SPECIAL: PRO AUDIO
May 15 2007
VOLUME 24 NO.5

THE MAGAZINE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND SOUND PRODUCT MERCHANDISERS

 

   
 

VIDEO WEBCAST
-
First ever M.I. video webcast
-Join the Vnewsletter


VIDEO WEBCAST
-Jan. 15-17, 2009 NAMM 2008 ConventionTV webcast

-

-Table of Contents
-Digital Issue Download

FEATURES
-Here We Come to Save the Day!!We provide a plethora of accessories that manufacturers assure you will provide excellent margins.
-For Those Who Make Lesser Publicized Instruments, We Salute You!!For the first time, we pay tribute to instruments and products that get little press coverage. We provide a well-deserved spotlight for these products!
-And the Bombs Keep Coming!Another big lawsuit is filed
against the industry.
This time, there are many
more defendants.
-Drumming to Their Own BeatHow well is the drum industry holding up during these difficult times? We call on three industry experts.
-Guitar Center, Fender, and NAMM Sued
-The Health of the Independent Dealer M&SR’s fourth annual independent retailer roundtable features a new twist. For the first time, manufacturers, hand-selected by the retailers, contribute to the story.
-Born In the USA! We feature manufacturers who produce a majority of their products in the United States. Why do they make products in the USA as opposed to Asian countries? Find out.
-…And the Show Did Go On! The economy took a big bite of Summer NAMM in Nashville, but there were still bright moments.
-Jockeying For Position How is the DJ business holding up during these tough times? What’s the next hot technology? We asked the experts.
-What A Gig! Find out about plenty of manufacturer employees who still get out to play gigs. Our second annual edition is another fun read.


-The Latest, Industry, Dealers, People and Product Buzz and Showcases.

COLUMNS
-The Music & Sound Independent Retailer Chris Lovell tells you how you can private label your own products. Plus, some interesting news items.
- MI Spy: Spy takes a trip for the first time to the capital of Ohio. The home of the Buckeyes and Blue Jackets: Columbus.
-Five Minutes: We get every possible tidbit from Tom Bedell, founder of Bedell Guitar Company. The guitar company was just founded by a fishing magnate and perhaps will be the talk of the Winter NAMM show.
-Sales Guru: Santa Claus IS coming to town. Find out why Gene Fresco is optimistic.
-Veddatorial: Dan Vedda gets charitable. Or does he?


FORMIDABLE FEMALES

-Tarina Dunwoodie got to see the moment Graph Tech was born and has served the company since she was 17. She has moved up the ladder quite a bit since then.
-Stacey Montgomery-Clark Find out how SABIAN’s Stacey Montgomery-Clark juggles two young boys at home and a huge job as vice president of marketing. She loves interactive programs at the company, most notably the Vault Tour.
-Cathy Duncan Seymour Duncan’s co-founder and chairman, received a ton of on-the-job training. But she has excelled. Creativity is one of the company’s hallmarks. Find out much more about her.
-Bee Bantug Yes, the Internet CAN be your friend as a retailer. Bee Bantug, who has provided several NAMM University sessions, can help. That’s why she co-founded Retail Up! in 2002.
-Dale Krevens For Tech 21’s Dale Krevens, being vice president is not a job. It’s an adventure. Find out why.
-Melanie Ripley Grundorf Corp. Vice President Susan Grund handles a plethora of duties at her job, but she also has jammed with the Beach Boys and makes sure the bond with the company’s employees remain strong. Learn how she juggles everything at one time and changes she’s witnessed in MI.
-Susan Grund Grundorf Corp. Vice President Susan Grund handles a plethora of duties at her job, but she also has jammed with the Beach Boys and makes sure the bond with the company’s employees remain strong. Learn how she juggles everything at one time and changes she’s witnessed in MI.
-Toby Nady graduated from college with a degree in clinical psychology. What does that have to do with music? Nothing. It’s been a long, strange trip for her. But a very good and successful trip.
-• Shawna von Behren.
-• Berenice Chauvet
-• Sue Kincade
-• Tish Ciravolo
-• Vikki Hayward
-• Roxana Ramirez
-• Susan Lipp

-Subscribe, Renew, Manage
-
-ConventionTV Online
-
ISSUE ARCHIVES
-download archived issues
-
MUSIC & SOUND AWARDS
-And the Winners are...
-
INFORMATION
-contact The Retailer
-advertisers information
-
-BlueBook Online
-Sound & Communications Online
-
DJ TIMES / DJ EXPO
-DJ Times Online
-Int'l DJ Expo 2008
-America's Best DJ
-
CLUB WORLD
-Club World Online
-Club World Awards 2009.
-
 

This site archives its
publications with Adobe
Acrobat ver. 5 compatible.
Adobe Acrobat is FREE from Adobe Systems Inc.

