Geo Week News

September 28, 2012

Anybody Home…?

09.28.12.abandonded

“I See Dead People” 

Do the manufacturers get it? I mean do the hardware and software manufacturers truly understand the market opportunity before them? Which company offers outstanding customer support? Do they engage Building Information Modeling? Does their product pricing make sense? Do they support the industries in which they’re trying to sell their products?

Laser scanning in its simplest form is measurement. It’s highly accurate, incredibly fast, non-contact measurement. If you owned an instrument or software company working in the laser scanning industry I’m assuming you would understand this cornerstone. Logic dictates you would develop creative marketing strategies that drive sales by working with industries that rely on measurement. And you would support industry trends (i.e. Building Information Modeling, Facilities Management, etc.) that would push product sales. It also makes sense to work with service providers to assist them in their efforts to educate the masses about this wonderful still new-to-most technology?

We’ve been scanning longer than some, not as long as others, and travel throughout the United States on a regular basis with our fleet of scanners. So we have experience in working with a variety of software and hardware manufactures. With perhaps one or two exceptions, we are generally frustrated with the lack of support and customer service we receive.

Myth-Busters 

So why does this situation exist? Some possible reason might include:

·      Manufactures don’t understand what to do with their data and haven’t taken the time to explore and/or develop the entire workflows used by end users.

·      There are still too many plug-in software packages to reach a desired end product with poor interoperability. The situation is exasperated by so many different deliverable products.

·      Some companies are too big to make tactical moves and adapt quickly to the ever-morphing 3d environment.

·      Some manufactures have sales forces focused on old school distribution channels who themselves are struggling.

·      Most don’t recognize industry trends—or if they do, they’re taking the wrong indicators.

·      It seems many are worried about what the industry is doing rather than what they are doing to capture market share.

·      Some manufacturers become immediately alienated if you choose a competing product.

·      Perhaps they’re making a lot of money doing just what they are and there’s no great reason to pursue a different direction.

·      Are some companies positioning themselves for an acquisition or take over? Is their goal to be gobbled up and cash out?

Predict the Future by Understanding the Past 

The future for these companies that ignore customer satisfaction and don’t have an attack plan is bleak. Think how IBM disregarded the PC market. Or Blackberry scoffed at the iPhone and didn’t listen to their customers. Others invaded the market with products and services that met the changing needs of the consumers.

Post-It Notes were an accidental invention, and most people don’t see the white arrow inside the FedEx logo. Sometimes people don’t see the obvious. Laser scanning is about measurement. Those hardware/software manufacturers who help provide a solution and offer outstanding customer support will continue to rise to the top.

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