Manufacturer’s certificate
One of the services manufacturers may offer to installers is the possibility to get trained and certified in installation and maintenance of products of certain brands. Offering this opportunity benefits manufacturers, because it assures a certain degree of brand loyalty among installers. For installers, a benefit of brand certification is the image of trustworthiness in the eyes of their clients. However, specialization of installers in installing and maintaining products of a certain brand, through training and certification from manufacturers, may also limit the flexibility of installers to use products of other brands, and thus limit the scope of services offered to their clients.
Current certificates
To get an insight in installers’ attitudes towards training and certification in certain brands of installation products, we asked in the Q1 2019 report of the European Mechanical Installation Monitor the opinion of around 900 installers from six countries. The results show major differences between countries.
When looking at the amount of installers that are already trained and certified by a certain brand, Poland takes the lead with 82%, while Belgium comes in second with 75% of the installers. The lowest percentage was found in France, where only 47% of the installers indicates to be trained and certified by certain brands of installation products.
Interest in certificates
In addition, we asked installers about their interest in becoming trained and certified by a certain brand, and overall, the interest in these options was rather low, ranging from 13% to a mere 2% of installers depending on the country. Interestingly, Installers from the countries with the most and the very least amount of brand-certified installers, Poland and France, showed the least interest in becoming brand-certified installers (both 2%).
For Poland, the fact that a large amount of installers are already certified by a certain brand can be a possible explanation for the low interest in becoming brand-certified. France, however, seems to be the odd one out. Based on these results, French installers seem to value the flexibility of brand choice higher than more or less tying themselves to a certain brand through brand-certification. Also, when looking at the type of product for which installers would like to be trained and certified by a certain brand, France stands out. In most countries boilers are the number one product for which installers would like brand-certification, but in France, the 2% of installers that are interested would prefer brand-certification for under-floor heating products.
About the European Mechanical Installation Monitor
To get more detailed insights in installers’ attitudes towards brand certification and other services from manufacturers, and insights in the variety of services European installers offer their clients, we refer you to the Q1 2019 report of the European Mechanical Installation Monitor.
The European Mechanical Installation Monitor is a quarterly study from USP Marketing Consultancy, which is based on 150 successful interviews with HVAC installers per country. Six European countries are included in the study. Every quarter, a report is published covering a specific topic like BIM, purchase channels, media orientation, love brands and many more. The report also provides key insights about economic developments within the HVAC market, based on the turnover and orderbook of HVAC installers.
