Did you say BYOM?

The professional audio-visual (Pro AV) industry has witnessed significant growth over the past few years, driven by technological advancements and the increasing demand for immersive and interactive experiences. In this dynamic sector, understanding customers’ needs has become a fundamental aspect of delivering successful AV solutions. This post speaks of the importance of comprehending customer requirements in the Pro AV industry and advocates for the incorporation of Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) devices in commercial AV solutions.

Understanding Customer Needs in the Pro AV Industry

The Pro AV industry is a diverse landscape, catering to a wide range of clients, from corporate enterprises to educational institutions, healthcare facilities, entertainment venues, and more. To deliver solutions that meet and exceed expectations, it is vital to understand the unique requirements of each client. This understanding ensures that the AV solutions align with the client’s goals, budget, and the end-user experience they aim to create.

One of the primary benefits of comprehending customer needs is the ability to customize AV solutions. This customization ensures that clients receive technology that is tailored to their specific requirements, whether it’s enhancing communication, collaboration, or providing a memorable entertainment experience. Understanding customer needs also allows efficient integration of AV solutions with existing infrastructure, which is crucial for minimizing disruptions and cost overruns.

The Role of BYOM Devices in Commercial AV Solutions

Bring Your Own Meeting (BYOM) devices have become increasingly relevant in the Pro AV industry. These devices enable users to connect their own devices, such as laptops and smartphones, to AV systems for presentations, video conferences, and other collaborative tasks. BYOM solutions provide many benefits, some of which are:

  1. Flexibility: BYOM devices offer users the flexibility to work with familiar tools and platforms, making the collaboration process smoother and more efficient.
  2. Cost-Efficiency: BYOM solutions reduce the need for specialized equipment and training, ultimately saving costs for businesses and institutions.
  3. Enhanced Collaboration: BYOM provides a collaborative environment, allowing participants to seamlessly share content, which is especially important in today’s hybrid and remote work environments.
  4. Future-Proofing: BYOM devices can adapt to changing technologies and standards, ensuring that AV solutions remain relevant in the long term.

Barco ClickShare as the Optimal Solution

In the competitive world of Pro AV, Barco ClickShare emerges as the best option for BYOM solutions. ClickShare offers a seamless and intuitive BYOM experience, which aligns perfectly with understanding the various needs of customers in the Pro AV industry. Its features include wireless screen sharing, compatibility with a wide range of devices, and user-friendly interfaces. The XMS Cloud platform is free of charge and allows for many advanced features that make ClickShare far more advanced than it has ever been before and separates the range of devices from other collaboration devices on the market, yet it’s not being utilized nearly as much as it could be. For more information on this, reach out to us at Exertis Almo and we’d love to assist.

Barco ClickShare’s commitment to customer-centric design, ease of integration, and scalability makes it a top choice for businesses, educational institutions, and other entities seeking cutting-edge AV solutions. By prioritizing customer needs and incorporating BYOM devices like Barco ClickShare, the Pro AV industry can continue to deliver experiences that attract and inspire, driving its growth and innovation in the years to come.

Nathan Dwelly BDM
About the Author

Nate Dwelly

BDM – Brand Specialist

Supported Manufacturers: Barco (East)

Where’d The Customer Service Go?

Have you noticed a decline in customer service throughout the past few years? Although I haven’t traveled outside of the U.S. lately, I believe this decline is occurring on a broad scale, because most people I discuss this with tend to agree. I’ve become aware of what seems to be a trend — many businesses and service providers have made an impression that as a consumer, it feels like I need them more than they need me. While this may be true in some cases, customer service should always be a priority, especially on the front line. Nobody who’s spending money in hopes of enjoying a pleasant experience ever wants to feel burdened for doing so. Whether it’s a tangible item, service, or experience we’re after, direct communication between customer and provider should always be equally – if not more valued – than the product itself.

