High End Stores.
03-27-2007, 01:22 PM
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High End Stores.
As some of you know I worked at one of the Tweeter's that will be closing down. I will be starting my own company with another guy.
We will mostly be a installation company the works with customers who buy things on the internet and need them professionally installed. We will have a dedicated car installer that is very good and technical. The product we will be carrying will be more higher end stuff. I will be picking up DLS and Polk SR. Probably one more line as well. We will also be doing a lot of home theater sales and installation as well.
My question for you all is this. How many of you all would buy from someone without a showroom. To start with I will not have a storefront. I have 3 Media rooms setup with Polk and dls. I also have 2 car's setup with Polk sr speakers and subs. We will focus on very high-end installation and we have very high standards.
We make sure every connection is soldered and heat shrink is used. All speaker wires are cut to the same length. You know all the little things that should be done but take to much time for normal shops to do.
We have a very large custom portfolio of jobs we have done over the last 3 years. The question is would you buy from someone like us who does not have all the flash or someone who may not have standards and a pretty sound room. I know most of you buy online but I am talking in general.
Please keep this post serious I am trying to make some business decisions and need serious input.
We will mostly be a installation company the works with customers who buy things on the internet and need them professionally installed. We will have a dedicated car installer that is very good and technical. The product we will be carrying will be more higher end stuff. I will be picking up DLS and Polk SR. Probably one more line as well. We will also be doing a lot of home theater sales and installation as well.
My question for you all is this. How many of you all would buy from someone without a showroom. To start with I will not have a storefront. I have 3 Media rooms setup with Polk and dls. I also have 2 car's setup with Polk sr speakers and subs. We will focus on very high-end installation and we have very high standards.
We make sure every connection is soldered and heat shrink is used. All speaker wires are cut to the same length. You know all the little things that should be done but take to much time for normal shops to do.
We have a very large custom portfolio of jobs we have done over the last 3 years. The question is would you buy from someone like us who does not have all the flash or someone who may not have standards and a pretty sound room. I know most of you buy online but I am talking in general.
Please keep this post serious I am trying to make some business decisions and need serious input.
03-27-2007, 02:05 PM
#2
justin you know you have my support, i dont have a show room, just my two car garage, but i book about 2 months in advance...
my values are:
1. honesty and personal with the csutomers, i dont try to push as much equipment as i can on them, but i try to find the best design for hte money for them. often, i end up saving them money becuase other shops tried to get them to fill ever speaker hole with high end stuff and have like 4 amps to power things with three subs... i also treat them like a freind before they even spent a dime with me, and long after they have paid...i answer their questions whenever i can
2. good work: i guess you need to make usre your installer is happy and turn out the best work...the important thing for me is to stay with in my limites, often instalelrs who push their own ability way too hard by trying ti come up with something "creative" ends up turning out nasty work i try to let my skills be evolution rather than revolution
3. pricing, sinc eoyu wont have a store front, one advantage is that you will have less overhead, and there for should afford to charge people slightly less...this doersnt always mean you need to charge a ton less, but you should be able to give the customers some breaks here and there...the end goal is still good work
i think you will do fine, you can do advertising like me, just through forums and word of mouth, for me, i have more installs almost than i can handle...but since you do have an employee, you can go for more advertisement
good luck!
b
my values are:
1. honesty and personal with the csutomers, i dont try to push as much equipment as i can on them, but i try to find the best design for hte money for them. often, i end up saving them money becuase other shops tried to get them to fill ever speaker hole with high end stuff and have like 4 amps to power things with three subs... i also treat them like a freind before they even spent a dime with me, and long after they have paid...i answer their questions whenever i can
2. good work: i guess you need to make usre your installer is happy and turn out the best work...the important thing for me is to stay with in my limites, often instalelrs who push their own ability way too hard by trying ti come up with something "creative" ends up turning out nasty work
i try to let my skills be evolution rather than revolution 3. pricing, sinc eoyu wont have a store front, one advantage is that you will have less overhead, and there for should afford to charge people slightly less...this doersnt always mean you need to charge a ton less, but you should be able to give the customers some breaks here and there...the end goal is still good work
i think you will do fine, you can do advertising like me, just through forums and word of mouth, for me, i have more installs almost than i can handle...but since you do have an employee, you can go for more advertisement
good luck!
b
03-27-2007, 02:14 PM
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Originally Posted by 16psibrick
justin you know you have my support, i dont have a show room, just my two car garage, but i book about 2 months in advance...
my values are:
1. honesty and personal with the csutomers, i dont try to push as much equipment as i can on them, but i try to find the best design for hte money for them. often, i end up saving them money becuase other shops tried to get them to fill ever speaker hole with high end stuff and have like 4 amps to power things with three subs... i also treat them like a freind before they even spent a dime with me, and long after they have paid...i answer their questions whenever i can
2. good work: i guess you need to make usre your installer is happy and turn out the best work...the important thing for me is to stay with in my limites, often instalelrs who push their own ability way too hard by trying ti come up with something "creative" ends up turning out nasty work i try to let my skills be evolution rather than revolution
3. pricing, sinc eoyu wont have a store front, one advantage is that you will have less overhead, and there for should afford to charge people slightly less...this doersnt always mean you need to charge a ton less, but you should be able to give the customers some breaks here and there...the end goal is still good work
i think you will do fine, you can do advertising like me, just through forums and word of mouth, for me, i have more installs almost than i can handle...but since you do have an employee, you can go for more advertisement
good luck!
