Before adopting AI, Trust Electric Heating faced serious challenges, with rising customer acquisition costs and capacity constraints threatening to stall growth. In just two years, the West Yorkshire business has tripled its workforce, operations and turnover. Jonny Williamson pays them a visit and finds out how to reap the benefits of AI.
Like many SMEs, Trust Electric Heating’s story began around a family dining table. Scott Conor, a natural problem-solver and army veteran, was fascinated by the challenge of conserving energy while heating a room. When Scott announced his plan to start a heating company, his wife Fiona’s response dramatically altered both their lives: “If you’re going to do it, let’s do it together,” she said.
What started as a venture importing radiators from Germany in 2014, quickly evolved into something much bigger. Frustrated by long lead times and a lack of control, they decided to design and manufacture their own. Trust Electric Heating, formerly Northern Heating, was born. Their flagship product, the NEOS radiator, soon followed.
Featuring a compressed soapstone core and globally patented cool-wall technology, the NEOS delivers rapid warmth, remarkable heat retention and lower energy bills. Made from recyclable materials, the modular heating system outperforms competitors, lasts longer and is available in a range of colours and styles.
Trust’s commitment to innovation continued with a growing range of intelligent thermostats and apps, including a system designed to support confined adults, the vulnerable and elderly (CAVE), all tested and researched by the University of Huddersfield.
However, as market competition increased, the cost of acquiring a new lead almost doubled. Fiona realised that obtaining the leads needed to take Trust to the next level was going to cost hundreds of thousands. Conventional fixes such as raising sales targets felt unachievable and demoralising, while increasing headcount was too expensive. Instead, Fiona turned to artificial intelligence to transform their operations.
I spoke with Fiona to learn more about how AI has redefined the company’s approach to growth.
Where did your AI journey begin?
FC: The first step was identifying where AI could save time and add the most value. Initially, we used AI to handle repetitive, time-consuming tasks, freeing up our team to focus on more strategic work. Over time, we expanded its use into areas like marketing, lead generation and automating processes. AI has become like a personal assistant for everyone – one that works around the clock. This allowed us to focus on high-level decisions rather than mundane tasks, which was a gamechanger for our small team.
Can you give an example of how AI has optimised a workflow?
One of our first use cases was analysing why visitors left our website without converting. We spent time segmenting our customer base into four personas – Margaret, Sam, Jane and Peter, each with different interests and knowledge of electric heating.
This was hugely beneficial but left the problem of how to speak to each of them. ChatGPT had just exploded into the mainstream at that time, so I suggested using it to create tailored marketing content for each persona. By giving it detailed briefs and asking multiple followup questions, we refined its output to personalise outreach and align with our audience’s unique needs. As a result, we halved our cost per lead.
Next, we adopted an automated marketing tool that has completely transformed our content creation. It now generates 30 pieces of marketing content a week and even adapts to current trends and news, generating fresh content ideas by the time we arrive in the morning. All we need to do is review and fine-tune the output, saving time while maintaining a consistent tone of voice.
How has AI improved lead generation and conversion rates?
Our marketing efforts dramatically increased the amount of leads we were generating, which added pressure on our telemarketing team. Previously, leads were assigned manually, with our sales team having to cross-reference data in multiple systems and book appointments into our engineers’ diaries – a slow process prone to human error.
I discovered an AI-based platform that has quickly become integral to our sales processes. It integrates with our CRM system to automatically allocate leads, dial prospects and track engagement in real-time. It provides guidance during calls, helping agents handle objections and close deals more efficiently.
It used to take 30 minutes to contact 12 people. Now, it takes just six minutes. Automating follow-ups has led to a 500% increase in productivity, reduced lead attrition and significantly improved conversion rates.
How has your team embraced these new systems?