 
 
Doing Sound Biz
Manufacturers Offer Their Pro Audio Feedback
[May 2007 - Page 2]

Now let’s imagine you’ve used the aforementioned advice, but your customer still balks and won’t buy the product. What should you say now to the customer? “I think some time needs to be spent with the customer to qualify both wants and needs,” said Soucy. “If the customer needs a piece to have their system work correctly, it’s a different conversation than if a customer just wants a piece. When I was on the sales floor [when I worked in the retail environment], I wasn’t afraid to tell a customer that if he was going to use his equipment in a certain way, then he needed a particular piece I knew was missing. It’s a different situation if they just want something. In those situations, I would pay close attention to what the customer is telling me, and find ways to overcome roadblocks. After qualifying the sale, if price is the roadblock, I would always have alternate products in mind before offering a deal or reducing my margin on the item he was initially looking for. In many cases, this helped me close the sale and retain the margin I would have otherwise lost, plus still satisfy the customer’s wants.”

“You have to be able to speak the same language as the customer,” said Birr. “As I mentioned earlier, know what their goals are. How comfortable are they with what they’re about to purchase or want to purchase? If customers don’t understand every detail about the product, you must make sure you speak on a very human, personal level. Because at the end of the day, the customer probably isn’t too concerned with the technical stuff anyway. They just want it to sound right. And being a very good listener is what everything is all about.”

Behind the Glass

Although it’s clearly not the case with speakers, many other pro audio products perhaps sit behind the glass or on the wall behind your register. Therefore, customers cannot simply pick up the product and try it out. Customers need to either ask you to look at the product, or view the package from several feet away. This can be a disadvantage when trying to sell that product. So how do our experts say you can overcome that potential problem? “Packaging is becoming more important,” said Castle. “For example, if a salesperson is busy, he or she can hand the customer the box. That customer can get everything they need to know about the microphone right off of that box. We all buy with our eyes. You need to draw people in visually, no matter what you’re selling. But the bottom line is the salesperson is still the most important factor for what the customer buys. If he or she is familiar with the product, and possibly uses it his/her self, that’s the biggest factor for a customer buying it. We do make an effort to reach out to salespeople and make sure they are at least familiar with our product. We have programs where they can try the mics out and even purchase them.”

“Most manufactures are doing a really good job at having good point of purchase bullets on their packaging, so making these easy to see will help,” added Soucy. “In my experience, a lot happens behind the counter and it’s easy to let things get messy or have the displays look unorganized. Retailers need to keep in mind that if they have to go digging behind their counter to find something, then the customer will never see it. If customers can’t see it, there’s the risk they will leave without asking about it [especially when the store is busy], so the sale and the customer are lost even though you have the item in stock they wanted. I am also a big fan of having small, neatly displayed stacks of impulse items in the counter area. Good point-of-purchase signs are important to get the most out of impulse item displays.”

“As a speaker manufacturer, we can’t talk specifically about the behind-the-glass aspect,” said DeLoria, “but a huge factor here is retailers can’t always demonstrate pro audio products. To that, I say, find a corner, find a back room, or take it outdoors if the weather is nice. That way, a customer can get a real connection to the product. Whether the product is behind the glass or not, you must demonstrate it. Because you might sell the product, but they very well may bring it back.”

If All Else Fails, Pray
Another area we have yet to touch upon is the house of worship market. This is an area where margins are often more comfortable compared to other MI niches. According to Peavey’s Gibson, the best advice for retailers is to differentiate yourself from other retailers by starting an installation division.
But how much space in your store will these products eat up? Gibson said the nice part about installation products, including his company’s Sanctuary Series, is “they don’t really take up much room. Unlike before, most of the products are built into the mixer. The mixer itself takes the place of a lot of outboard gear you would have had to buy.”


( continued, next page >> )

[ pages: 1 - 2 - 3 ]

|


Pioneer Pro DJ
American DJ
Event
Shure
Hohner
 
 
       
   
© 2009 The Music and Sound Retailer
Published by Testa Communications
Port Washington, New York 11050
516.767.2500 | 800.937.7678