I have a few suggestions that, in my opinion, may be the cause of the shift in attitude and a few tips on how we can avoid making the same mistake.

customer service ratingI’ve personally never worked in a retail store or restaurant, but I have worked face-to-face with individuals paying for a service which I provide, and many other times over the phone and email. Ever since the pandemic and the change it has brought upon us all, many people have become seemingly ill-mannered and short tempered (to say the least). While this is an entirely separate topic of discussion, I feel that it directly relates to the topic at hand – people tend to feed off one another’s energy. I’ve witnessed, first-hand, countless acts of inconsiderate behavior from every aspect and perspective related to customer service. Many business owners have become stressed with the concern of their future, and this trickles down into the employees who are customer-facing. Many businesses are understaffed, and employees are overworked. There may be a lack of training due to the shorthanded staff, and low resources, which lead to many younger, inexperienced employees not understanding the importance of their consideration and the impact it has.

Consumers have become impatient, greedy, and aggressive, many times coming off as entitled or angry. This may be a result of the lack of in-person interaction many have faced and the uncertainty of our future. Remote work has isolated many people and being social in-person has become a seemingly lost skill for some. Prices have risen significantly, and, in many cases, we are getting less for paying more. This, of course, is all absorbed by the front-line service workers who are expected to react in a kind and considerate way. As we all know, one can only take so much abuse before becoming tainted or conditioned, causing some form of backlash. While this topic becomes much deeper and one of humanity in general, if we all want to maintain a desirable way of life, treating each other in a certain way is vital to the outcome.

As a provider, having purposeful “customer service” will make a significant difference in customer satisfaction and retention, which is something we all know, either through being a provider or a consumer. We’re all faced with one – or both – sides of this on a daily basis.

It’s easy to point out all the negatives, but my purpose here is to draw attention to how easily we can improve. In the Pro AV industry, we have maintained great communication throughout these challenging times. We’re fortunate enough to be in an industry where relationships are highly valued and, in most cases, necessary! Our purpose at Exertis Almo allowed us to merge into this climate without changing much. Many have adopted the phrase “the new normal,” but from my perspective, we’ve kept the old normal – but made it better. Our entire team works together with a solution-based attitude to serve ourselves, our vendors, and our customers in the most productive way possible.

tech customer support servicesA main focus of ours was already our Services offerings, including independent contractors for our reseller partners who require more hands in the field at all different expertise levels. We have a strong, experienced, well-trained, and well-educated sales team who are responsible for keeping relationships with our customers as top priority. This team has all the skill sets anyone could ask for when it comes to our line card of product offerings, service offerings, and the best in the business at providing you with a solution in all things Pro AV.

Additionally, our team of Business Development Managers are available to assist with products and design. Our BDMs are focused experts on our product lines and/or offerings. Having this dedicated line of support helps to maintain even stronger relationships between manufacturers and our sales team, allowing the sales team to keep their attention where it’s best spent in the field and keeping up to date on the everchanging technology.

It doesn’t stop there! The next layer of support is the manufacturers themselves, of course. As a BDM for Barco ClickShare, I can speak about some key benefits offered in terms of support. The front line is Business Development Managers – Lisa Lingo and me. We are your first point of contact here at Exertis Almo for all things ClickShare. We assist with anything from answering basic questions about the product and functionality, piecing together a solution, or getting you signed up as a Connect Partner! with access to the full line of Conference (CX) models and special pricing on qualifying opportunities. Barco offers a dedicated Channel Development Manager to each region of the country who can schedule onsite or virtual meetings with our dealer partners, so they are knowledgeable and to help drive sales. In addition, there are even regional Business Development Managers willing to meet with the end user to help them determine an appropriate product for a specific location and provide on-site demos. They even have Sales Engineers covering each region which are readily available for a deeper dive into the technical aspects and systems designs!

All of these offers have been key to our maintaining strong and healthy relationships with our customers and in turn their customers. This is, in my opinion, a tried-and-true recipe for successful in customer satisfaction and retention. Equally, this affects how we are all treated as the customer in any business model. It all comes down to the basics of how we treat one another and how we work together to create harmony in business and in life!

Did you find this post helpful? Join the conversation over on LinkedIn.

Nathan Dwelly BDM

About the Author

Nathan Dwelly

Business Development Manager

Supported Manufacturers: Barco (East)

BUT, Did You Train Them?

