With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, integrators and suppliers have a lot to be thankful for. The market for residential smart home technology is not on fire but it remains solid, and the turmoil of the presidential election is over. Moreover, there are a slew of entities, such as D-Tools and Azione Unlimited, that are working side by side with both integrators and manufacturers to move the industry forward through education and efficiency.
It’s far too limiting to consider Azione Unlimited as just a “buying group.” It has evolved to become virtually an arm of its membership, emphasizing the importance of community, trust and shared goals, according to newly named executive director Patrick McCarthy, who joined the D-Tools “What’s the Buzz” podcast recently.
“Calling us a buying group really doesn’t articulate what we do very well. We are really an association,” says McCarthy. “That is what we want to do… we want people to be associated with our vision, goals and success.”
McCarthy took the reins at Azione from the legendary Richard Glikes, and he has his sights set on continuing the momentum of the organization via enhanced communication and continuing education. He pointed to a new Slack channel and a remote Learning Management System as examples of the increased emphasis on communication, and the Azione Leadership Symposia designed to foster collaboration and support among members as an example of the educational efforts.
McCarthy also discussed with hosts Tim Bigoness and Jason Knott of D-Tools the state of the market. He noted that while high-end projects are doing well, the middle market has dried up, and that means it is important for members to improve their operational efficiencies, ramp up their outbound marketing and create recurring revenue streams to sustain their business.
He says that relying solely on referral business is like “hiding in a foxhole. Waiting for business to come to you is not the way.” He added that marketing often a foreign concept to integrators, noting “a project-based business is hard to prop up when you stop marketing.”
To that end, listeners can hear more from the podcast about how Azione’s new relationship with Nationwide Marketing Group is opening up more avenues for integrators to hone their marketing.
