Top 5 services that installers desire from manufacturers

Services are increasingly important in the installation market. On the one hand, it is getting harder for brands of installation products to differentiate themselves based on their products. Manufacturers have to look for other ways to differentiate their brands from the competition, and providing services to installers is an excellent solution. 

Among installers, there is quite some demand for services. In times of busy schedules due to energy transitions and labour shortages, installers can surely use some help. The question is what type of services they desire from manufacturers, which is what we asked HVAC installers and plumbers from six European countries for USP Marketing Consultancy’s European Mechanical Installation Monitor. 

Top-4 desired services indicate the pressure on the installers 

Looking at the services that installers desire the most, the first four indicate that installers are struggling with capacity issues and shortages of qualified personnel to answer the high demand for installation work. First of all, there is most demand for engineering support from manufacturers. A majority of installers offer that to their clients, and support from manufacturers would allow them to dedicate more capacity to the actual installation work.  

Following engineering support, there is a high demand for installation training, real-time installation support, and a commissioning service for more complicated or new products. On the one hand, the high demand for these indicates that the installers are mainly struggling with a shortage of qualified staff.   

Busy schedules and capacity problems leave little time to keep up with new technologies and products  

On the other hand, aside from indicating capacity problems when it comes to qualified staff, the high demand for installation training, real-time installation support, and commissioning services shows that installers are struggling to keep up with all the new systems and technologies that have entered the market. 

Manufacturers can help out the installers by providing these services, and doing so will increase customer trust and loyalty, thereby adding value to the brand. Additionally, improving the supply chain is a must, since the fifth most demanded service is tools or apps to check product availability. This shows that installers still struggle with time-consuming supply issues.  

Service is the future    

The above list contains services that are currently in high demand. Aside from real-time installation support, they are also relatively traditional services that installers expect from manufacturers. But what expectations are there for the future? 

Since labour shortages will not be solved soon, we expect less traditional services that allow for faster and more efficient installation and maintenance to also gain importance in the years to come. Examples include a wider offer of prefab solutions, for instance. That will probably coincide with more demand for BIM support since BIM and prefab often go hand in hand.  

Other more modern services may be ways and tools for monitoring, diagnosing, and troubleshooting connected products and systems from a distance, which can save much on travel time. On top of that, we expect an increase in demand for maintenance assistance from manufacturers when the installers themselves are fully booked for installation work. 

Demand will differ per area, though 

The above results are based on a combination of answers from all installers in six major European markets. In the current demand for services from manufacturers, we already see quite some differences per country, and future demand will likely differ as well. 

For a full overview of the services that installers from each country desire from manufacturers and offer to their clients, we refer you to the Q2 2023 report of USP Marketing Consultancy’s European Mechanical Installation Monitor.