Business smarts DIGITAL SKILLS
GIVE YOUR BUSINESS A DIGITAL BOOST With the Government’s free Digital Boost Skills Training and Support programme available to all small businesses, we talk with plumber Matt Maley about how digital tools can streamline and grow a plumbing company. Matt Maley was inspired to start Dunedinbased iPlumb in 2015 after his home printer stopped working. He discovered it was around the same price to get a new printer as to refill the old cartridges. “The new printer I picked up had a lot of business features and it was there and then I thought, ‘If I’ve got a business printer, I might as well start a business’,” says Matt. iPlumb has since grown to a team of six, consistently growing their revenue year on year. Matt credits the business’s success to his early introduction of technology and digital tools. Using key tools such as Xero, Fergus, Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Outlook, Facebook and the company website, Matt is able to easily send out invoices, manage tasks, market his brand,
engage with customers, and keep on top of business administration. Almost 60 per cent of iPlumb’s business comes from its Facebook page, yet social media is a powerful marketing tool that many plumbing businesses don’t implement. The company has over 2,300 followers on Facebook, which Matt believes wouldn’t be possible without consistently posting visually appealing content. “To attract people to your page, it’s important to have stunning photos. No one wants to look at a thirty dollar tap. They want to look at a $30,000 bath or a $10,000 tap,” he says. “It’s just about being proactive with it. Make sure you’re putting up a couple of posts once or twice a month, and make sure you’re trying to resonate with what the consumer thinks is important.”
ABOUT DIGITAL BOOST The Digital Boost Skills and Training Support programme is designed to encourage small businesses to upskill their digital capability. It has been set up by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) in partnership with the private sector. Digital Boost is free for any registered business to sign up. It is a self-paced learning journey, with no assessments, daily Q&A sessions, regular ’fireside chats’ and access to support people. Participants are taken through six categories: digital marketing digital tools small business accounting business insights future technologies. Matt Maley has been a guest speaker at one of the initiative’s digital skills workshops, explaining how he implemented digital technology into his business. “Jump on board because any advice is good advice and there doesn’t seem to be a ‘right way’ to market or do business digitally,” he says.
Matt Maley of iPlumb spoke at one of the Digital Boost workshops about how he implemented digital technology in his business.
Find out more and sign up at www.digitalboost.co.nz
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