Managing Director of Business Pilot Elton Boocock explains why the FIT Show is an extension of the community the company is building in the window and door industry.
Since we launched in 2019, building a community of users and partners was just as important for us as developing the Business Pilot software.
Here are four reasons why building a community has helped develop Business Pilot and resulted in valuable tools for window companies across the UK.
1 FIT Show born and bred
We launched at FIT Show 2019, and we’ve been swept along on a wave of positivity ever since.
This year will be no different. We’ve got new developments to demonstrate to existing users as well as new ones, such as a new function that allows managers of multi-site businesses and multi-company groups to have access to the operations of all sites, or just a specific one – depending on the permissions given.
Thanks to software updates such as this, last year we had double the number of leads we had in 2019, and we are looking to build on that again in 2023.
2 A software community
Many software platforms are walled gardens where developers want to keep their codes a secret.
Not at Business Pilot! We believe that the more we can integrate Business Pilot into the working life of our users, the more useful it will be. So, we’ve created a number of APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow users to speed up operations by allowing Business Pilot to partner with other pieces of software, such as accounting software and pricing software.
For example, a lot of businesses use Xero for their day-to-day accounting, and with our API, there is no more exporting data, import sorting data, or double entry. There’s just a button – you simply connect the two systems so everything stays up to date.
It’s the same with front-end pricing tools such as Tommy Trinder and Windowlink. Again, with our APIs, there is no more room for discrepancies because there is no need to export or import the data. It is connected and live.
The FENSA API was launched at last year’s FIT Show, and it was a runaway success. More than 6,000 FENSA registrations have been completed through Business Pilot since the API went live, and we expect the popularity to keep growing.
3 Spreading the news
If you regularly read the industry’s trade media, then you will appreciate the popularity of our Business Pilot Barometer. Thanks to our growing community of Business Pilot users, we can get an overview of what is happening in the window and door industry right now. Industry reports are usually incredibly speculative or are based on information that is months out of date.
But nothing is more accurate than taking real-time data from those on the ground to say definitively what the market is demanding, and where companies should invest. This is creating partnerships with the industry media, with industry bodies, and with everyone who reads the Business Pilot Barometer.
And join us at 1pm on the Tuesday of the FIT Show for a seminar about how the number and quality of leads has changed over recent months, and how they compare to previous years. We will also explore how you can maximise sales from the leads you have.
4 Valuable feedback
The strongest partnership is the one Business Pilot has with its users, and which ultimately drives the software’s development. It is also the key reason why we are exhibiting at the FIT Show.
We absolutely encourage feedback from those who use our CRM software on a daily basis. We are proud to create the best system available for installers, but to keep that reputation means we need to continue to develop and maintain that position, and that means working closely with our partners.
Thanks to that feedback, we can continue to develop more APIs, create more features, and build in more reasons for window companies to sign up.
And we’ll be discussing all this and more at the FIT Show where we will have a team of people on hand to guide you through the software an explain how Business Pilot can make you more efficient and profitable.
So, why not become part of the Business Pilot community and visit us on Stand S41 in Hall 9.
To find out more please visit www.businesspilot.co.uk, email info@businesspilot.co.uk or call 0333 050 7560.