I took a two-pronged approach to get the team on board. First, I introduced ChatGPT in a fun, non-threatening way during an away day through creative tasks like writing a song about radiators. It allowed them to experiment with the tool and get comfortable with it. Surprisingly, some of the older team members embraced it faster than the younger ones, but by the day’s end, everyone was engaged and familiar with how it worked.
Transparency and empathy were key when it came time to introduce AI tools into the workflow. I gathered the team and said: “This isn’t about anyone doing a bad job – quite the opposite. You’re all working hard, but with more leads coming in, we need a way to keep up and make the most of these opportunities.” Instead of focusing on increasing output, I highlighted how the systems would make their jobs easier, allowing them to focus on tasks they enjoyed and having AI help solve the frustrating aspects.
I also had a volunteer trial the system who quickly became an advocate. After some initial teething issues, which we addressed by encouraging the team to openly share feedback, the systems are now an integral part of how we work. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see how the team has adapted and even championed these changes because they see the benefits first-hand.
Are you using AI or digital technologies in design or manufacturing?
We’re integrating AI across several areas. In manufacturing, we’ve implemented a system that monitors KPIs and helps address capacity constraints. With sales growing five-fold in a matter of months, our factory couldn’t keep up. The new system will help us manage production better.
We’re also developing augmented reality (AR) tools that let customers visualise how a radiator would look on their wall using a smartphone or tablet – changing models, colours or styles with the push of a button. That’s very exciting and something none of our competitors offer. We’re also helping address national challenges like the increasing strain on the nation’s power infrastructure. For instance, we’re currently developing an AI-driven technology that interacts with the national grid.
Is using AI in sales, marketing and information management a low-risk way to start the AI journey for SMEs?
Absolutely; starting with back-office systems is a no-brainer. For example, AI can handle something as simple as sorting emails in the morning. Instead of shared mailbox inquiries piling up and going unanswered, AI can route them to the right inbox automatically, saving huge amounts of time.
When I wanted to crack the US market, I asked ChatGPT to analyse every state, including the number of homes with electric heating, specific green policies and major HVAC suppliers. Within an hour, I had a complete breakdown of the market, who to contact and where to focus our efforts. It’s this kind of precision that makes AI invaluable – especially for SMEs with limited resources.
How do you ensure that what AI tells you is accurate, and do you have any concerns about data privacy?
Depending on your system and subscription model, everything may not be 100% accurate. But the question is, how long would it take me to do that myself? It’s taken me an hour to get some data, and now it’s up to me to clarify it. That doesn’t take as long and it gives me a breakdown of where to start. It’s not gospel, but it gives me a roadmap. And like any roadmap, you stop along the way and ask, ‘Is this correct? Does it need adjusting?’
ChatGPT is an open AI, so you don’t want to put anything confidential in there such as business plans or product development strategies. Once you start using it regularly though, you can develop a closed trust chat. That keeps your data private but it takes time to build up enough information to make it effective. In the beginning, you’re working with general insights, but even that can still save a huge amount of time.
What’s your advice for SMEs thinking about adopting AI?
Start with the basics. Look at the boring, repetitive tasks that no one enjoys doing every day – things like writing proposals or handling routine inquiries. AI can take those off your plate, allowing your team to focus on higher-value work that stretches them and benefits the business.
Don’t rush. Sit back and ask yourself: ‘What’s keeping me awake at night?’ Is it profit? People? Processes? Focus on the areas that really matter and tighten up your existing workflow before layering on more systems. For us, it was marketing, lead generation and sales. How can you make those first steps more productive? Start small, optimise your processes and then expand.
There’s also the fear of jumping into something you don’t fully understand. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Talk to someone already using AI, even if they’re not in your industry. Learn from their experiences to save time and avoid common pitfalls.
For our business, AI has unlocked more profit, allowed us to hire more staff and helped to create a dynamic, forward-thinking culture. It’s also helping us attract young talent, which is so important for the future of our industry. Like Ted Lasso says: “Be curious, not judgemental.” AI isn’t a silver bullet, but when applied in the right areas, it can be transformative.
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