Love for Learning

Our industry is comprised of remarkably brilliant minds and innovative thinkers from all different backgrounds, and of various experience levels. Being in this industry, the love for learning is a prerequisite, in my opinion, as the learning never stops! There’s endless and ever-changing information to consider, leaving no choice but to keep up if you want to thrive. In my experience throughout the past four years in Pro AV, I’ve witnessed or been part of countless changes. Some small and subtle, others very significant, even life changing. So, it’s safe to say that being part of Pro AV requires you to adapt and maintain flexibility while striving to provide the best solutions to the masses.

Arguably the most important aspect of our industry is the end user, the common public, the small to large business owner, and the like. This is where all the effort and main impression has the greatest impact. They, however, do not need to keep up with the rapid changes of all the technicalities involved. This is what they rely on us for, and the very reason we are able to stand out in a league of our own. As manufacturers, distributors, and integrators, it is in our best interest to provide the most seamless and enjoyable experience to the end user. Sometimes this means entertainment and pleasure, other times productivity and efficiency, but it always means satisfaction. As the professionals making the recommendations, innovations and installations, we need to stay as educated as possible.

How we stay up-do-date, and in turn, implement that knowledge out in the field, greatly affects the satisfaction of those investing in, and using our products and services. The level of satisfaction may create career long repeat business, or may alternately cause the decline or stagnation we all work to avoid. Not all installations or solutions are equal in terms on complexity or technicalities, but they are all equally relevant. A full concert hall with all the sound equipment, proper sound distribution and seating design, lighting, and staging, etc. is as important to the venue, audience, and performers as a simple meeting room or huddle room is to a small business and it’s attendees. The education and training, or even experience required by the installation crew is certainly much more involved from one to the other, but it is totally necessary in both examples. Knowing what to install and how to install it – given the environment, budget and desired experience – can be, and in many instances is, more involved than most would expect.

Industry Expertise

Leaving projects unfinished, or partially in the hands of the client/customer/end user as a responsibility to perform, is proving more and more to be detrimental to the integrators success. I’ve seen and heard of more examples than I’d like to admit of: “The customer is going to do it themselves,” “This was just a box sale,” and “They have techs on staff that can handle it.”  When we, in the industry from a distribution standpoint, hear this, what we truly hear is, “I don’t care if my customer is satisfied with the outcome.” This may come across as harsh, but the proof is out there, and it won’t take much effort for us to collectively clean it up find ways to assure every project is done right, every time.  Most manufacturers offer all the training you could possibly need, free of charge, to gain the knowledge to properly install and get the most out of the features their products offer. Many offer training for beyond what’s required to know, and can be utilized to gain certifications or credits to maintain certifications. Some require that you become certified prior to gaining access to purchase and resell the products.

One example is the Barco ClickShare line of product and the features it has to offer the end user. ClickShare has evolved considerably throughout the recent years. Most know it as a simple collaboration device for which meeting presenters share content onto a display or projection image from their laptop or other portable device through a USB button or app. While this is still true, the features and benefits now offered by the product line is far more robust. Barco’s XSM Cloud portal gives users the ability to monitor, schedule, control, update, load simple digital signage content, and more, all at no charge! The most commonly missed perk Barco offers is the free upgrade from a 1 year to a 5 year SmartCare warranty on any ClickShare unit when registered to the XMS Cloud portal within 6 months of purchase. It goes without saying that if the device isn’t even being registered on the platform properly, the available features are certainly not being used to their full potential, if at all. Minimal required trainings are the effort to prevent such misuse or lack of satisfaction, but until we all take the end result more seriously, these sometimes fall short and become just that; bare minimum requirements.

Customer-Driven Business Growth

Barco offers extensive and vast training on their website, all free of charge, so that everyone can get the most out of their product. As customer-driven businesses, the message we want to get out is that this – Customer satisfaction all begins with the knowledge and effort we put forth on each and every project. Know your products and how the end user will benefit most from the uses of them. Then, make sure they get set up and installed properly! Maybe your customers overlooked activating the SmartCare warranty for their ClickShare units? Don’t worry, they can still activate their SmartCare package on existing C5/ C10/ CX-20/ CX-30/ CX-50 devices from March 1st to June 30th, 2023.

