On Your Business: Technology Isn't Enough
Like others in the technology space, the Pro AV industry tends to put a weighted emphasis on the importance of the technical strengths of a team or individual, even though business know-how is what leads to the success of most companies. Having groundbreaking products, the brightest engineering minds, or the most state-of-the-art solutions does not necessarily equate to the strongest companies. What is most critical is how organizations combine these assets with business expertise to create profitable firms that help their clients succeed.
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All organizations, technological or otherwise, need to follow the same basic business principles at their core that all point to being profitable. While some may associate profitability with exclusively benefiting the owner, investors, or leadership, when a business is profitable it can provide significant value to all the members of the business, its clients, the industry, and those whom the business touches.
Profitability allows businesses to offer employment, provide longevity and security to its team members, reinvest in the company to build and strengthen infrastructure, pursue research and development of new ideas, grant employee opportunities for training and growth, reward those who have contributed, and allocate time and resources to better the industry through volunteering, instructing, and mentoring to help others succeed.
Income Is Essential
It is no surprise that the Pro AV industry puts a hefty weight on the value of technical skills. This is the special sauce that makes AV a niche industry; however, organizations can't rely on technical skills alone.
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While demonstrating technical competency and the ability to apply specialized skills is critical to many technical roles and individual career paths, for most organizations it comes down to pairing technical knowledge with business know-how that affords them the ability to serve their clients, employ their teams, and continue to exist. Technical skills and capabilities that are unable to be translated into financial gain through a profitable product or service have minimal value to employers.
Although it is easy for any Pro AV company to focus on the differentiating factors of the technology they provide, what is truly most important is the result it delivers for its clients.
In the end, those with lesser technical skills who can generate income and profitability are more valuable than those with superior technical skills who struggle to convert them into true benefit for an organization.
Technologists have a tendency to focus on the expertise that goes into solving an engineering challenge and providing a superior solution that validates their expertise or would outshine a lesser rival. As a result, there is a lot of pride taken by engineers, technicians, and programmers in achieving high technical performance marks with their products or systems.
While traits are crucial and widely respected by those who can appreciate them, what is most important is the value these provide to clients and, as a result, how they result in sales and lead to the success and financial gain of their organization. Although it is easy for any Pro AV company to focus on the differentiating factors of the technology they provide, what is truly most important is the result it delivers for its clients.
Results Not Accolades
It is not the level of expertise or advanced degree of the technological solution that is most important, but rather the value that the client puts on the outcome that they receive. Typically, this value is contrived from saving time, creating efficiency, or producing greater results that all lead to increased profitability.
Similar to service provider and supplier organizations, clients will pay for results that offer convenience, cost savings, and/or increased income. In a B2B relationship, most clients are also focused on running a profitable business. Therefore, products or services that help them meet their profitability goals will be more readily embraced and justified.
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When it comes down to it, generating income is the driving force behind all organizations—and the way businesses can afford to pay their team members and provide future financial reward. For a business to operate optimally, the compensation they provide must be a function of the income they derive from the contributions each team member, the value clients receive and are willing to pay for, and the profitability of their organization.
For a business cycle to be effective and sustainable, organizations must not only receive income but also derive profit. Regardless of technical prowess or potential, a business without profit is like a person without oxygen: It can only sustain itself and support others for so long.
