An interview of Starin's Bill Mullin

by Don Kreski

“You have to ask yourself the question, how are we going to grow an industry?” says Bill Mullin, VP of Distributing at Starin, the Chesterton, Indiana distributor and rep firm. “How are we going to grow this AV industry into the network-centric communications tool that we all say it should be?”

The answer, according to Mullin, is tied up with how we market our products and our companies.

“It’s no longer enough to say, ‘hey buy all this AV technology, it’s going to be great.’ Now I have to show you the productivity, the usefulness, how you’re going to have an improved situation by having our products and our systems. And I’m going to have to show you how I’ll live with this project to make it really work for you. Any communications you make to your customers have to impart how much you’re dedicated to that purpose.”

Managers and staff at Starin spend a great deal of time training dealer salespeople on the lines they carry. “If we’re all convinced that digital signage or rich media collaboration or high definition imagery is where it’s at, we have to convince the world of it as well. At Starin, we’re trying to build a champion system, so that we have some raving fans in the marketplace who will say, ‘I can’t believe how useful this AV is to us.’” Starin, of course, is building champions at the dealer and contractor level. They, in turn, must build champions within the companies, schools and universities they call on.

Typically a rep firm will offer training at several levels. There are the traditional one-hour product demonstrations at dealer offices. They’ll do one-on-one sessions with new sales reps. They may offer sales/training events at hotels in various regions. Some are beginning to offer rich-media training on their websites.

“The problem with any kind of training,” says Mullin, “is that some people will get it, probably because they have an application right now where they can use it directly, but most others will say, ‘OK, I’ll keep that in mind.’ You need to constantly remind them of what you have to offer and why they need to know about it.”

Starin runs a very aggressive marketing program to keep that reinforcement process going. They do mailers, newsletters, email promotions, brochures, shows, and currently maintain 20 websites –three for themselves, and 17 for lines they carry– to offer in-depth product information.

In the same way, dealers, manufacturers and consultants must continually teach their customers what they have and what they can do for them. One of your first goals is to show that you’re competent. “You have to tell your customers that ‘we know our business,”” says Mullin. “In some ways you’re also trying to say, ‘we know your business, too. We relate to you. And we want you to be partners with us and work with us because we understand your business and can help you.”

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Getting there is easier said than done, but Mullin suggests starting with look at your overall mission. “You have to look at your marketing program as a whole in the scheme of what you’re trying to teach your customers.” Mullin says Starin is working on several initiatives to improve customer service, including an enterprise computer system, dealer web portals for the major lines they carry and improved internal training, Expressing what you offer can be a complex issue, but he says you need to find a way to put it in simple terms. “I hate to say, ‘make it as easy as 1, 2, 3,’” says Mullin, “but there is a reason why that phrase exists.”

Mullin says that all of Starin’s 32 employees are involved in the basic marketing / training effort, with about eight of them taking a regular part in the marketing communications effort.

“With the challenges we have as an industry, with the IT channel encroaching on us and everything else, you have to market like the devil to get ahead these days,” he explains. “Or maybe I should rephrase that. You have to market with all the power of God behind you, because God can show us the value of teaching, of saving, of creating, of giving somebody a better way to be productive in their life, and that is life giving. After all, most of us are in this business because we love the technology, and we want to make our money helping someone use that technology to achieve something significant. In the end, that’s what the marketing message is about.”

Visit Starin's websites.