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2014  Business  Needs  Survey  

Overview  The  following  survey  was  conducted  in  May  2014  to  better  understand  the  business  issues,  trends,  and  needs  facing  owners  and  managers  today.    

Put  This  Survey  to  Work  for  You  At  InfoComm  2014  in  Las  Vegas,  Tom  Stimson  will  be  hosting  a  roundtable  session  called  the  Rental  and  Staging  Business  Exchange  (IS030)  on  Wed,  June  18,  from  2:30  p.m.-­‐4:30  p.m.  The  event  will  begin  with  an  overview  of  the  findings  in  this  survey  including  Tom  Stimson’s  unique  perspective  and  insights.  Participants  will  then  choose  the  roundtable  topics  and  share  their  own  insights  and  experience.  We  will  have  a  room  FULL  of  experts.  Register  now  because  this  event  will  sell  out.    

Survey  Results  

 

   

 

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Comments:  

• Council  involvement  

• Unfortunately,  not  attending.  

• I  dont  

• I  do  not  attend.  

• Teach  

• Provide  training    

   

 

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Comments:  

• As  a  "Wholesaler"  we  need  to  get  out  and  drum  up  more  customers  who  may  need  our  services.    We  have  a  great  word  of  mouth,  but  as  business  has  grown  we  have  suffered  in  getting  out  to  new  customers.  

• I  have  clients  that  attend  so  its  a  bit  of  a  no  brainer.  AVTS  is  an  AV  Company,  AV  Rental  house,  labor  support,  production  management,  scenic  design  &  build  and  anything  else  we  need  to  be  for  our  clientele  and  potential  clientele.  So  there  are  all  kinds  of  interests  on  my  end,  although  we  are  concentrated  in  Texas  we  are  traveling  with  clients  more  and  more  around  the  country...  

• We  send  out  a  follow  up  survey  after  each  job  that  tells  how  we  are  doing.    It  has  been  a  great  tool  to  measure  quality  and  repeat  business  opportunities  

• We  are  trying  to  structure  smart  growth.    

   

 

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Comments:  

• Budget  yes.  Marketing  no  

• It's  always  a  work  in  progress  ...  with  weekly  meetings  addressing  the  issues  that  are  of  the  highest  priority  at  the  time.  

• We  had  a  team  that  worked  with  our  marketer  and  VP  of  Sales/marketing  to  get  a  written  plan  and  budget.    It  is  in  place  

• marketing  plan  -­‐  no  forecast-­‐  yes  budget  -­‐  yes  

 

   

 

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Comments:  

• Our  current  accounting  programs  seems  to  handle  the  business  level  with  room  to  grow.    Our  rental  programs  seems  to  suffer  due  to  multiple  office  locations  and  higher  demand  on  assets.  

• Currently  evaluating  our  rental-­‐staging  software  to  improve  for  product  distribution  requirements.  

• Our  Rental  Inventory  vendor  Navigator  Systems  has  a  booth  at  Info  com  it  is  a  good  way  to  check  in  with  him  -­‐  also  I  often  get  pulled  into  his  demo's  of  the  product  for  other  customers  and  make  new  connections  

• We  are  on  a  zero  expenditure  budget  for  new  equipment  at  this  time.  

• in  process  of  moving  to  Flex    

   

 

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Comments:  

• We  have  been  moving  into  new  avenues  to  grow  our  brand  and  business.    With  kicking  off  a  training  academy  and  pushing  more  into  used/new  product  sales,  including  leasing,  we  feel  the  direction  is  right.    We  need  clients  to  know  better  what  we  offer.  

• We  have  created  a  new  business  that  will  take  us  into  the  21st  century  by  computerizing  the  way  av  technicians  are  booked  in  the  industry.    It  is  finally  taking  off...  

• We  are  evolving  our  company  from  R/S  to  distribution  of  LED,  thus  creating  and  deemphasizing  is  ongoing.  

• Currently  in  the  process  of  reevaluating  our  business  plan.    

   

 

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Comments:  

• Budget  yes  business  plan  is  dated...  

• Our  marketing  plan  and  business  plan  are  not  separate.  (I  see  your  point,  we  are  small  but  they  should  probably  be  individual  plans.)  

• Budget,  yes.  BP  in  progress.  

• I  know  we  have  budgets  and  goals  and  targets  for  sales.  We  have  an  equipment  team  that  looks  at  utilization  and  makes  recommendations  for  gear  purchases  -­‐  analyzes  trends  etc.  

