Specflue are a leading UK supplier of Chimney & Flue Systems, Wood Burning and Pellet Stoves and renewable heat products. Specflue was founded in 1992 as an independent company and developed quickly; continuously expanding its customer base and adding new product lines.
Their head office is located in Sudbury, Suffolk, with other offices located in Honiton, Devon and Castleford, West Yorkshire. The combination of the three warehouses allows Specflue to service from the tip of Southern England and upwards into the Midlands and the North. This project used customer insight to move a business and brand forward in an evolving marketplace.
Brand Facts
- Specflue are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of chimney, flue and renewable heat systems, and have been successfully supplying the market since being founded in 1992.
- Specflue operate from their Sudbury, Honiton and Castleford sites, and are well equipped to offer unrivalled experience and knowledge of the market to their customers.
- Today the company employs over 120 members of staff across various areas of the business, and has almost 6,000 products in stock at any one time.
Project Facts
- The research was commissioned by Specflue to accurately measure the overall satisfaction and concerns of their clients, and inquire into what influences their decision making.
- Mackman Research designed a questionnaire in collaboration with Specflue, aimed at a target of 250 customers with various levels of interaction with Specflue.
- Customers were invited by personal invitation and approval was granted for a Mackman researcher to make contact and schedule a convenient time to conduct a telephone interview.
The Client
Leading the way with sustainable heat
In an ever evolving and competitive marketplace, Specflue wanted to effectively move their business and brand forward, and commissioned Mackman Research to conduct a customer satisfaction and perception survey following successful benchmark studies in the past.
The research was commissioned by Specflue to accurately measure the overall satisfaction and concerns of their clients, and inquire into what influences their decision making. The questions identified by Specflue that needed answering in particular were:
- Do Specflue deliver excellent customer service?
- Is the service what it used to be?
- How do Specflue take the customer experience on to the next level and meet current and future demands?
The Challenge
Specflue wanted to gauge their customers’ opinions on competitors, as well as current and future threats to the chimney, flue and renewable heat market.
Our Process
Improving the Specflue customer experience
In collaboration with Specflue, Mackman Research designed a questionnaire that was aimed at a target of 250 customers who have various levels of interaction with Specflue. The questionnaire was designed to understand how the Specflue brand is currently perceived, current satisfaction levels and opportunities; to improve the customer experience, and how the business can meet future customer demands.
In addition, we needed to identify where Specflue delivers excellent customer service, and how this compares to satisfaction levels recorded four years earlier in benchmark study (also carried out by Mackman Research), the demand for any new product or services, new changes or future changes for the industry, where customers see the industry in one, three, five years, and what the key drivers are for change in business activity, and who Specflue’s customers see as the main competitors.
The Methodology
Customers were invited by personal invitation and approval was granted for a Mackman researcher to make contact and schedule a convenient time to conduct a telephone interview.
Specflue provided a contact list and everyone was phoned or emailed to schedule a time to conduct the interview. The telephone interview lasted between eight and twenty-five minutes, dependant on how much information the client had to comment.
The Results
The survey calls commenced in July 2018 and ended in August 2018, and customers were split according to where they are positioned in the UK. There was a large response rate to the survey, with a total of 360 respondents having took part. This achieved a confidence level of 95% and a confidence interval of +/- 4.9%.
The key findings (as represented within a comprehensive report) gave insight into how Specflue can improve their services and products, as well as exceed the competitors in their market. As a result, Mackman Research made ten important recommendations, identifying ways to support and improve Specflue’s operations, market competitiveness, customer communications and customer loyalty.
- A total of 360 respondents took part, achieving a confidence level of 95% and a confidence interval of +/- 4.9%.
- The key findings gave insight into how Specflue can improve their services and products, as well as exceed the competitors in their market.
- Mackman Research made ten important recommendations, identifying ways to support and improve Specflue’s operations and customer communications.
This is the second time in four years that Specflue have used Mackman to conduct a customer survey. As a team they are very professional, understood the brief and executed the task in a timely and diligent manner. We found them easy to deal with and all very personable with a determination to do the best job possible for us. The quality of the feedback and final reporting was excellent in both summary and detail.
Ian Sams, Commercial Director – Specflue
Mackman has enjoyed an ongoing relationship with Specflue, and we were delighted to be commissioned once again to carry out an informative piece of research on behalf of the company. Specflue recognises the significance of both quantitative and qualitative business insight and continue to proactively use this to drive future business strategy. We thoroughly enjoyed working closely with Specflue to identify and anticipate what their customer’s need, to support and steer the company’s growth.
Amanda Ansell, Insight Manager – Mackman