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CE Pro 100: Brand Name Dropping
What do CE Pro 100 companies look for when selecting brands? Reliability? Service? Companies that will answer the phone?
CE Pro 100 companies tend to favor big name brands consumers know and products known to be reliable. How do we know this?
We meticulously counted the brands the CE Pro 100 use for audio, video, security, wiring and more -- and narrowed it down to the most used in each category.
Is your company using the same products as these integrators? Are you focusing on similar characteristics when selecting which brands to offer?
We asked the CE Pro 100 to give us the top two brands for categories ranging from multiroom audio servers to window covering controls, and then we asked why they choose those products.
Some of the categories provided diverse answers, such as "satellite systems," which gave us a variety of brands, services and programming. But there was almost no variety in the brand used by integrators for telephone systems, with an overwhelming majority using Panasonic systems.
Why are the CE Pro 100 using these particular brands? We can tell you what they had to say, but you'll have to figure out if your priorities are at all like these integrators.
Margin may be one of the determining factors for dealers, but is it the most important thing to consider? Not for Gary Hall, who believes ease of use and reliability are more important.
"It does not matter how much margin you make if the product fails or if you have service issues," says Hall, the vice president of Palm Desert, Calif.-based CS Security & Sound.
Jason Barth, the owner and CEO of Carmel, Ind.-based Premier Custom Audio & Video agrees. "[We] make our decisions based mostly upon the reliability and ease of integration issue, as our reputation for excellence is the most important," he says.
"Because our clients are reliant on our design and installation ability, it is very important that the products can be easily and reliably integrated into each project as a whole," adds Barth.
Few of the brand categories had overwhelming majorities, but the companies that did must be doing something right. Here's a recap of the product brands we asked for in the CE Pro 100 qualification form:
We meticulously counted the brands the CE Pro 100 use for audio, video, security, wiring and more -- and narrowed it down to the most used in each category.
Is your company using the same products as these integrators? Are you focusing on similar characteristics when selecting which brands to offer?
We asked the CE Pro 100 to give us the top two brands for categories ranging from multiroom audio servers to window covering controls, and then we asked why they choose those products.
Some of the categories provided diverse answers, such as "satellite systems," which gave us a variety of brands, services and programming. But there was almost no variety in the brand used by integrators for telephone systems, with an overwhelming majority using Panasonic systems.
Why are the CE Pro 100 using these particular brands? We can tell you what they had to say, but you'll have to figure out if your priorities are at all like these integrators.
Profit Margin Isn't Everything
Margin may be one of the determining factors for dealers, but is it the most important thing to consider? Not for Gary Hall, who believes ease of use and reliability are more important.
"It does not matter how much margin you make if the product fails or if you have service issues," says Hall, the vice president of Palm Desert, Calif.-based CS Security & Sound.
Jason Barth, the owner and CEO of Carmel, Ind.-based Premier Custom Audio & Video agrees. "[We] make our decisions based mostly upon the reliability and ease of integration issue, as our reputation for excellence is the most important," he says.
"Because our clients are reliant on our design and installation ability, it is very important that the products can be easily and reliably integrated into each project as a whole," adds Barth.
Few of the brand categories had overwhelming majorities, but the companies that did must be doing something right. Here's a recap of the product brands we asked for in the CE Pro 100 qualification form:
CE Pro 100 Product Categories
- In-wall/in-ceiling speakers
- CD players
- Security systems
- Media servers
- Video scalers
- Floorstanding speakers
- Home theater preamps and processors
- Structured wiring systems
- Rear projection TVs
- DVD players
- Shelf speakers
- A/V receivers
- Wires and cables
- Front projectors
- Video filmscreens
- Multiroom amps
- Central vacuums
- Telecommunications systems
- Direct view TVs
- Whole-house automation
- Multiroom audio servers
- HVAC
- Seating
- Flat-panel TVs
- Window Coverings
- 2-channel amps
- Lighting
- Furniture
- Satellite systems
- Broadband
- Computers
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