When bathroom technology specialists Aqualisa wanted to launch its new digital shower, it wasn’t just potential users that they needed to research.
The company does not sell directly to end users, but through a channel of plumbers, plumbers’ merchants and retailers. As a result, Aqualisa decided to research the needs of this group as well, ensuring the new shower would impress them as well as their customers.
Having been in the bathroom technology business since 1977, Aqualisa knew its distribution channel inside out: so it was well aware that plumbers, plumbers’ merchants and retailers are a traditionally conservative group and tend to be slow to adopt changes in product or service.
‘Plumbers tend not to want to get the ball rolling and push something new,’ explains Aqualisa Managing Director, Harry Rawlinson. ‘They wait for other people to buy it. It’s a very conservative market. If we invented the wheel tomorrow no one would be making a fuss about it.’ But support from this sector was vital if Aqualisa’s new shower was to be a success.
In partnership with creative design agency Seymour Powell, Aqualisa visited its retail partners and plumbers to find out exactly what they needed from a shower.
This research uncovered that the biggest battle for plumbers is installation. Most showers take up to two days to install, and involve cutting into existing plaster. In addition, supporting material such as installation instructions are often far too complicated, adding to delays and leading plumbers to resist new products to an even greater extent.
With this new insight, Seymour Powell was able to incorporate the needs of Aqualisa’s distribution channel into the design of the new shower. Seymour Powell came up with the idea of creating a water mixer unit separate from the shower, enabling it to be situated somewhere more convenient than behind the shower wall, such as discreetly under the bath.
This simple solution was incorporated into the final design, called Quartz Digital, which can be installed in two and a half hours. In addition, the design consultancy also helped to create an installation booklet that keeps text to a minimum and uses clear photography to illustrate every stage.
Aqualisa’s work with its distribution chain paid off, and the product has become a popular choice for plumbers and consumers alike.
