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.
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