The current market can easily be described as challenging for the electrical contractor. The economy is complex, customer needs are forever changing, and it can be quite difficult to build solid foundations when the ground seems to be constantly moving. Yet, as South Africa looks ahead and explores new lockdown regulations, it’s equally a time to take control of your business and find new ways of growing customers and markets.
“There are two things that customers need today – control and power,” says Carel Scheepers, General Manager: Sales at Citiq Prepaid. “This may sound like the tagline of a presidential campaign, but these two words really resonate with people today. They want more control over their spend and their utilities. They don’t want to continue struggling with budgets and the vagaries of municipalities on top of all the other problems they face today.”
So, where does your role as the electrical contractor fit in? Well, as a trusted advisor who can support customers – be they individuals, managing agents or developers – in making smart decisions around their utility management and control. Decisions that allow them to minimise disruption and admin while maximising ease of use and, most importantly, an easy life.
“With prepaid sub-metering, customers can access, manage and control their power without having to leave the home or spend hours in a queue,” says Scheepers. “With Citiq Prepaid, they can do all this, and more. We provide prepaid sub-metering solutions designed to high standards and we have developed an array of value-added services that really transform how people engage with their utilities and sub-meters.”
The first thing that Citiq Prepaid does is ensure that electrical contractors have access to a product they can trust. The prepaid sub-meters come with tamper-proof features that significantly minimise the risk of fraud. In addition, the company has invested in two well-trained call centres that offer reliable support to contractors and customers, seven days a week. The call centres not only respond rapidly to customers registering their meters, but they offer swift and helpful advice when users have queries.
“When I first started out as a contractor, working in the prepaid sub-metering space, I received a lot of complaints from my clients about registration, tampering and service,” says Samuel Sibusisio, CEO of QSS. “I decided to go with Citiq Prepaid and now, whenever there are issues, I sit down with the customer, contact the call centre, and the staff immediately explain everything to them. They talk them through the benefits, the system and payment and make sure that they’re happy with everything. It’s made a huge difference to my relationship with my customers and my business.”
Along with the handy call centre and exceptional customer support, Citiq Prepaid has an online platform that’s designed to help customers manage their accounts and payments more effectively. The two types of login are for tenant and for owner or landlord, and provide a variety of services that range from reporting to online payments.
“The last thing anybody wants is to run out of tokens, so we’ve really worked hard to make paying for power as simple and seamless as possible,” concludes Scheepers. “We’ve got the largest national network of recharge outlets, allow payment online and with a mobile device, and cater for a variety of different payment methods. This reassures both the client and the contractor when it comes to ongoing service delivery.”
Citiq Prepaid provides contractors with the tools they need to grow their businesses in challenging times by ensuring that customers always retain control over their power in the easiest and most efficient way possible.