• business  plan  -­‐  no  forecast  -­‐  yes  budget  -­‐  yes  

• some  parts  more  complete  than  others.  Not  100%  "yes"  but  not  "no"  

• This  is  something  we  are  currently  in  process  of  creating  and  creating  a  better  plan  for  the  future.  

 

   

 

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Comments:  

• I  have  always  had  a  business  plan  and  from  time  to  time  I  update  it  and  do  financial  projections  yearly.  

• Then  we  get  too  busy  to  keep  under  review.  

• It's  ongoing  and  constantly  evolving.  

• address  this  every  year  as  a  major  priority  

• I  am  not  on  the  leadership  team  but  I  know  our  group  meets  with  a  few  different  consultants  for  business  planning  and  visioning.  

• in  process  if  you  can  believe  it.    

   

 

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Comments:  

• Everything!  The  customer's  level  of  hand-­‐holding  has  grown  exponentially  over  the  last  few  years,  and  continues  to  worsen  daily.  They  expect  instant  answers/results  for  unrealistic  requests.  All  with  no  efforts  of  their  own.  Sorting  an  overwhelming  number  of    "senseless"  calls/emails  is  taking  away  the  needed  time  to  stay  focused  and  proactive.  

• Digital  Imagery  used  at  events  and  meetings  

• We  see  more  shifts  in  technology  than  bounding  leaps/changes.    Simple  items  such  as  HD  recording/playback  platforms.    Media  Servers  seem  to  be  the  "hot  topic"  in  many  calls  we  field.    Being  a  video  only  company,  the  technical  field  is  ever  changing,  but  the  basic  needs  remain  much  the  same.  

• Hi-­‐end  video;    Projection      Switching    Cameras    Etc...  

• Discounts  

• Value  added  services  BUT  at  very  competitive  "on  line"  prices.  

• Na  

• Software  vs.  hardware  

• We  are  focused  on  LED,  so  perhaps  we  should  be  careful  where  we  will  be  when  LED  is  not  the  latest  imaging  technology.  

• Slow  emergence  of  9x16  format  at  corporate  business  meetings.    Increase  onsite  shoot,  edit  and  show.  

• More  sophisticated  scheduling  of  crewing.    True  cloud  management  for  faster  execution  &  processing.  

• Systems  integration  

• Low-­‐cost  options  

• none  

• More  and  more  customers  are  asking  for  end  to  end  solutions  not  just  a  single  product  that  can  solve  parts  of  their  problems.  Customers  are  tired  of  hearing  the  same  phrases  over  and  over  again.  They  need  detailed  technical  information  and  solutions  that  they  can  understand  and  identify  to  solve  their  needs.  

• video,  video,  video...  more  video  assets,  more  channels  more  displays..display  user  created  content  

 

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• Tighter  time  windows  

• Not  really  

• "projection  mapping,"  but  they  don't  know  what  that  means  because  our  industry  has  poorly  defined  it;  and  they  have  no  idea  of  the  cost  involved.  

• 4k  

• Charging  Stations  for  Events    Lighting  for  medium  size  events    iPads  for  large  interactive  purposes  

• Better  warranty  

• 4K,  HDMI,  

• Large  quantities  of  wash  lights  (aura,  Sharpy  Wash,  etc)  to  switch  an  entire  rig  to  automated  and  eliminate  the  need  for  multiple  lifts  /  power  drops  and  crews  to  aim  and  focus.    This  trend  is  huge  -­‐  as  the  weight  and  output  of  these  lights  is  now  really  useful  at  a  fraction  of  the  cost.  

• Higher  resolution  LED.    Better  solutions  in  A/V  

• Led  lighting.  social  media  streaming  during  shows.  

• It's  constantly  evolving  so  the  change  is  constant  as  far  as  what  customers  are  asking  for.  

• Twitter  feeds  

• Digital  consoles.    Large  Format  LCD  displays.  

• Lower  road  show  costs  

• "creative  solutions"  (typically  undefined)  

• Shorter  project  timelines.  Do  the  same  amount  of  work  (or  more)  in  less  time.  

• Watch  out  system  -­‐  outside  our  inventory    Larger  audio  -­‐  outside  our  inventory    listening  devices  in  large  room  for  mini  breakouts    Still  low  pricing  

• Internet  solutions  that  replace/limit  the  in-­‐house  provider  (larger  scale  than  USBs  and  MiFis)  

• Really  low  prices  

• Our  HOW/School  business  is  slowly  coming  back.    Getting  more  RFP  for  new  sound  systems,  upgrades  to  video  and  a  few  stage  lighting  systems.  

• More  people  just  wanting  to  RENT  equipment  and  do  it  themselves...  

