by Don Kreski The AV industry has been in turmoil since 2001. We've seen our largest sources of revenue taken by Internet discounters and our largest dealership broken up in bankruptcy. Some would argue that our biggest problem is confusion. Many owners don't know where to take their companies. Many sales reps aren't sure what to sell. The point of any market research project is to gather good information to help you make decisions. Yet most AV companies do little or no market research. I'm here to tell you that good research can be practical and affordable, even for very small companies. To find out how, I interviewed industry insiders from Pacific Media, Infocomm International, Exxel Management, Electronic Evolutions and Jelco. Read what I learned in "Making Better Decisions" from Sound & Video Contractor Magazine.

In-house research can be very practical in the AV industry. I know, because I did it for years as director of marketing at AV integrators. Qualitative research -interviews and focus groups- can be a huge help when you're looking for new ideas or a new take on what you're doing. This article examines how to do this type of research yourself, yet still gain valid, very useful results. Read Don's "Do-it-Yourself Research, Part 1" from Sound & Video Contractor

Sometimes you don't need new ideas as much as a measurement of your customers' ideas. What do they want? How will they react? Survey research can be a big help in many critical decisions. Here we'll examine how to decide who to survey, how to construct a valid sample, what survey vehicles work best, how to test your questions and how to deal with bias. Read "Do-it-Yourself Research, Part 2" from Sound & Video Contractor

Thousands of companies use satisfaction surveys, but many waste their efforts. These surveys can be extremely valuable, but only if you understand how they work and construct them properly. In this article we'll explore: The wrong way to use these surveys Why averaging won't work Security and sabotage Uncovering service problems Using surveys to save lost customers Why surveys are "a kick to get back" Read "The Customer Satisfaction Survey" from Sound & Video Contractor