Another offer that many times goes overlooked is Click2Sync. Do you struggle to create quality content for your website and social channels? Do you lack the time, skills or ideas to continuously bring out content that generates traffic and leads? Then Barco’s Click2Sync program is the perfect fit for you. Click2Sync is our new program for all ClickShare Connect! resellers that offers an easy and automated way to publish engaging ClickShare content on your website and social channels. It’s free and completely painless, thanks to a simple syndication plug-in on your website.

For any information on this or any other learning opportunity, please contact your Exertis Almo Account Manager or Business Development Manager for guidance.

Did you find this post helpful? Join the conversation over on LinkedIn.

Nathan Dwelly BDM

About the Author

Nathan Dwelly

Business Development Manager

Supported Manufacturers: Barco (East)

What If We Really Listened

The Power of Listening

I was inspired recently by a member of our leadership team. I realized, as I carried on and on – he patiently listened. This is a routine for him. He truly takes it all in before he responds, and I admire this skill. It’s not only respectful, but also useful. Sure, you think you listen – we all do.  But do we really listen? Without interjecting? Imagine what you could accomplish if you took a moment, an extra moment, and paid close attention to every word that was spoken. Could you better help your children? Could you solve more problems? Would this reduce the amount of time you “go back to the drawing board”?

Discover Needs & Pain Points

I have sales reps call and say “the customer wants XYZ”. Why be an order taker? Listen, then ask questions, then listen again carefully to those answers. What problems are they trying to solve?

Many of us already have answers while someone is speaking. How is this possible? Do we know the full scope of their needs, pain points, and desires?  The answer is simply NO, so we must get the story.

man listening video call

Build Healthy Business Relationships

Let’s focus on business. In the Pro AV distribution world, perhaps many organizations are content selling boxes.  Unfortunately, that is not a full-service, value-add offering, not to mention all the money left on the table. We do not want to oversell to our customers, but we do need to help them with the full scope of required work. If we listen better and ask the proper questions, we will find we are a true value-add resource. Better service equals happier customers, and happier customers leads to great retention.

Case and point, we sell flat panels every day. We sell quite a few audio systems and PTZ cameras.  Many of our customers are building out various sized meeting rooms, training facilities, classrooms, and the like. Why not help make it a fully functional space from the beginning? Ask your customers what they are trying to accomplish. Ask them detailed questions about who is using these rooms and how. Get the answers!

Open Up the Dialogue.

Rob Ziv

For me, I am a Business Development Manager focusing solely on one product line. While my products are often needed, they are not always thought of by the sales reps, resellers, or the end user customers. However, it does not have to be an afterthought. Let’s say you are on a call that might go something like this… “Thank you for inquiring about our flat panels. Happy to help. Where are these panels being installed?  What is the scope of this project?” With these questions, you open the dialogue. Next, your customer shares the STORY. Listen to that story.

Share. Conference. Connect.

Who knows? That story may lead to several meetings rooms. Will they need touch screens, cameras, and audio? Do they know that we can offer Barco ClickShare, so they can share content with everyone quickly and easily in those rooms? Ask them if there will be a conference solution in the room, like Teams or Zoom. They will likely say “of course”. Who doesn’t use these services most days now?! Once you know what your customer already has and what they need to connect all of the pieces, you can offer solutions. You might start with, “Let me share what we can do for you now. We offer ClickShare units that bring everything together, and with a click of a button, you can not only share content on the main flat panel or touch screen, but you can integrate your conference solution, camera, and audio with that same quick connection.” I bet they will respond with a “WOW!”

Thank You for Listening

Sound simple? It really is that simple. Listening is the foundation for building relationships, to sales, to success. Don’t just be a good listener. BE A GREAT LISTENER.

About the Author

Lisa Lingo

Business Development Manager
Exertis Almo

Supported Applications: Barco ClickShare (West)

Lisa Lingo, BDM
Contact Exertis Almo for product info, inventory availability, or to start a quote.

FEED ME TACOS AND TELL ME ABOUT CLICKSHARE

Last week a friend and I went to check out Taco Tuesday at a new hotspot down by my favorite watering hole in Lauderdale by the Sea.  I expected to enjoy dinner and a drink surrounded by sunshine and music at the open-air bar.  I did NOT expect the chance to geek out after hours with an AV/how to create stress-free collaboration chat, but that’s just what happened.

