As the increasing influence of social media extends in to all areas of personal and working lives, #HagerGang, Hager’s innovative and growing online customer community is going from strength to strength and is fulfilling an important role for electrical contractors
Designed to provide a two-way engagement process between the manufacturer and electrical contractors, #HagerGang is fostering relevant online conversations to give Hager unique insight into the challenges electrical contractors face and use this to provide support when needed.
#HagerGang was initially developed by Hager customers when using Twitter to discuss some of Hager’s products. The phrase #HagerGang was coined and an online community quickly established so contractors could use the immediacy and informality of social media to exchange views, ask questions and share best practice.
#HagerGang has now evolved into a vibrant link between Hager and its customers, offering advice, assistance and insight to all participants. Hager is finding the feedback it receives vital as it looks to shape its services to help contractors.
David Evans, Digital and PR Executive at Hager, says: “#HagerGang allows us to engage with our customers. They provide us with insight into their world and the challenges they face. From the conversations we have and the exchange of views, Hager can spot trends in the market and highlight issues which we can then feed back into different parts of our business.
“Customer feedback goes into our product development processes and helps mould our services around customer needs. In a recent example, we were able to enhance our technical support service by altering the times the service was available to better match when contractors wanted to speak with us.
“Becoming advocates of our customers is a core part of how we use social media. These users are already advocates by purchasing, and then promoting our products to their audiences. So we want to thank them for their support by promoting their services. It’s a combination we believe is a perfect blend of customer support and advocacy.”
Joining #HagerGang provides plenty of perks for customers. In addition to receiving a #HagerGang t-shirt, customers can benefit from competitions and online product and technical content.
David Evans continues “The continued success of #HagerGang is helped by our customers returning to our channel to continue the conversation. For example, once a customer has shared their first install, they receive a free unique t-shirt. What we are finding is that customers return to us with their latest installations again and again. Showing that not only are they’re happy with the quality of the product we provide, but that they are a fans of our brand and what we represent. A true goal of brand awareness and audience retention.”
The platform also encourages the community to share their experiences and views, and questions are posted so others can benefit. Hager also uses the forum to promote impressive contractor work through blogs, case studies and being part of #HagerGang’s ‘Install of the Week’ feature.
As David Evans concludes: “The #HagerGang community is centred on real people and is designed to enable our customers to be able to help each other. The #HagerGang community has helped recover stolen goods, put customers in touch with Hager products in their area and even win awards. It gives our audience the ability to discuss and engage directly with us as a manufacturer and this is something few businesses offer.”
