Automated address finder technology increases customer engagement online for home improvement brand

Automated address finder technology increases customer engagement online for home improvement brand

Since installing the online proximity search tool PostCoder Web Nearest from Postcoder.com, Velux Windows has more than doubled its online lead generation.

The online automated tool has significantly encouraged and improved customer engagement and dramatically increased leads.

Velux Windows is one of the strongest brands in the global building materials and home improvement industry has been providing high quality windows, sun tunnels and blinds to customers for over 60 years.

Playing the waiting game

Previously, visitors to the Velux GB & Ireland website could request information on their nearest loft conversion specialist via an online enquiry form, and would then wait for a customer service representative to reply via email – a process that often took up to two hours to be completed.

Kirsten Korhonen, brand manager at Velux GB & Ireland, commented: “We have a database of over 1,000 loft conversion specialists nationwide who have either attended our training courses, been recommended to us or who have actively requested a partnership. We would previously receive inbound requests via our website for details of our customers’ nearest contractors and then process them manually ourselves and reply via email.”

Korhonen explained: “However, the time delay of up to two hours that this entailed gave an impression that we were unresponsive as a brand and therefore discouraged people from using our services. With PostCoder.com however, we are now able to automatically fulfil requests within seconds and as a result, we have seen the number of leads more than double from 200-300 per annum to now more than 700 – meaning a greater throughput of business for our partners and of course us as a result.”

Accurate contact resolution

PostCoder Web Nearest replaced a legacy email-based customer relationship management (CRM) service so that online visitors can now simply enter their postcode and they are fed details of the three loft conversion contractors closest to the given location within seconds, immediately improving response times and actively encouraging customer engagement.

Deployment of the PostCoder Web Nearest software also means customers are receiving a better online experience. Korhonen concluded: “Given the success of this implementation, we are now putting into place plans to extend the service beyond loft conversions so that online visitors can search for their nearest builders and architects too, giving us yet more opportunity to actively engage with our customer base and provide added value to our partners.”