• Wide  screen  projection  

• Higher  resolution  presentation  gear.  Better  sound  gear  and  gear  that  can  be  set  and  struck  in  very  little  time.  

• That  want  better  pricing.  

• EDID  planning,  third  party  testing  &  verification  services,  trained,  equipped  personnel,  and  a  completed  job  with  no  punch  lists  (See  AQAV!).  (I'm  sure  they  were  asking  for  this  two  years  

 

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ago,  but  they  are  complaining  louder.)  

• Projection  Mapping.    A  technology  edge.    Better  creative  solutions.  

• They  are  asking  to  see  the  details  more  often.      Turnkey  solutions.    Interactive  media  solutions.  

• Social  media/customer  engagement  on  the  event  side  

• Mobile  device  integration  is  the  top  of  my  list  of  new  things  they  are  asking  for.  

• Projection  Mapping  within  scenic  elements.  

• Sophisticated  switching.    Conventional  stagecraft  elements    Handling  of  content  software  that  used  to  be  done  by  an  outside  producer    Graphics  production  

• Customers  are  asking  us  as  a  supplier  "What  are  the  latest  gadgets  that  you  have  that  I  can  use  on  my  event?"      Our  answer  is  always  "tell  us  all  about  your  event  and  then  we  will  choose  the  most  appropriate  gadgets  for  you,  rather  than  focusing  an  event  on  a  gadget.  

• Asking  to  create  an  more  interactive  environment.    Bandwidth,  looking  for  lower  cost  alternatives  to  hotel.    Text  to  screen  w/filter  or  preview.  

 

   

 

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Comments:  

• More  hands  on  Manufacturer  training.  

• Justification  to  management  in  the  form  of  meetings  and  reports  has  all  but  crippled  the  sales  team.  The  time  lost  takes  away  from  customer  contact  and  continuing  education.  The  pressures  to  sell  more  are  halted  by  the  customers  needs  to  "review"  in  minute  detail;  further  slowing  the  sales  cycle.  Time  for  solution  review/education  is  all  but  gone.  

• Training    More  time  (ultimately-­‐they  mean  more  efficiencies  in  process,  but  have  a  difficult  time  comprehending  how  that  works)  

• Money  is  always  a  hot  topic,  but  training  seems  more  in  the  forefront.    Employee's  realize  that  the  more  they  know,  the  higher  in  demand  they  will  be,  and  this  drives  compensation.  

• Training  mostly  

• really  nothing  I  gave  raises  to  everyone  at  the  beginning  of  the  year.    Gave  bonuses  last  year  and  contributed  to  the  Profit  Sharing  Plan  as  well.  We  have  a  solid  bonus  and  incentive  plan  for  everyone  in  this  small  company  even  the  clerk  in  accounting  get  a  bonus  if  we  hit  our  profit  margin  in  a  quarter.  

• More  compensation,  more  organization,  equitable  work-­‐loads,  more  time  off.  

• Na  

• career  path  

• Training,  better  communications,  easier  scheduling  and  reporting  systems.  Some  employees  are  asking  for  direction  on  specific  scheduling  of  their  time  to  complete  tasks  and  work  loads.  

• More  tools,  More  analysis  vs.  raw  data...    which  excites  us!!    We  will  use  this  to  differentiate  us  from  others.  

• Raises  &  benefits  

• nothing  new  here...  

• No  big  changes  

• Compensation.    Gear  training.  

• more  training  

• Employees  are  asking  for  better  compensation  as  incentive  for  good  performance.  They  also  like  to  see  the  companies  invest  in  their  employees  in  terms  of  training,  certifications  and  promotions.  Very  good  performers  require  very  good  management  and  don't  like  to  follow  someone  who  can't  follow  their  conversations  or  suggestions.  

• more  help  ,  more  downtime.  

• Nothing  really  

• More  employees  are  looking  for  relevant  professional  development  opportunities.  Even  at  the  industry  trade  shows,  there  are  not  too  many  sessions  that  make  sense  for  our  company.  Also,  

 

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it  is  difficult  to  find  professional  development  opportunities  for  the  office  staff.  

• Updating  inventory.  

• More  work.  

• raises  

• Leadership,  someone  who  will  make  a  decision  

• different  compensation  

• Higher  salaries  

• More  pay  less  work  

• More  training,  more  opportunity  to  expand  roles  -­‐  go  from  warehouse  to  show-­‐site.  

• Training,  Planning,  Compensation  

• More  money.  More  time  off.  More  appreciation.  

• consistent  schedules,  welcome  to  live  events!  

