Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of a long and difficult year. You’ve navigated national lockdowns, a pandemic, changing customer expectations, and demanding situations. It has been tough, and it has been a learning curve. For many people, the pandemic has emphasised the importance of relationships that deliver value, that give back and that recognise the importance of mutual benefit and growth. The criteria of transparency, support, shared interest, and mutual partnering are those that should define the business relationships that emerge from 2020.
“Do your suppliers constantly look for new ways to deliver value to your business? Are they focusing on helping you to overcome specific obstacles or enter new markets?” asks Carel Scheepers, General Manager: Sales at Citiq Prepaid. “These are important questions to ask, and have answered. These are the kind of questions that help you define what kind of value you want from a service provider and whether or not you’re working with the right people.”
There is little doubt that tough times can breed bad behaviour. Some are quick to protect themselves at all costs, rather than go that proverbial extra mile. The former will likely emerge from the market recession and pandemic relatively unscathed thanks to the high walls built to protect the business from harm. The latter will emerge from the pandemic with relationships and opportunities that will allow for expansion, innovation and development. And this is the ethos upheld by Citiq Prepaid.
“We’re always on the lookout for new ways to engage with our electrical contractor community and to provide them with the support they need,” says Scheepers. “If a contractor asks us a question about how a product works or how to expand their market footprint, we answer it and then turn it into a blog post so that anyone visiting our website can immediately get the right advice. If a contractor isn’t sure on how our prepaid sub-meters work, we give them access to a call centre that’s staffed with well-trained, passionate people.”
Always on the lookout for new ways to engage with electrical contractors, Citiq Prepaid has put value at the forefront of its business proposition. It has also put ‘notice’ at the centre of its vocabulary.
“We want electrical contractors to feel heard, to have their questions answered, to be given the information that’s relevant to them, and to do this we need to notice what they are saying, and to whom,” says Scheepers. “This is why we engage with our contractors as often as we can, and recognise the value that they bring to our business. Regular profiles of our most successful contractors can be found on our website, and in our CIC newsletter – we notice the hard work that you put into your businesses.”
In addition to two call centres, plenty of supporting materials on the Citiq Prepaid website, and accessible Citiq Prepaid representatives, the company has also created the CIC – the Citiq Installers Club. This is a special initiative designed specifically for the Citiq Prepaid sub-meter installer. The focus of the club is to recognise the hard work put in by Citiq Prepaid electrical contractors using a reward system that gives back where it counts – financially.
“The CIC was designed by people who understand the ins and outs of the industry and exactly how people like to work,” concludes Scheepers. “It forms part of our value proposition to our electrical contractors and we will continue to evolve and adapt its potential to ensure that you get the most value from the service. Just like our call centre, support systems, website and exceptional quality prepaid sub-meters – value is embedded into the core of Citiq Prepaid.”
