I often have people ask me how they maintain profitability in a world where technology is becoming more and more commoditized and where the average selling price (ASP) of technology in each room seems to be decreasing year after year. I am sympathetic to these concerns for sure, as it is never a good thing […]

In seven years of sharing practical insights on how to sell audiovisual (AV) to churches, we’ve posted over 70 articles focusing specifically on the opportunities and challenges of selling to buyers and influencers in the house of worship market. During that same time, the church AV market has gone from hundreds of millions of dollars […]

So after about 17 years working as an integrator, as a rental staging guy, and as a manufacturer, I got my first job working as an end user. I figured that based on my background and experience that this would be a no-brainer. I mean how hard can it be? I know all this stuff. […]

The AV/IT industry has a problem, one of its own making and one that is getting worse by the micro-second. There are just too many conflicting and confusing “standards” and best practices. Between those created by trade groups, those developed by technical associations or technology consortia (worse yet as these tend to be proprietary) and […]

There’s no doubt that social media is a part of your marketing strategy, but are you measuring more than the so-called ‘vanity metrics’ of likes and impressions? To make your brand’s social media truly successful, your brand’s social accounts must have some personality and they must ‘listen’ even more than they ‘talk.’ When your brand […]

If you are paying attention to the higher education world, you have noticed a pattern over the past few years. Since 2016, over 70 colleges have either merged or closed (the majority of them closing). While most would not call it a crisis quite yet, everyone in higher ed is paying attention and working to […]

Manufacturers want to help systems integrators sell their products so they provide funds to help co-promote the equipment with the vendor. It’s been this way for as long as I can remember, whether it is called “co-op funds” or “market development funds” (MDF) or “channel funding,” the idea is to influence the sale towards the […]

Last month, I wrote about the need to define a strategy for your digital signage applications. As the integrator, this is as important for you as it is for the business to whom you are selling. If you sell a product and a few months later the company is wondering why they bought that product, […]

The old sales trick of providing a list of desired features and benefits to overcome purchase barriers may still work with some church leaders, but the Internet has taught consumers a thing or two about what is offered and what they really want. To justify the expense, churches need metrics from real data. Rethinking Repairs Technology […]

By Mike White President, Multi-Media Solutions, Inc. As an AV commercial integrator of 24 plus years, I still find myself looking at a new technology or even an established technology that my company has yet to sell and integrate and say to myself, “How hard can it be?” I did the same back in 1998 […]

By Dan Brown RMG Networks Less is more. It’s a phrase that gets used often and one that came to mind recently as I heard about the results of a company’s decision related to a digital signage deployment. In this particular instance, the company’s goal was to build out a digital signage network on three […]

By Brian McClimans Vice President, Global Business Development, Peerless-AV Digital signage is growing in tandem with technological advancements and changes in communication styles and processes. With these changes brings the need to rethink the urgency of validating digital signage expansion simply based upon Return on Investment (ROI). The communication landscape has vastly transformed and digital […]

Ask yourself these questions so your customers never have to. Among many attributes, it takes humility, an inquisitive nature and great listening skills to be a good salesperson. Those attributes seem almost obvious, right? OK, I’ll give you that. I think what takes a little more thought and may not be as obvious is the […]

By Frank Kenna President and CEO, The Marlin Company I’ve often written about the ROI of using digital signage for effective workplace communications and how it’s dripping with cost savings, but today I want to focus on an issue that concerns most of our customers: safety. Safety ROI can be broken down into two primary […]

By Bill Bishop Chief Architect, BrickMeetsClicks.com Stuart Armstrong was pushing the boundaries of using POS data at IRI to understand shopping behavior when I first met him. Today he’s pushing the boundaries of using digital screens to communicate with shoppers inside stores at ComQi.* In between, he developed multi-channel marketing strategies for the consumer goods […]

How important is your brand name? Is your brand not merely well known, but well liked? In the House of Worship market, your brand is who the churches say you are. It is vital that you as manufacturers, systems integrators, consultants, rep firms, and dealers provide this unique vertical space with who you are, not […]

We all know how delicious a 7 layer dip can be.  Salsa and beans alone are OK, but when they are combined with 5 other ingredients they become a mouth-watering extravaganza!  (Yes, I have issues with food.) Adding layers is not only a good strategy for a party dip, but also for developing engaging, interactive content.  However when […]

Early on in my career as a consultant, after years of my own experience on staff in three mega churches and then in the design/build side of the A/V/L industry, I found myself re-designing technology systems sold to churches. Quite often, the technology in place wasn’t the right application for the gear, whether that meant […]

Often, we tend to question the importance of attending yearly trade shows. With rising costs on all levels of attending a trade show, we end up second-guessing the commitments we have set in year’s past. When preparing for a trade show, in many cases, a majority of your marketing budget may be spent without being […]

I have worked for 3 integrators over the last 13 years, working on projects that include everything from structured wiring in residential to corporate boardrooms to award winning digital signage projects at universities. As such, I know the advantages of being a one stop shop.  In residential for instance, being able to offer structured cabling, audio video, […]