editor’s forum
The Power of Words
How we describe our trade can build long-term business. But if customers don’t get it, it’s a wasted effort.
F
or those of you who don’t know, I created a Mobile Electronics Advisory Board group on Facebook. It’s open to anyone in the industry who wants to support the maga- zine with thoughts and opinions that will make us better at making the industry better. I want to thank those who have joined for their willingness to par- ticipate, and for the time they take out of their no doubt busy days to provide their insights. Also, thanks for the jokes. And the arguments. And the out-of-the-box, sometimes off-the-planet think- ing. That’s what makes it a real community. A question that recently came up was whether the specialists in our industry should still refer to themselves as “installers.” The gist of the discussion is that the dedicated members of the profession want to differentiate them- selves from those whose skill set—or value set—does not reflect true service and professionalism. Therefore, a new description would serve to create this separation. The alternate point of view is that it’s just a word, and it
doesn’t matter. A store should focus on selling itself and the expertise of its staff. Here is my thought. What we are really talking about here is
the value of marketing. Professionals want to market themselves as a step above the rest, as they should. But when you take the larger view of the industry, you immediately see our glaring weak- ness. Marketing is training customers how to think or feel about a product or service, and it’s done through repeated impressions: seeing or hearing the same thing multiple times. The problem? We don’t have the national reach to train consumers on a new way to identify the best of us. Even if you took all of the publi- cations and blogs that cover mobile electronics and got them to agree on a term, we’re still not touching the millions of non-en- thusiasts who are (or should be) our target customers. And using advertising media to reach these consumers is cost-prohibitive. But marketing is also about not recreating the wheel, but
instead finding already established inroads to consumers’ minds and using them in a new way. The solution? Let’s use what they already know, and qualify it. The funny thing about the word “installer” is, if you Google it, you come up with about 1,000 references to computers before
8 Mobile Electronics May 2014
SOLOMON DANIELS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
you even get to one that implies physical work. The good part? The implication to consumers is the same: an installer in any capacity is a person or function that easily completes the final phase of a transaction. The process makes a reality of the vision that the consumer has in his or her mind of how the product or service will benefit them. That’s powerful. So we take the word “installer” (our established inroad) and make it more. These are some terms we can use that give us the best of both worlds—imme- diate comprehension from the consumer and a sense of special expertise: Factory trained installers—This term automat- ically delivers the idea that the person has been
validated on the products he or she will be working on and can immediately address any special applications or problems that can arise with the installation. The word “factory” also adds the solidity of a larger entity standing behind the work. Integrated systems installers—This is more of a general term, but its vagueness is its power. It tells the customer that the person is an expert at making products work within an envi- ronment of different systems, and it addresses the No. 1 worry customers have when relinquishing their car for installation: “Will the installation cause any of the other parts of my car to stop working or malfunction?” “Plus 1” Installers (or a variation)—Adding a memorable
brand to the word tells the customer there is something special about the installer. Again, vagueness is power, because it lets the customer create a definition for the term, whether it’s additional training, special attention to detail, or a higher level of installa- tion quality. You can back this up in-store with posters that list the specific aspects of a “Plus 1” Installer.
Of course, there are also the old faithfuls, though using these
takes a little work: MECP-Certified installer, MECP Master installer, Top 100 Installer, Top 12 Installer, or 20XX Installer of the Year. Whatever you decide, the word consumers know is the word you should use. Let’s not recreate the wheel by confusing them with words they can’t relate to; instead, focus on creating a lifelong customer with your stellar service and expertise. µ
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