Reputation

At the time of writing, it is eight weeks since Boris Johnson addressed the nation and ‘lockdown’ formally started. It is worth recalling, however, that this announcement had been preceded by several weeks of uncertainty and growing restrictions on corporate and public life.

by Paul Jennings

Managing Director, AVK UK

Lockdown also coincided with the start of the new AMP (PR19) cycle on 1st April. Change – both expected and unexpected – can put considerable strain on an organisation’s reputation. In this brief article, I will look at how AVK UK has responded to these changes and sought to protect its hard-won reputation.

If you type ‘reputation management’ into Google you would be forgiven for thinking that reputation only exists in the online world; the world of Google Reviews, Twitter, LinkedIn and other digital platforms. These are important of course – AVK UK uses social media extensively to communicate with its customers, suppliers and other stakeholders – but I am more interested in AVK UK’s real world ‘bricks and mortar’ reputation.

Where does AVK UK’s reputation come from? For me, our reputation is synonymous with brand, image and identity. It is built from the collective experiences of our stakeholders over many years. These experiences, in turn, are formed from thousands of separate interactions between the AVK UK team and our customers. I believe AVK UK has a strong reputation across the UK’s water and gas industries. This reputation is incredibly valuable to us as an organisation. Its consequences include customer loyalty, advocacy, co-operation and willingness to collaborate. For example, in Autumn 2020 AVK UK will be launching a portfolio of smart water products, many of which we believe to be ‘first to market’. Our reputation has enabled us to arrange trials with a number of water companies, trials which are providing invaluable feedback prior to launch.

At AVK UK we have invested heavily in transparency and openness. A prime example of this is the AVK UK website which makes over 150 instructional videos, technical articles, case studies and document downloads freely accessible to any visitor. My team is committed to making the AVK UK website the UK’s leading platform for information on solutions, valves, fittings and related services. Culture has a key role to play in shaping and influencing reputation. The AVK UK culture is reflected in our approach to the Covid-19 lockdown. The primary driver in all decisions has been the safety and welfare of our employees and customers. Wherever it has been deemed safe to do so in line with government recommendations, we have sought to maintain continuity of service and supply to our customers. To achieve this, we have kept our manufacturing facilities open, created the infrastructure for 50+ employees to continue working from home and communicated on a daily basis with the workforce and our customers.

In PR19, water companies have been set exceptionally challenging targets by Ofwat across all their activities including resilience, sustainability, efficiency, innovation and customer service. There has been an unprecedented number of challenges to Ofwat’s determinations by major water companies, showing just how stretching

these targets are. It was inevitable that the supply chain would be a prime source the water companies would look to for support, efficiency gains and innovation.

As any reputable manufacturer will tell you, quality systems, audits and product accreditations are expensive to maintain. Whilst it takes time to build customer confidence in the quality of your products and services, however, I believe it is the best long-term business investment you can make. Furthermore, ‘product quality’ is just one dimension of a water company’s measure of quality. An AVK customer’s definition or perception of quality changes across the ‘customer journey’, it is not a fixed entity. Out with the product itself, the customer experiences quality in its interactions with its suppliers through the service that is provided. Once again, we are back at ‘reputation’.

At AVK we try to see the world from the customer’s viewpoint and constantly ask, and seek to answer, the following questions. Do we make it easy for the customer to identify the correct product? If the customer has questions, do we make it easy for them

to get the answers they need? Do we provide these answers in the format the customer wants: face-to-face, by phone, online? Do we make it as easy as possible for customers, old and new, to buy from us? Do we do enough to ensure the customer gets the most from the products they buy at all stages of the product life cycle? If the customer perceives there is a problem, are we resourced and available locally to resolve it? If we can answer these questions in the affirmative, our reputation is enhanced.

For further details on AVK Smart Water Solutions please contact:

David Hurley T: +44 (0) 7983 706675 E: dahu@avkuk.co.uk