5 minute read
Price versus quality
INTERVIEW
The cost of quality vs price
This interview follows on from a news item we covered a month or so ago in which a survey was undertaken to find out where installation companies placed the most importance when it comes to kit, on quality or price
As an installer you’ll know that when it comes to pitching for business, price is often the overriding factor in the decision to go ahead with the contract. The security sector has always been like that. People want a good deal, and while we all know someone who routinely opts for the cheapest choice only to realise fairly quickly that quality and value for money only really come at a price, security is a grudge purchase. So the cost of technology plays a major part in the success of any installation.
BFT Automation recently carried out a survey to find out what installers think about the subject, and while we know that customers will always want to pay less for technology, the report found that tradespeople value quality and reliability over price when it comes to specifying which products to use.
For those who don’t know BFT is a manufacturer and distributor of entrance automation technology, including swing and sliding gate operators, automatic barriers and bollards.
In a survey of automation installers, more than two-thirds of respondents cited the quality of a product as the most important priority when choosing equipment, with factors related to price cited by less than 10%. The company originally undertook the research as a way to get back in touch with installers after the lockdown.
Speaking at the publishing of the data, Matthew Batson, a Director at BFT said: “Given the rising costs of many of the materials that tradespeople rely on, we might have expected to see price as a driving factor in their choice of equipment – especially when serving costconscious customers. But our research shows that installers value quality and reliability above all other priorities.”
He went on to say: “It stands to reason that it’s worth investing in products that will last, and it’s encouraging that installers recognise the value in turning to products that will do a job well, as part of an overall reflection of their work. After all, if an installer has to revisit a job for repairs, it could reflect badly on them and their service they offer, despite the hard work they put into making a good impression on their customers.”
To find out more about the results of the survey and to discover whether they came as a surprise, we spoke further to Matthew Batson for a PSI podcast. Here is an extract of that episode:
Matthew Batson of BFT Automation
INTERVIEW
Listen to the interview with Matthew in the PSI Security Podcast
(continued from page 25)
Why did you carry out the research with installers? We were thinking that, given we hadn’t seen them for a while due to Covid, how well do we really knew our customers and what do they really think about us, what do they buy from our competitors and why? So in a nutshell, we just wanted to get a better understanding of what our installers were thinking and what’s a better way than a survey? It was very interesting reading the responses especially with the quality of the product coming across as being the most important priority to them.
So did that surprise you or were you thinking it was going to be price? Security is a very price orientated market. If you think about what we do here in terms of what we supply it did surprise us because we need to make sure all of the components we bring together are as cost effective as possible. Installers have local competition and we have competition in the market so it did surprise us that price was not at the forefront when it comes to them buying and specifying technology – of course it is a factor, but not the main one as they told us they were more interested in the quality of the product.
How do you think installers are going to get the importance of quality over price to their customers? Whilst we don't deal with end users I sometimes put myself in their shoes and think about when it comes to security what do I want? Ultimately as an end user who uses the system every day you want reliability. If you supply a good product or service you don't have to keep dropping your price to get the business. I do strongly feel that our price reflects the quality and reliability of our products; I certainly don't want to be the most expensive vendor out there, but by the same token, I don't want to be the lowest cost either. There are some vendors in our marketplace whose prices are much lower than ours and sometimes we will be given the opportunity by the installation company to compete, and that's when it does become a challenge.
DIGITISATION TRANSFORMS FAELSAFE
Andrew Hutchinson, Director of Faelsafe
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