b
my values are:
1. honesty and personal with the csutomers, i dont try to push as much equipment as i can on them, but i try to find the best design for hte money for them. often, i end up saving them money becuase other shops tried to get them to fill ever speaker hole with high end stuff and have like 4 amps to power things with three subs... i also treat them like a freind before they even spent a dime with me, and long after they have paid...i answer their questions whenever i can
2. good work: i guess you need to make usre your installer is happy and turn out the best work...the important thing for me is to stay with in my limites, often instalelrs who push their own ability way too hard by trying ti come up with something "creative" ends up turning out nasty work
i try to let my skills be evolution rather than revolution 3. pricing, sinc eoyu wont have a store front, one advantage is that you will have less overhead, and there for should afford to charge people slightly less...this doersnt always mean you need to charge a ton less, but you should be able to give the customers some breaks here and there...the end goal is still good work
i think you will do fine, you can do advertising like me, just through forums and word of mouth, for me, i have more installs almost than i can handle...but since you do have an employee, you can go for more advertisement
good luck!
b
The only thing I worry about is customers. I have always had a store front and this will be my first time without it. I am just like you on what is going to work and not what all I can sell customers. What do you do for advertisement? This is what I need to look into.
03-27-2007, 02:46 PM
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Just a thought. Have you thought about doing on-site installs? Without a store front, you run the risk of looking like a privateer working out of his/ her house. Not necessarily a bad thing (I'm having a privateer do my installation). But if that's the case, perhaps you can capitalize on it by doing work on-site.
Sure, some things would have to be done at your place, but perhaps a visit to a customer's location to chat with them personally about design, etc would give you enough to go on. You could go back to your place to build boxes, design etc. A few days/ weeks later, you show up with everything to do the install.
Sure, some things would have to be done at your place, but perhaps a visit to a customer's location to chat with them personally about design, etc would give you enough to go on. You could go back to your place to build boxes, design etc. A few days/ weeks later, you show up with everything to do the install.
03-27-2007, 03:09 PM
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I have had things installed at both high end shops, Tweeters, and smaller shops based on referrals. Although a showroom is not paramount to my decision, I do admit to having made some purchases at Tweeters simply because I was able to test the product, compare and contrast options, and then just have the install and purchase there out of convenience. However, I have not noticed a noticeable difference in the quality of the install. There is a piece of mind of larger shops with nicer showrooms and the belief that they are able to back their product and installs more so than the shop that is all business.
Ok, I ranted to long, but basically a knowledgeable buyer will opt to shop online for the best prices and then find someone they trust to do the install or do it themself. If you have a large enough porfolio and referrals to make it happen, you can definately have a successful shop, but with limited retail sales due to both the pricing competition the internet has and the lack of ability to see and use the products at the store. I think having demo cars onsite is awesome publicity and can funtion as a showroom too.
Ok, I ranted to long, but basically a knowledgeable buyer will opt to shop online for the best prices and then find someone they trust to do the install or do it themself. If you have a large enough porfolio and referrals to make it happen, you can definately have a successful shop, but with limited retail sales due to both the pricing competition the internet has and the lack of ability to see and use the products at the store. I think having demo cars onsite is awesome publicity and can funtion as a showroom too.
03-27-2007, 03:30 PM
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High-end home sales are going to be very hard to come by unless you have an excellent (and accessible for demos) custom-base. How high-end are you looking to go?
The car setup ... well, your two cars should be enough.
The car setup ... well, your two cars should be enough.
03-27-2007, 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by JimRHIT
High-end home sales are going to be very hard to come by unless you have an excellent (and accessible for demos) custom-base. How high-end are you looking to go?
The car setup ... well, your two cars should be enough.
The car setup ... well, your two cars should be enough.
I will acutally have 3 maybee 4 car's for demo.
Mine being a 3 way polk sr active setup with a 880 prs setup for the control. Full fiberglass hatch.
Second a honda civic which I will be changing to the dls iridum 2 way setup with a single polk SR sub and a avic z2 running everything.
third will be a new altima which will be a entry level car. 5 channel amp with entry level dls components and coax's in the rear with a single sub running off a factory deck.
I may do another midrange system in my fiance's jeep not sure what though.
any more adive jim.
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03-27-2007, 03:58 PM
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Originally Posted by JimRHIT
High-end home sales are going to be very hard to come by unless you have an excellent (and accessible for demos) custom-base. How high-end are you looking to go?
The car setup ... well, your two cars should be enough.
The car setup ... well, your two cars should be enough.
03-27-2007, 03:58 PM
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Home is gonna be a LOT harder to survive in vs. mobile audio. The reality is, most car systems are decided on by one person (the driver) with minimal spousal influence or care. The home is ENTIRELY different, where the women pretty much drive everything ... unless you are into the esoteric stuff, which again becomes a man's game.
