What is the best way to communicate the benefits of using a TrustMark registered tradesperson with vulnerable groups?
IL: We have taken the view that glitzy, glossy, high-profile campaigns are not always the way to communicate with consumers. We’ve done that, but much of the strategy we’re pursuing now is done at a local level. A total of 80% of people who pick a trader will do so by word of mouth, through local recommendations or through their parish magazines or local newspapers, so we’re focusing a lot of our communications through these channels. We’ve decided that the website is where people will go to find a trustworthy tradesman, but one of my worries is that vulnerable and disabled groups may not have access to the internet and may not be able to use that search facility. SH: At the Disabled Living Foundation we operate a website and a phone line and are finding that increasing numbers of older people are going online. The number of hits on our website is going up all the time, but at the same time we still get a lot of phone calls. One place in which we have done a lot of marketing is in GP s
