Good business owners (and employees, for that matter) are always on the lookout for new opportunities that can help their companies grow and increase revenue. Good business owners also know, however, that jumping at an opportunity without exploring all options and scenarios could lead to negative consequences and loss in revenue.
In the past year, the water treatment industry has been buzzing about the many opportunities within the commercial water treatment market. These opportunities are certainly many and varied—in this issue alone, we cover commercial applications including aquariums, beer brewing, and condominium and office buildings.
Although commercial systems have the potential to create new and lucrative revenue streams, water treatment dealerships that are accustomed to working with residential systems must take many considerations into account before jumping into the commercial market.
These considerations were brought up last fall in a meeting held at the Water Quality Assn.’s Mid-Year Leadership Conference. At the meeting, several dealers who work with commercial systems shared their experiences; then the floor was opened up for discussion and questions. Some of the factors discussed were the ability to handle the larger-sized equipment needed for commercial systems (one dealer even pointed out the importance of being sure the tanks and other equipment could fit through the door) and having the resources to provide 24/7 on-call service to commercial customers.
Michael Thompson and Perry Salvadorini of Applied Management Group Inc. (AMG) address these concerns and more in their article “Sharpen Your Axe: The Value of Preparation” (page 46), in which they share their Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Critical Assessment, a set of questions to help dealerships determine if and in which sectors they should enter the commercial water treatment market.
The questions cover all aspects of a dealership, and reveal the company’s strengths and weaknesses, which in turn can help it determine which commercial or industrial markets it is ready to enter.
The old adage “look before you leap” could not be more on point here. The many opportunities presented by the commercial market are exciting, but it is key to consider all factors involved in working in that market before anything else.
One of the most important ways you can prepare your business for commercial customers is to educate yourself on that market. WQA Aquatech USA is on the horizon, and the schedule features several sessions on commercial applications—a great place to start. I also encourage you to tune in for WQP’s webinar series featuring the AMG team, who will cover the C&I Critical Assessment and other commercial topics in a three-part series beginning this month. For more information, visit www.wqpmag.com.
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