the pace of change, to start doing today what tomorrow will be the model to follow or the new common sense to do things. Innovation is not necessarily an exclusive phenomenon of large corporations, although certainly these invest large sums of money in R + D + i and are the ones that are at the forefront, this does not mean that SMEs or nascent entrepreneurs, with low-cost initiatives, can not make innovations on very practical scales, and equally, of high added value. This is very visible in the service sector.
In the business of installation, maintenance and technical assistance in refrigeration and air conditioning there are great opportunities to take advantage of to set guidelines or distinguish yourself from the competition. Here are some key elements that can feed innovative practices, trigger the growth and positioning of service providers:
1. Handling of customer information. Whoever decides to hire our services is an inexhaustible source of data, very useful and, the best, free. Knowing the client, asking for feedback every time we provide a service, turning him into our fan to advertise us, is a loyalty strategy that makes our professional option sustainable.
2. Use of social networks. The dizzying growth of social networks are a channel of public recognition, marketing and sales of increasing use. Making an extensive and intensive professional use is, without a doubt, a powerful tool for the development of our personal or business brand. A satisfied customer will be happy to share on the networks the service experience that has been provided.
3. Guide/advise the client. In the service, more important than the sale, is that the customer is satisfied and appreciates in you his willingness to listen to him and, at the same time, teach him what he is doing and sensitize him regarding the most efficient use of the equipment. Gain credibility and trust, especially since, seen from a broader perspective, those who provide services in the air conditioning and refrigeration sector are in the business of well-being or comfort. It is not teams that are served, it is the aspiration of customers who want to feel comfortable.
4. Build commercial alliances. SMEs are part of a broader ecosystem in which business opportunities are lost sight of, it is a matter of focusing and developing the interaction skills necessary to build productive alliances with suppliers, customers and competitors.
5. Analyze the environment. Everything around us moves and changes. In the business world that's the constant. You have to have all the senses ready to understand what happens in the environment and act accordingly.
6. Transition from technician to SME. The technician is himself an entrepreneur, therefore a potential entrepreneur. There will come a time in your professional life that you will have to decide to make the leap, obviously if it is within your life goals. This requires new clothing, new work tools and a broader view of the business. To innovate in services you must first innovate yourself.
7. Constant updating. Knowledge is open and available to everyone. Differentiation from our competitors focuses on how we make use of knowledge, take advantage of it and become a factor of innovation.
All of the above is relevant in a context in which large producers are investing a lot of resources in R + D + i to incorporate new less polluting air conditioning equipment, to reduce the generation of greenhouse gases and that the life cycles and need for maintenance of the equipment are longer.
For example, Toshiba is marketing aerothermal air conditioners. Since 2013, between France and Spain alone, more than 2 million pieces of equipment have been placed, which drastically reduce energy consumption and their maintenance costs are very low. Within 10 years there will be at least 25 million devices with those characteristics or better, scattered around the world and competing with other models equally more environmentally friendly.
The broad refrigeration and HVAC sector offers great opportunities for capacity building to meet increasing demands and changes, so services are being challenged to improve and not die trying. Innovate is the name of the game.
* Osmer Enrique Castillo is the General Director of Creaaca (Centro de Aire Acondicionado y Refrigeracion C.A) in Venezuela. Email: [email protected]
