Reflections from InfoComm 2019
By John Pierce
Each year, nearly 50,000 attendees come from around the world to see the latest and greatest A/V products from 1,000 exhibitors at InfoComm. This year in Orlando, as I perused the exhibits and spoke with the exhibitors, I solidified my longtime fear that our industry has become commoditized. There were times where I spoke to several vendors who all had basically the same product at different price points, and I thought about how confusing that would be for someone without our experience buying directly from a manufacturer. The point is, there’s always going to be someone out there who claims they have a better version at a cheaper price, and it got me thinking about the values we have at AVG.
1. Education
Educating our team on all things A/V is our number one priority. We make sure we’re subject matter experts and always stay up to date on the latest technologies and products. That way, we know, without a doubt, that we can advise our clients on the best products for the best price and don’t make promises we can’t keep. And by investing in conferences, like InfoComm, we make sure we always have the latest information for our clients.
2. Relationships
Our ability to make and maintain close relationships with our clients, vendors, and contractors is what sets us apart from our competitors. These deeper relationships allow us to solve problems before the client even knows they are problems, communicate effectively, and work tirelessly behind the scenes to “make the magic happen” so our customers only see the final product. Most installs we do could have any number of products from any number of manufacturers. We manage those products and manufacturers to make sure they arrive on time, anticipate any potential changes in the project, and ensure they do what the client needs them to do. Without the relationships we have, none of this would be possible.
3. Experience
Audio-Video Group was founded in 2000, and Eric and I had years of experience before that on both the A/V client side and the installer side. We’ve found that in this industry, nothing beats experience. You can know everything there is to know about every product that was released in the past year, but that’s useless to someone who needs service on the projector they purchased years ago. Because of our years of experience, we feel confident servicing existing equipment and installing new equipment, which gives our customers peace of mind.
InfoComm 2019 was a great event and we saw some pretty incredible products. As the largest professional A/V trade show in North America, it’s hard not to be impressed with the exhibits and courses. It’s also hard not to see why we love this industry so much and why we strive for perfection for our clients.
InfoComm 2019 is produced by AVIXA, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association. Learn more about AVIXA.