• No  raises  in  5  years.  Never  more  than  2  weeks  vacation  and  we're  all  burned  out.  Rarely  money  to  attend  anything  other  than  NAB.  

• More  compensation.  More  advancement.  

• HD  Cameras  

• Flexible  work  schedule.  

• Insurance  guarantee  

• Hugs...  seems  like...  attention  maybe.  

• Time  off  is  more  important  than  more  money  to  most.  

• To  not  be  so  busy.    To  have  better  communication  of  what  our  clients  need.  

• To  survive  

• Better  Health  care  coverage.    I'm  a  small  business  so  I'm  not  required  to  provide  it  but  I  hear  my  people  (and  me)  complain  about  the  cost.  

• More  $  

• Increased  compensation  

• Some  want  more  training.  Now  supplied  from  suppliers.  

• less  work,  more  money.  

• Better  healthcare,  MORE  test  instrumentation  (they've  come  to  depend  on  it  more  so  now  than  ever  before).  

• Less  hours,  better  quality  of  life,  better  internal  communication.  

• Cloud-­‐based  sales  tools.    Administrative  support  to  enable  the  selling  process.  

• Has  not  changed  in  any  significant  ways.  They  want  to  be  challenged  professionally,  and  maybe  we  see  more  work/life  balance  over  just  more  pay.  

• Our  employees  are  asking  for  more  training  on  the  newer  devices  that  we  have  added  to  our  inventory.  

• Higher  end  training.    Keynote  and  Prezi  training.  

• Everyone  would  like  to  be  better  paid,  and  management  would  like  to  pay  better,  but  

 

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everyone  understands  the  current  situation.    With  luck  we  will  increase  everybody's  compensation  in  2014...into  the  teeth  of  the  economic  disaster  that's  coming    Our  benefits  are  probably  among  the  best  in  the  industry  

• Training.  

• They  are  requesting  training.    Suggesting  technology  solutions  to  improve  field  processes.  

 

   

 

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• Managing  Cash  Flow  and  dealing  with  Vendor  partners.  

• Fear.  A  combo  of  results  justification,  lack  of  planning,  and  overall  morale  seem  to  have  most  managers  spinning.  How  do  you  break  the  trap  of  stagnation  dictated  by  slow  sales  when  you  don't  have  a  solid  plan/confidence?  Hungry  sales-­‐folk  make  promises  that  only  lead  to  loss;  time,  money,  trust.  "Fix  it  in  the  mix"  and  "pass  the  buck"  don't  jive.  

• Focusing  on  the  next  job  and  not  looking  at  the  overall  picture.    Lack  of  strategic  vision.  

• Pace  of  technology  (related  to  rental  inventory)  and  finding  the  best  way  to  manage  that  (identify,  purchase,  train,  sell  to  customer,  replace,  repeat)  

• Our  largest  distraction  seems  centered  around  the  management  of  assets  and  planning.    If  less  time  could  be  focused  on  making  sure  the  day  to  day  operations  are  good,  we  could  put  more  time  on  the  future  needs  and  growth.  

• Not  letting  go  of  tasks  that  could  be  handled  by  support  staff    Daily  operations  vs  future  business  hurdles  

• Monitoring  competitors  and  Estimates  that  are  flying  off  the  printers  and  figuring  out  how  much  and  when  to  discount  them  with  my  sales  staff.    Really  day  to  day  sales  and  closing  of  those  sales.    Playing  every  Management  Position  possible  all  the  time  CEO,  Sales  Manager,  Director  of  Marketing,  etc.  

• Working  IN  he  business  not  ON  the  business.  

• Na  

• Politics  between  old-­‐guard  AV  and  new  generation  

• We  are  trying  to  figure  this  out.  All  tasks  and  issues  are  not  aligned  with  our  goals.  We  have  a  unique  opportunity  to  influence  and  lead  the  industry  with  innovative  products  if  we  identify  and  position  ourselves,  and  continue  to  develop  our  company.  It  should  be  a  great  ride.  

• Qualified  manpower.    We  went  from  6-­‐7  events  a  month  to  2-­‐3  events  each  in  a  different  city!  

• Because  the  industry  is  in  an  uptick  of  growth,  there  are  a  TON  of  other  companies  and  vendors  trying  to  get  the  senior  leaders  and  Key  Decision  Makers  attention.    Trying  to  get  our  share  of  attention  is  what  we  are  trying  to  manage.  

• Employees  

• Short  term  goals  management  

• Nothing  specific  comes  to  mind  

• Childish  employee  behavior.  

