The Support Team - Waylens

Vision Quest

WORDS BY JAMIE SORCHER

Born out of the highly respected MIT Media Lab and just a few years fresh from its Kickstarter campaign, Boston-based Waylens is well on its way to becoming a household name in the 12-volt world. Right now, the company has two automotive cameras in the market—Horizon and Secure360.

The company’s mission is to transform the way people enjoy their time behind the wheel. The first product, the Waylens Horizon, is perfect for the enthusiast. It lets drivers capture, edit and share interesting moments and automotive performance data from the road.

The Waylens Secure360 gives owners peace of mind. Lots of folks have basic remote start or security for their cars, but this takes things a step further, according to product manager Aaron Thomas.

“It’s like a mobile-drone option so you can remote start your car when you’re flying back from SEMA and can get it going at the airport before you even get there,” he said. “The big difference is that with existing products, you can’t actually see your car. You can control it, you can start it, but you can’t actually see it. You wouldn’t be able to get the evidence you might need for an insurance claim if something happened. That’s where our camera, the Secure360, steps in and that’s where the 4G connection gives you visual confirmation of the world in and around your car.”

It’s just the two automotive cameras for now, but one of the biggest challenges for any company with a product launch is making sure consumers want it, dealers embrace it and installers understand it.

Making Automotive Cameras a Primary Security Focus for Today’s Drivers

Thomas is charged with driving the product innovation forward as well as supporting it from a technical side. “I take in all the information I can on how the products are working in the wild,” he said. “I look at the design and determine better uses for our current products and come up with new ideas.”

He is also in daily contact with the company’s engineers in Shanghai. “We’re developing changes to the app every single day,” Thomas said. “I’ve got a whiteboard in front of me that has six different app versions on it—it’s incredible.”

All of the company’s hard work is paying off as Waylens has its product placement at Best Buy, in 12-volt dealers and with distributor networks. “We have national coverage and are working to get more product in stock to fill all of the back orders,” Thomas said.

Equally important to getting products in stores, Thomas said, is partnering with its community of dealers and installers, and ultimately, the consumers they reach. “We need to understand how the installations go, what kinds of customers are walking into the stores, and how we build that around the Best Buy option and our 12-volt specialists and distributors so no one feels left out and no one is excluded from development. We’re creating the opportunity for every type of consumer to use the product. It can fit in every type of vehicle. This isn’t something that should just be upmarket or premium, and it shouldn’t be in the middle ground like it’s something else just to be added on. It should be a primary focus—a security focus for drivers today.”

Video Tutorials and an FAQ/ Troubleshooting Resource Offers Support

A major focus along with securing placements in the right retail establishments and manufacturing plenty of product to meet demand is maintaining a strong support system for everyone—and

Aaron Thomas serves as product manager for Waylens. He takes in all the informationhe can on how products are working “out in the wild” as well as providing technical support and generating new ideas.

that includes end-users, retailers, distributors and installers. One look at the company’s website confirms that this is a top priority through its video tutorials and community forum.

Video tutorials began with the company’s first product, the Horizon. “This is our track or enthusiast driver camera, and the videos are primarily focused on this,” Thomas said. “We are building out this video area and plan to produce much more Security360-focused content in the future.”

Instead of waiting for emails from consumers or dealers to roll in with potential questions or issues, Waylens has taken a proactive approach with both its FAQ/ Troubleshooting section, and by creating its Community Forum which Thomas monitors.

“We have a test group which serves as a launching pad for us to get new ideas and to provide direction,” Thomas said. “It is a key, select group of customers who have stepped up—both at the consumer and dealer level—and have chosen to beta test or early test product development pieces for us whether it’s hardware or software.” The test group is not open to the public, and it is not something anyone can ask to join, he added. “Now, if we encounter a person who is up for testing a product and really wants to dive into it, they are more than welcome. We just want to have a chat with them first before we put them in that test group which deals with cutting-edge developments.”

As for a dedicated support forum just for dealers, Thomas said it’s in the works. “We are still putting that idea together and don’t have something like it just yet,” he said.