He’s a sales rep for commercial grade office furniture, and had a big meeting coming up that week.  “You work in PowerPoint, don’t you?” he asked. Ah-ha!  An ulterior motive!  I fully expected him to ask for help with his transitions or animation.  He followed up with, “how do you show your PowerPoint on a TV in a conference room?”  I ignored my initial instinct to correct him on the term “TV” and instead reveled at the chance to talk shop.  He rattled off the familiar complaints about meetings we are all familiar with. People unengaged and even checked out. Meetings can never start on time because it takes too long to set up presentations and project to the displays or screen.  And on and on.

Well!  Isn’t this right up my alley?  As the resident Barco ClickShare expert for the Florida office I am a big fan of the simple technology that makes sharing content and collaborating easy for anyone in any meeting.  I was more than happy to launch into the features and benefits of ClickShare, and how Barco has been changing how meetings are conducted for the past few years with full BYOD support and zero obstacles for downloading software.  IT departments pretty much anywhere can jump on board thanks to the 3 levels of security built into the technology.  And now that they have the CSE-200+ and CSE-800 that does touch back, annotation, and blackboarding for touch panels, the sky’s the limit when it comes to presenting and collaboration.

My friend was intrigued. One device that can easily alleviate all the meeting issues he described?  Not a mythical unicorn!

Unfortunately the company my friend was calling on did not have a ClickShare-enabled conference room, so he was left tethered to the display via an unattractive HDMI cord draped from the conference room table.  Great for impromptu limbo parties, but cumbersome and awkward for presentations and sales pitches.  Fortunately, he still landed the sale.

If he keeps inviting me for dinner on Taco Tuesday I’ll invite him into our office for a personal demo.  In the meantime, he’s going to have to keep wowing his customers with his winning personality

“Hiding the unseen: Spreading the word, while remaining silent”

The cat is finally out of the bag.  After an extended period under NDA, we can now start saying the word “UniSee” without using hushed tones, closing doors, or looking over our shoulders.  For those of you that missed the launch, Barco’s UniSee leverages multiple innovations that change how we install, service, maintain, and even see LCD video walls.

I first saw a sneak peak of the UniSee concept during a closed-door meeting at InfoComm 2017.  In this meeting, I witnessed:

 

Plus, UniSee includes Barco’s Sense X automatic calibration providing visual consistency throughout the wall – even as displays age at different rates – ensuring the installation looks as good in year five as it did on day one.

Yes, we’ve all heard similar stories before (yawn) – but this was different (yeah!)
By far, this was my #1 highlight from InfoComm. 🙂  But I had to remain silent. 🙁

We had a more significant challenge in that we had to generate attendees for the October product launch without letting anyone know about the product itself.  Barco and our marketing department, talented as they are, came up with some great ideas.  Part of this included mailing a “teaser tool” to a limited group of qualified video wall integrators – garnering some industry attention in itself.

 

[Did you get yours?  We have a very limited number left.  Shoot me an email if you are interested in one of these future collectors’ items, and we’ll see what we can dig up.]

However, even with the teaser, we still needed to get people to attend the launch of a product that we were not able to discuss.  While trying to figure this out, I asked our sales team for the names of their top videowall customers without an explanation.  This caused some curiosity.  When they get curious, they ask questions.  When you tell them that you can’t answer the question, they become more curious…. and this curiosity starts to build momentum.  They were thrilled when they eventually learned this was for Barco.  They know that we are the world’s largest distributor for Barco and that anything Barco is about to launch under NDA has got to be mega cool…. so they lit the fires of enthusiasm and integrators started registering in large numbers for the event.

To paraphrase Gerben Van den Berg of Barco on the day of the launch; before 1492, many people thought the world was flat.  Then someone decided to set sail, challenge our reality and changed our understanding of the world forever.  Barco set out on a new course for videowalls with UniSee that changes our industry going forward.

It’s liberating to finally talk about UniSee openly and to share my excitement.  If you have not done so already, take a look at UniSee and Discover the Unseen.

Pin It on Pinterest