Lighting
Selling smart lighting S
mart home technology is fast becoming a part of everyday life, with more than half of homes in the UK containing a smart device of some description, according to Smart Home Week’s 2019 Smart Home survey.
Smart lighting is still a relatively new concept in the mainstream lighting market, though like other smart technology it is soaring in popularity. There is a real opportunity for electrical wholesalers to support installers in capitalising on the growing consumer demand for smart home technology. Here are some key pointers that will help you to help your customers make a smart choice.
Share knowledge
Because smart lighting is comparatively new, there is an understandable knowledge gap about how the technology works and the benefi ts it brings. An important fact to share is just how simple it is to install and operate. Systems are controlled and hosted on the cloud, so there’s no hub or wiring to install, and most units are simply installed like a normal light lamp or switch. User control, customisation and fl exibility are strong sellable features of smart lighting, while its energy effi ciency could also be a key deciding factor - for example, the Carbon Trust estimates that automatic sensors alone can cut electricity usage by up to 40%.
What to stock?
A good place to start is to stock a small but varied range of products that showcase all the benefi ts of smart lighting, whether operated individually or as an entire connected solution.
Smart lamps and complementary accessories such as plugs, remote controls and sensors would fi t the bill. Smart LED strip lighting is also extremely popular thanks to its ability to add colour, create ambience and highlight specifi c design features.
Smart lamps are brilliant at facilitating creative lighting tones and moods. Though originally expensive, they have become much more aff ordable as the market has expanded. Today a smart lamp, which off ers many more features and functionality than a standard LED lamp, sells for only a couple of pounds more, representing a real opportunity for upselling and off ering real added value.
For customers who want to off er end users a fully connected smart space, add products that have smart technology embedded in them, such as Octo
Smart lighting is an important new product category for electrical wholesalers, creating fresh opportunities for sales and revenue generation. Anthony Parkinson, technical manager at Ansell Lighting, off ers advice on how best to sell the control, energy conservation and cost saving benefi ts that smart lighting off ers.
WiZ Connected. These showcase the optimum control that smart lighting off ers, enabling users to link luminaires to create diff erent scenes, groups and schedules. Operated via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, they can be programmed to respond to voice or motion, can be operated remotely and can be integrated with eco systems such as Alexa, Hey Google and Siri.
Consumers generally prefer their smart devices to work together from one interface without having to use myriad diff erent apps. Many products off er this, from downlights to outdoor bi-directional wall lights and garden spikes.
Product displays
No matter how small or extensive the selection of smart products being off ered on sale, display and merchandising is key. Promotional and educational content is hugely important for smart lighting products, as awareness and understanding of the technology is still emerging. There is no better way to explain the benefi ts of a product than putting it to use so, if facilities and space allow, consider the possibility of giving live demonstrations. This can be as simple as installing a smart lamp in a ceiling pendant and connecting it to an app on your phone, or by placing it on demo mode.
Some manufacturers will also off er product point-of-sale boards or in-units for display, as well as direct training, so it’s worth enquiring about these.
Ensuring quality
It is obviously important to make sure that that smart lighting you stock is from a trusted, quality manufacturer. As with any product that collects data to work eff ectively, the manufacturer needs to demonstrate their smart lighting product will not compromise customers’ data. Check that the technology off ers anonymous sign-in, TLS 1.2 encrypted cloud connections and OAuth 2.0 as well as having robust and transparent Privacy Notices. These are just a few pointers, but take them into account and the smart lighting sales experience should prove benefi cial for wholesaler, installer and customer alike.
20 | electrical wholesalerMarch 2022
ewnews.co.uk
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