For now, the FAQ/Troubleshooting section offers easy-to-navigate breakdowns of each product, the app, accessories and much more. It offers answers to a wide array of questions, including: Does the Secure360 do anything to deter a vandal or thief? How does the Secure360 stay alert without running down the car battery? Is the Horizon OBD-II transmitter compatible with diagnostic tools?

“We have the essential information that someone would need to get started,” Thomas said, “but we’re building out this section, too, as we determine what is needed on an almost daily basis, sometimes weekly. What we’re doing is two-fold. We develop all the articles, with everything written in-house. We are also developing video guides to back up those instructions. Going forward we’ll have our video content on a YouTube channel as well as directly on the website, built into the FAQ page.”

Another option that Waylens offers for support is email outreach, which is available anytime.

“If it’s Best Buy and a return or exchange question, then definitely Best Buy is handling its own situations,” Thomas said. “Otherwise, with our dealers and distributors, then it’s going to be through us directly. Our email address, which is always available, is support@ waylens.com.”

For those who cannot find what they’re looking for in the site’s support section, a “Need More Help?” prompt directs users to a live chat option.

Webinars Will Present Information and Give Attendees a Chance to Interact

With the new year right around the corner, Thomas said video will be a prime way to connect with dealers in the months ahead, but with a subtle twist. “This is a big area of opportunity for us in 2019,” he said. “As we get product out the door and we have it in dealers’ hands, we are starting a few different things. Videos are obviously a huge focus for us. As a camera company it is literally what we live and breathe every day.

“Our video training will be unique in that we’re going to have it on the website, we’re going to have it on YouTube, but we’re also going to provide an option for dealers, distributors and rep firms to attend a monthly webinar. These will be quick—maybe 30 minutes—as we want to be respectful of everyone’s time. Webinars will be a way for us to tell folks about the status of the app, or any upcoming developments, and then we can open it up to for people to jump in to discuss issues and allow for a kind of question and answer session. This will also be the fastest way for us to get feedback.”

Tim Coomer, CEO of Waylens, at SEMA in 2017, accepting an award for Best New Mobile Electronics product for the Secure360 and Secure360 4G.

Trade events will also continue as part of the company’s support efforts. Waylens attended SEMA this year and participates in KnowledgeFest as well as the annual MESA summit. “We are working with different distributors in different parts of the country right now to see what their local shows are,” Thomas said. “Some distributors host a symposium at their main warehouse and invite the dealers out, which we do as well.”

Building Consumer Support for a Bright Future

Waylens will wait to see which products will come next while staying focused on supporting those consumers who are purchasing and enjoying their offerings now. “We have a few different types of drivers,” Thomas said. “There’s the young driver—someone who has a car, whether it was given to them or they acquired it on their own. But this is where the safety and security mindset comes in. This driver wouldn’t be buying the camera, but they are using it. The parents put it in the car so they can understand what happens when their child is driving.Instead of having any insurance issues or having to go to court, if there was an accident, the kid is on the app at the time, they can cull a video file, upload it to the cloud and have proof right there of what happened.”

If it’s not a parent or young driver using the product, according to Thomas, it might be a person with a collectible vehicle in storage. “That car should do nothing without the owner present,” Thomas said. “To protect it, you need a camera you can leave on and custom record and be connected to 4G so that you can receive an alert if your investment is being disrupted by something or someone else. Then you have a live video feed, recorded in the cloud, so you know exactly what’s happening at the time it’s happening instead of afterward. You are able to take action immediately.”

For now, Waylens wants to make sure it’s meeting the demand on its Secure360, as well as providing new options which will be done with feedback gathered from the community on how to expand the product line. “We don’t want to make a move until the community is asking for it,” Thomas said. “As for what that means, we’re still gathering data. We are talking directly to dealers, distributors and installers to find out what they’re asking for most. That will tell us what we will develop in 2019 in addition to our already established Secure360 and Horizon lines.”

With more and more people putting protection systems in their homes, the time seems right for Waylens. “We are certainly the small fry in a big box lunch right now,” Thomas said. “What we want to do first and what we want to do correctly is to be smart about how we interact with our dealers and all of our customers. We’re in touch every day with different dealers, distributors, and rep firms. Right now we’re in an awesome spot. We’re selling out of everything we make, but what I don’t want to do is get ahead of that. It’s not just about selling. We need to develop, too.”