Leave the commodity home audio (anything under ~$15k installed) to BestBuy and Magnolia .... earn your money where you know how to tune, install and customize (the car).
Leave the commodity home audio (anything under ~$15k installed) to BestBuy and Magnolia .... earn your money where you know how to tune, install and customize (the car).
03-27-2007, 04:02 PM
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Well .. if you got home wrapped up ... then go for it.
For cars ... well ... allow outside brands to come in (a lot of JL, RE, Fi etc fanboys out there that need installs too). Do some form of incoming QC to ensure they are legit, funtional products ... just don't limit people to one brand. This is a nice thing that I have seen Bing do and I am sure it attracts more customers.
For cars ... well ... allow outside brands to come in (a lot of JL, RE, Fi etc fanboys out there that need installs too). Do some form of incoming QC to ensure they are legit, funtional products ... just don't limit people to one brand. This is a nice thing that I have seen Bing do and I am sure it attracts more customers.
03-27-2007, 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by JimRHIT
Well .. if you got home wrapped up ... then go for it.
For cars ... well ... allow outside brands to come in (a lot of JL, RE, Fi etc fanboys out there that need installs too). Do some form of incoming QC to ensure they are legit, funtional products ... just don't limit people to one brand. This is a nice thing that I have seen Bing do and I am sure it attracts more customers.
For cars ... well ... allow outside brands to come in (a lot of JL, RE, Fi etc fanboys out there that need installs too). Do some form of incoming QC to ensure they are legit, funtional products ... just don't limit people to one brand. This is a nice thing that I have seen Bing do and I am sure it attracts more customers.
03-27-2007, 04:39 PM
#12
Originally Posted by jdohman
We have a very large custom portfolio of jobs we have done over the last 3 years. The question is would you buy from someone like us who does not have all the flash or someone who may not have standards and a pretty sound room. I know most of you buy online but I am talking in general.
Please keep this post serious I am trying to make some business decisions and need serious input.
Please keep this post serious I am trying to make some business decisions and need serious input.
) goes a long way, but it takes a while. Sponsor "Shariff" in the FI forums on this site, his repuation is getting better by the week. Maybe PM him for some further insight too. Everything is done online these days, look at zappos.com and how successful they are selling shoes online. Good luck.
03-27-2007, 07:47 PM
#13
Originally Posted by 16psibrick
justin you know you have my support, i dont have a show room, just my two car garage, but i book about 2 months in advance...
my values are:
1. honesty and personal with the csutomers, i dont try to push as much equipment as i can on them, but i try to find the best design for hte money for them. often, i end up saving them money becuase other shops tried to get them to fill ever speaker hole with high end stuff and have like 4 amps to power things with three subs... i also treat them like a freind before they even spent a dime with me, and long after they have paid...i answer their questions whenever i can
2. good work: i guess you need to make usre your installer is happy and turn out the best work...the important thing for me is to stay with in my limites, often instalelrs who push their own ability way too hard by trying ti come up with something "creative" ends up turning out nasty work i try to let my skills be evolution rather than revolution
3. pricing, sinc eoyu wont have a store front, one advantage is that you will have less overhead, and there for should afford to charge people slightly less...this doersnt always mean you need to charge a ton less, but you should be able to give the customers some breaks here and there...the end goal is still good work
i think you will do fine, you can do advertising like me, just through forums and word of mouth, for me, i have more installs almost than i can handle...but since you do have an employee, you can go for more advertisement
good luck!
b
my values are:
1. honesty and personal with the csutomers, i dont try to push as much equipment as i can on them, but i try to find the best design for hte money for them. often, i end up saving them money becuase other shops tried to get them to fill ever speaker hole with high end stuff and have like 4 amps to power things with three subs... i also treat them like a freind before they even spent a dime with me, and long after they have paid...i answer their questions whenever i can
2. good work: i guess you need to make usre your installer is happy and turn out the best work...the important thing for me is to stay with in my limites, often instalelrs who push their own ability way too hard by trying ti come up with something "creative" ends up turning out nasty work
i try to let my skills be evolution rather than revolution 3. pricing, sinc eoyu wont have a store front, one advantage is that you will have less overhead, and there for should afford to charge people slightly less...this doersnt always mean you need to charge a ton less, but you should be able to give the customers some breaks here and there...the end goal is still good work
i think you will do fine, you can do advertising like me, just through forums and word of mouth, for me, i have more installs almost than i can handle...but since you do have an employee, you can go for more advertisement
good luck!
b
A good example...I referred one of my colleagues to him for a simple audio install. His budget was $1k. After talking with Bing with some options, he gladly raised the budget to $1500. After another visit, he will now be doing a $2k system. Not because Bing is a good seller, but we know that he does great work, and at a great price. Most importantly, we know he's being honest and is wholeheartedly on the same side as the customer.
Sorry for the lengthy read, but the moral of the story is exactly what Bing said: Build trust, and do quality work. But mostly...be genuine, and the customer-base will come.
Good luck.
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