• dealing  with  little  details    relaying  information  about  a  job  to  someone  else  to  create  a  proposal  

• What  I  see  a  lot  is  that  management  is  not  focused  on  their  role  but  tries  to  manage  up.  This  is  particularly  strong  with  younger  management  and  on  top  of  that  management  is  weak  in  terms  of  industry/domain  knowledge.  Organizational  structures  have  changed  and  many  

 

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managers  don't  know  their  roles  and  responsibilities.  

• looking  too  far  ahead  and  not  taking  care  of  immediate  business  needs..  4K  wont  it  be  great,  yes  it  will,  but  the  truck  needs  new  tires..  

• Keeping  people  focused  

• Getting  started.    We  have  become  more  efficient  over  the  past  6  months  due  to  adding  additional  employees.    We  are  now  in  a  better  position  to  do  things  like  writing  a  marketing/business  plan  and  budget,  but  we  don't  necessarily  have  the  tools  to  get  started.  

• Responding  to  clients  last  minute  requests.  

• Facebook.  

• Getting  the  right  people  in  place.  

• previous  company  the  biggest  distraction  was  infighting  and  politics,  current  company  there  has  not  been  any  management  to  speak  of.  

• Focus  on  meeting  quarterly  goals  each  and  every  quarter  far  outweighs  long  term  goals  and  investment    in  updating  inventory  

• Defending  their  jobs  

• Micromanagement  

• Focus  on  internal  issues  such  as  hyper  focus  on  work-­‐flow  and  improving  process  and  not  paying  attention  to  external  forces  -­‐  such  as  major  competitor  opening  up  in  the  fall  2014  and  constant  price  pressure  from  client  looking  to  make  packages  work  with  us  but  getting  the  same  apples  to  apples  experience/gear  for  10%  less  

• Lack  of  planning  causes  a  whirlwind  at  the  11th  hour.  I  spend  more  time  putting  out  last  minute  fires  that  could  have  been  avoided  with  better/proper  planning.  

• To  many  meetings  about  meetings.  

• Way  too  much  time  spent  developing  our  website  for  equipment  sales.  Hired  too  many  people  with  very  little  to  show  for  it.  

• the  day  to  day    need  to  look  forward  

• Event  management  system.    Technology  purchasing  decisions.  

• Medical  costs  

• Honestly...  unnecessary  drama,  from  top  to  bottom,  the  individual  and  collective  variety  of  personnel  dramas,  interactive  strife  and  varying  perspectives.  

• Health  insurance  is  a  big  deal  and  we  are  in  renewal  season  right  now.  It's  taking  a  lot  of  mindshare  and  does  nothing  for  our  core  business.  

• Working  on-­‐site  for  shows  instead  of  managing  the  company.  

• Customers  unrealistic  attitudes  

• Right  now  -­‐  lack  of  skilled  over-­‐hire  help.  

• Trucks,  smog  stuff,  DOT  nonsense,  

• Doing  more  with  less;  hard  to  stay  focused  on  anything.  

• Lack  of  capital  at  a  reasonable  cost.  

• This  is  a  great  question...for  which  I  have  absolutely  no  answer.  

• Dealing  with  higher  costs  all  around  but  specifically  healthcare  costs,  additional  taxes,  complying  with  new  labor  laws.  

 

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• Losing  sight  of  what's  most  important,  the  customer.    Too  much  time  and  emphasis  on  developing  and  redefining  processes  and  procedures  without  taking  into  account  what  the  client  wants  and  is  expecting.    Too  much  emphasis  on  profit  and  ROI  and  not  enough  on  client  satisfaction  and  customer  service.  

• Lack  of  clear  role  definition  and  expectations  around  those  roles.  Blurred  lines  between  sales  and  operations  in  relation  to  role  expectations  such  that  management  is  pulled  too  often  into  tactical  minutiae.  "Too  busy  to  deal  with  strategy"  syndrome.  

• With  new  EVP  o  sales  in  place  we  are  spending  the  required  time  and  effort  to  address  these  issues,  we're  just  way  behind  in  getting  to  this  point.  But  it's  happening.  

• Trying  to  find  qualified  field  operatives.  

• PSAV!  

• A  fundamental  constant  is  the  ongoing  price  warfare,  combined  with  the  need  to  compete  with  people  far  less  knowledgeable  than  we  are.    Perhaps  the  toughest  thing  is  to  get  our  people  to  switch  gears  constantly  between  large,  expensive  shows  and  the  bottom-­‐end  conferences,  weddings,  and  bar  mitzvahs.  

• Cashflow  management.  I  have  been  on  the  buttons  on  an  event  only  once  this  year....  

• Working  in  the  business  and  not  on  it.