Electrical Contracting News (ECN) August 2016 | Page 12

EDITORIAL

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

W

hether we like
it or not, we
now live in a
world driven
by a digital
agenda and
businesses
that want to
give themselves the best shot at long
term success need to ensure they have a
substantial online presence.
Though many contractors have been
quick to recognise the benefits of
enhancing their online credentials, a
recent survey has suggested that 81
per cent of electricians and electrical
contractors have wrong or inconsistent
information online – something that can
be quickly corrected and would more
than likely increase business overnight.
With so much competition for
business, customers who don’t find
the information they are looking for will
quickly move on to another company.
There will be those who claim they don’t
need the extra work and are happy to
rely on old fashioned methods such as
word of mouth to pick up the next job,
but there is no way of knowing when
there might be a potential downturn in
work and putting all your eggs in one
basket is never advisable.

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Maurice Morton has retired after
a decade as sales and marketing
director at Dickies. Following
a triumphant year, Maurice has
retired on a high and has handed
over the reins to his successor Rob
Haines, who has been leading the
way as regional sales director and
overseeing the main UK accounts.
C-Tec has expanded its sales
force by appointing Craig Swift as
distribution account manager for its
Southern region. An experienced
electrical engineer, Craig worked
on major installation projects, both
independently and for various
companies, before joining Rexel
Senate as a technical sales executive.
ESP has announced the promotion
of Neil Baldwin to the position
of sales director. Neil joined
ESP as national sales manager
in 2013, bringing with him 17
years’ experience in the industry,
specialising in fire and emergency
lighting products. He joins the
board at an exciting time in the
company’s development as ESP
continues to build its share of the
security products market.

Michael Crane
Editor

LJJ has appointed Jeremy Jones
to the role of mechanical contracts
manager at its Central office in
Solihull to help drive growth at the
company’s newest regional office.
Bringing 20 years’ experience of
mechanical fit out to the team,
Jeremy will be responsible for all
aspects of planning and resourcing
mechanical installation projects
delivered from LJJ’s central office,
including quality management and
programme scheduling.
Naomi Newberry is Marshall-Tufflex’s
new area sales engineer covering
Essex, East London, North East
London, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire
and Buckinghamshire. Naomi joins
from a nationwide alarm and security
system provider, having worked in
the building industry for many years.
GBE Converge Group is pleased
to announce that Dave Phelps
has been appointed as the new
national service manager. With over
29 years of experience within the
electronic security industry, Dave
adds considerable expertise to the
Gloucester based group.

movers & shakers…

The Lighting Industry Association
(LIA) has announced its new
president. Peter Scott, CEO
of Fern-Howard Lighting, was
welcomed as LIA president by
departing president Alasdair
McRury, managing director of
Holophane Europe during the LIA’s
Annual Lunch held on 10th May.

By carving out an enviable online
profile, the business owner is promoting
their organisation to a much larger
audience. Small businesses may not have
the financial clout needed to acquire an
all-singing, all-dancing website but you
generally don’t have to break the bank to
guarantee a professional looking site with
clear information on the services you offer.
After you have the basics in place you can
then start to look at adding content and
functions that will enhance the visitors
experience whilst browsing the site. On
top of this, you can then try to increase
website hits by engaging with customers
through social media and work to place
your business in a favourable position in
Google search results.
Even if the majority of your business is
acquired by other mean