1. Pro Audio customers are just not the like of many people!
They rely on their ears, or at least upon the ears of someone they really trust. Of course, Legends of our industry who have recorded, mixed or mastered the greatest albums or concerts are well in your picture if you have them, so potential customers may come to you out of their nice statements.
You may think too that the Internet makes it all easier than before… if you’re not lost in the millions of website which are all promoting your competition as well !
Otherwise, you’d rather have very good and active promoters for the products or services you’re delivering. These resellers know when and how opening doors and introducing your work, across demos that create the “WOW” effect, transformed the same day in actual sales. Finding these aposters, get them well informed, trained and sustained is just not a piece of cake. But when they do a real demo, you’ve got a sale !
2. Not a single selling way fits all local market places!
No, you can’t explain your product to an Indian sound engineer as you address an American integrator. Each of them has his very own cultural background, purchasing process, references, and he may even have a creative idea on how to use your product.
Broadcast people haven’t the same priorities than the Live guy nor the producer in his studio. So don’t mess up with your customers with the wrong person to address each of them.
3. Distribution is not communication… at least, not always !
When & why is it the right time to announce your brand new gear ? How about demos at first ? Endorsing a Legend Mixer ?…
Our long and multiple experience in different pro-audio market places and technologies have polluted a lot the common rules in marketing : we do have our self views.
Again, you’ve got to understand deeply who are the actual customers who you’re working for, and how they’re going to deal with your products and services.
And all of this can change over the time, and will greatly depend on how your company is perceived at this very moment. Then delivering appropriately is just not only logistics, and lots of questions may rise when it comes to consider the entire distribution process.