Unlocking the Potential of Pool Automation for Your Business

Home automation products like smart vacuums, thermostats, and doorbells all have one thing in common: making homeowners’ lives easier – and pool automation is no different. 

Leveraging the latest pool automation systems benefits more than just the pool owner, it also offers a surplus of business-boosting opportunities for pool professionals. Whether tackling regular maintenance or something more complex, read on to explore the benefits of incorporating automation and remote monitoring into your operations to strengthen your competitive advantage, increase profits, improve the customer experience and open the door to more opportunities to own the pool pad.  

Embracing Automation for Increased Profits

Smart pools are becoming more common in the pool industry due to their ability to automate and control pool functionality for optimal performance. This allows pool owners to efficiently control lighting, heating, filtration, cleaning, and basic water chemistry all from the convenience of their smartphone. 

Some pool owners are hesitant to implement the technology due to the initial investment. It's essential for pool professionals to educate their customers about the benefits of pool automation – easily summarized as “full control of their system 24/7, from anywhere in the world.” And once pool owners experience the convenience pool automation brings, they won’t settle for anything less.

“By embracing automation, pool owners can easily turn on their spa, set their heater to the perfect temperature for jumping in when they get home from a long day, adjust and schedule their lights, and so much more,” said Israel Saari, senior product manager, mobile and web applications at Pentair Pool. “Even better, they can make these changes when they're at work, traveling across the world or sitting poolside, sipping on their lemonade and enjoying the backyard.”

Some pool professionals may be hesitant to incorporate automation into their product offerings – maybe there is a learning curve to programming the technology within their operations, or they don’t want to deal with potential customer problems in the future. But as the world of swimming pools continues to evolve rapidly, pool professionals must keep up with current trends. By incorporating an advanced pool automation system into their offerings, pool professionals are creating a competitive advantage – and increasing their business opportunities as these customers continue adding upgrades to their pool pad.

“If you are spending a lot of money on building or renovating a pool, you should ask yourself what the client wants at the end of the day,” said Bryan Anderson, owner of Infinity Pools. “Ultimately, they want something reliable. They want something that they know they can count on.”  

Facing the Challenge Remotely

One of the primary challenges faced by pool servicers is staying ahead of their customers’ issues. In the past, every time a problem occurred, a service trip was necessary, costing the company money – and sometimes, pool servicers didn’t have the equipment on hand to address the issue.

“Time is one of the biggest challenges for servicing customers, particularly on the maintenance side of the pool business,” said Saari. “Pentair Pool’s automation technology allows pool professionals to remotely monitor their customers’ systems from their office, saving unnecessary trips to a pool sometimes over an hour away.” 

Pentair Pool’s remote monitoring dashboard allows pool servicers to set alarm notices for when problems occur and, in some cases, fix the problem from the comfort of their office.
“It’s great to know ahead of time, and to be more proactive than reactive,” said Ken Troyan, director of automation and product advisory for Tortorella Swimming Pools. “So as much data and information we can get, the better.” 

Pool professionals can offer remote monitoring as an additional service offering to their customers, which allows pool owners to enjoy an effortless and stress-free pool experience. In addition, remote monitoring allows pool pros to save time in the backyard and focus on other revenue streams, like selling products and building more pools.

Hands-on Support

Pool automation can introduce some of the common challenges brought on by technology, like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity issues. To ensure pool professionals are equipped to solve any problem, Pentair Pool offers educational resources to help maximize business opportunities.
“Pentair University offers education to dealers on automation to bring them a level of confidence to solving and troubleshooting day-to-day issues or more complex problems,” said Saari. “No matter what, Pentair University supports pool businesses through every step of implementing automation and equips them with the knowledge they need to educate their customers about the benefits.”

Pentair Pool also has a dedicated team of automation specialists, tech support specialists, and territory sales managers who provide dedicated support to pool servicers through challenging automation installations, even joining them for planning sessions with the pool builder, if necessary, and are on hand for troubleshooting after installation. 

“I think our customers really appreciate having an expert close by who they know will be able to assist them in person,” said Saari. “It's different than just calling a customer service representative. You have access to experts who have been working in the field for decades in some cases.” 

Owning the Pool Pad

Pentair Pool automation allows pool professionals to scale up their sales by owning the pool pad. 

“If you install a Pentair automation system in a pool owner’s pool, they are more likely to invest in Pentair heaters, lights, saltwater systems, and more to fully utilize the connectivity an automation system offers,” said Saari. “It gives you access to the entire pad of products. So, maybe before you’re just selling them a pump, but typically when you install automation, you get the rest of the equipment that attaches to it. This leads to increased revenue for pool pros.”

From optimizing maintenance schedules to enhancing customer experience, automation offers a surplus of opportunities for efficiency and growth. By embracing automation, pool servicers can streamline operations, improve service quality, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.

References

IntelliCenter Pool Control Upgrade Kit https://www.pentair.com/en-us/products/residential/pool-spa-equipment/pool-automation/intellicenter-upgrade-kit.html