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On our most recent AVWeek, one of the stories was from our friends at CE Pro. It detailed the hiring of a new home automation evangelist for Home Depot. The idea is that they will begin to encourage the Home Depot employees to begin introducing their line of home automation products to their customer base.
A number of the panelists on the episode noted the issues with this idea. Among them is the inability of the employee base to successfully relay the features and benefits of such a system. There is something to be said for this argument. The employees of most box home improvement stores are not burgeoning control programmers. However, Sam Malik made a good point. That is to give the employees the control products and let them get their hands on them. This is also a great way to get your employees excited about control and automation.
Now, there is another problem with the Home Depot-ing of control and automation. It is just enough to get them interested. You need to partner with the box stores that sell these entry level products. These products allow integrators to begin with the basics then introduce their clients into the deeper levels of what is possible with control.
This market is primed for a huge explosion in the next few years. If you get yourself into position to take advantage of it, it will serve you well. With products like Crestron Pyng and other configuration products like it allow you to create some pretty amazing things. Just remember, the middle market does not have the budget of your higher income clients. This is where managing expectations comes into play. Make certain you show and tell them what is possible, but also the price tags that come along with it.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. Have a great week.
