ESSENTIAL CEDIA
WHY MARKET RESEARCH MATTERS Stuart Tickle, Managing Director of distributor AWE Europe, asks why is the information provided by market research is important to our sector? For a long time, AWE has been part of the consumer electronics industry and we have seen plenty of data presented to us by manufacturers and brands. This data typically takes two forms. Established data intelligence companies, such as GfK are renowned for providing high quality sales data with insights on specific product categories and brand performance based on sales and factory output information, from which they draw market insights. Meanwhile, additional respected organisations, such as Futuresource and Parks Associates, are known for their forward-looking trendsbased research into the consumer electronics sector, predicting buying patterns and the likely evolution of different technologies. These future directions are typically set in the context of a much bigger picture that brings together consumer tastes and preferences, cultural and economic shifts as well as R&D and investment data from industry, alongside other factors. Such data can be useful but its benefits to those more active in CI are relatively limited. That’s because CI and the professional, premium end of the market that we inhabit is only a subset – and a relatively niche subset at that - of the much broader consumer electronics industry. And yet, as a comparatively youthful market sector, and one in the midst of a rapid and continuing growth phase, generating genuinely new business, access to high quality information that specifically relates to manufacturers, distributors and integration businesses is incredibly important. Most business owners could be forgiven for thinking that they know everything there is to know about their own business, the industry it operates in and what it needs to do to be successful. It’s what we do, right? But stepping outside of your own bubble is important. It
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can help us all better understand the CI space, identifying technology trends and customer behaviours more accurately and helping to put business planning and growth on firmer foundations; foundations that are based on independent evidence rather than just your own company’s experience and sales data. To have such credible performance benchmarks is so valuable to installation businesses and suppliers. It’s for these reasons that AWE is a big supporter of the UK Integrated Home Market Analysis - powered by CEDIA. There is no other research project that focuses minds and information on the key aspects of the UK CI industry. It covers company size, scope and activities, including business functions, installation types, equipment choices, the size of the workforce, as well as the technology areas that are proving most important for integration companies. It enables us to look at growth and market opportunities as well as allowing us to find out valuable information on important technology and brand buying trends. From the most recent CEDIA study, we’re encouraged to see that there are close to 3,700 integrator companies operating in the UK market with an average annual revenue
of £386,000 and an average project size of £33,000. How you define an integrator is important, so it’s helpful to understand that the vast majority of their business is residential. The study had a strong response rate from CEDIA members (88%). Within this sample group, 77% of companies are forecasting revenue growth in the next 12 months with the major technology areas set for expansion being integration/control, home cinema and networks / network security – not your typical retail sale, so true added value to the wider CE industry. Having this dedicated CI market research that gives us such important insights and feedback on where the industry is heading from an integrator rather than brand perspective is so valuable. The 2021 UK Integrated Home Market Analysis has plenty to say to us and it’s free of charge to all CEDIA members. The more companies that take part in such market research the better and more valuable it becomes, so we would urge everyone to get involved in future projects, such as, the CEDIA study. It only cost time but benefits us all. Visit www.cedia.net/market-intelligence for more details. If you are interested in participating in future market data projects with CEDIA, please contact research@cedia.org.
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