Targeting Your Product Mix Boaz AL

When It Comes To The Lines You Sell, Sometimes Less Is More

As electronic systems contractors, we all make a variety of decisions every day that we hope are the right ones for running our businesses. I believe that there are few choices more fundamental to our success than those we make about the products we choose to sell. By focusing on developing and implementing the right overall product strategy, you can and will achieve a wide range of benefits.

Let’s look at how standardizing on a select few brands can result in big improvements throughout your organization. For simplicity, we will examine a single product category—in this case, flat-panel displays (FPD).

Administration
By choosing one brand of FPD, there is only one set of model numbers with which to become familiar. This means that there is a finite set of models that you need to enter and update pricing for in your proposal software. It also means that those responsible for ordering, receiving, and processing payments for these FPDs quickly become familiar with and easily recognize the select model numbers, prices, and other information relevant to what they do every day.

Sales
Any of the larger manufacturers of FPDs (Sony, Pioneer, LG, Samsung, etc.) have a wide enough range of products to accommodate virtually any installation requirement, so choosing to represent and sell only one should not pose any significant challenges. The great thing is that with only one brand to focus on, your sales people should have no trouble becoming very familiar with specific models, features, and pricing, which allows them to quickly and confidently suggest the best display for a given application.

System Design
Whether you draw up simple diagrams with paper and pencil or use more sophisticated software, such as AutoCAD or Visio, one brand of FPD means that the folks responsible for system design can quickly become familiar with the inputs and outputs on a given model and are able to replicate their documentation much more easily and with greater accuracy.

Programming
One brand of PFD means one set of control commands to learn. There can be small variations between models but some manufacturers, like Sony, have had very standardized IR command structures for years. This means that your team learns and stores the required IR commands once, not over and over with every new brand or model added. If you sell automation solutions like AMX or Crestron, then you need only build the software control modules once. And once you know they work, you can use them over and over. You decrease time spent capturing IR codes, building control modules, and testing functions, because you already know they work.

Installation
By standardizing on a few select models of FPD your installation team learns to know them inside out. They know which bracket they need, what hardware is required...

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