With many years experience in the marketing, manufacture and delivery of DIY conservatories and also with providing a fully installed package to our customers, I would like to share my views on the two very different services.
I will start with fully installed conservatories. By this, I mean carrying out all the building work, base work, supplying and installing the conservatory – the complete job start to finish and ready for the customer to enjoy.
Advantages of fully installed conservatories
- Higher order values – this results in higher turnover and increased profit per conservatory order
- Easier to market for and sell – the DIY conservatory market forms only a small percentage of the overall conservatory market, whereas the full package appeals to a greater audience making marketing and selling easier
- Control – you have greater control over the complete building and installation process
Disadvantages of fully installed conservatories
- More to go wrong – you rely on your surveyor, builders and installers to do their job right and to effectively communicate with your customers, leaving you more open to human error which could cost you money
- More to guarantee – you have to guarantee the complete job including base and building work, product and installation which can increase after sales service costs further down the line
- Getting paid – whilst most customers are good customers and will pay you promptly when they are satisfied, there is a greater risk of bad debt. Even if you take stage payments throughout the job, there is always the last one outstanding on completion of installation, leaving you at the customer’s mercy
OK, now for the advantages and disadvantages of DIY conservatories.
Advantages of DIY conservatories
- Less to do – there is far less to organise and do to complete the customer’s order
- You get paid – you can collect the full payment in cleared funds before or on delivery and therefore eliminating any possibility of bad debt
- Less to guarantee – you only guarantee the actual products, the base, building work and installation is guaranteed by the third party that carries out the work or by the customers themselves
Disadvantages of DIY conservatories
- Harder to market and sell – DIY conservatories do not appeal to the majority of conservatory customers as they only form a small part of the overall conservatory market
- Lower order values and cheaper prices – these result in a lower turnover and profit margin for every order, presenting the need to market for and sell more conservatories to achieve the required levels
- Less control – if a DIY conservatory customer has a query, they are often at the other end of the country on the telephone and it can be difficult for them to explain any problems or describe various parts
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