8 minute read
Mobile Electronics Magazine - November Issue
A SUNNY PREDICTION
Alex Camara of AudioControl shares his perspective on delighting customers and explains why the 12-volt industry should look forward to continued growth and clear skies ahead.
BY JAMIE SORCHER
Joining the world of car audio with a broad background in industries as diverse as food retailing and coin cashing, Alex Camara has held the roles of president and CEO of AudioControl for nearly 10 years. His unique set of skills and experiences make him a leader who understands delighting consumers and creating sales-driven teams.
“I joined Sainsbury’s [a chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, founded in 1869, and based in London] as a training manager and then basically worked my way up to be a store manager, then a regional manager and then to other roles within the company,” Camara said, adding that the real benefit was the ability to get involved at a young age in all aspects of business and to gain an understanding of people. Through his early work, he learned about the financial side of business as well as how to delight customers and take pride in doing whatever was needed to deliver the best results for the team.
“It was about recognizing what a great store it was,” he said. “It was about being sales-driven, focused on people and building a great team. I’ve always been fortunate to build great teams in every position I’ve had. For me, it’s about taking skills learned as a retailer and replicating those skills whether it was at Coinstar, Redbox, NCR or now at AudioControl.
Here, that’s our secret sauce—our team. We continue to develop a great team and great products while remaining focused on sales and delighting our customers.” Overall, Camara said, it’s his experiences in operations, sales and people which he continues to bring to AudioControl.
Keeping the Doors Open with Attention to Detail
As someone who admits to stacking yogurt containers in his fridge meticulously, Camara said he puts a great deal of emphasis on details at the store level. This is a quality he brings with him from his time as a night shift manager at Sainsbury’s where setting the store for the next day was crucial—not only for consumers who would be shopping the aisles the next day, but also for the day shift crew that would come in to take over the next morning.
“I’m a pretty creative person, but definitely detail-oriented when I need to be,” he said. This quality, he noted, comes from having both an eye and a feel for a certain type of detail. “It’s the ability to know when things aren’t quite right, and then figuring out the right questions to ask, or different questions to ask. As a night shift manager for Sainsbury’s, part of it involved managing packages that would arrive and then putting them on display. We had to be certain it looked
good for the customers, and there was always a delight when the day shift would come in, walk around the store and say how amazing it looked. All those things make a big difference when you’re running a store.”
Camara noted that AudioControl dealers manage store presentation well and that it’s an important focus for the company to uphold. “We try to help retailers display their products effectively, and then we want to train their teams so everyone is aware of what our products can do,” he said. “It’s been tough during COVID times, but we’re trying. One thing we have been aiming for is shipping within 24 hours—to go above and beyond and to amaze people.”
Making a Difference With Made-in-the-USA
Part of what has allowed AudioControl to be pro-active with shipping so quickly is its built-from-scratch USA-made products that aren’t reliant on factors that have been impacted by the global issues many other companies face. “We’re not reliant on containers coming over,” Camara said. This means the company is able to respond quickly. AudioControl also spends a great deal of time testing products, he added.
“It’s easier to do that with our products being here because we have engineers who can touch every product before they leave the factory to go to a dealer,” he explained. “We’re completely focused on quality and reliability and we’re one of the few companies who has a five-year warranty on our products because of so few returns. The message we’re getting from consumers as well our dealers is that they really want to buy products made in the USA.”
Connecting Virtually Still Counts
Camara said he’s spoken with friends about the current situation, and everyone “wants to get back to a normal life” as soon as possible. However, he noted, “there are no winners in the world of COVID-19. There are definitely companies that will survive better than others, but the aftermarket car industry is going to perform better during this time because people are more reliant on their cars than ever before.”
One way to keep dealers motivated and keep things running smoothly is by adapting those former in-person dealer visits to something which creates
an equally meaningful vibe. To maintain those on-the-road visits virtually, AudioControl implemented what it has nicknamed the ZAP call—Zoom Audio- Control Presentation.
“People were getting tired of webinars,” Camara explained, “and this is something new. When we were out on the road and visiting dealers, in pre-COVID times, we would go to a territory and spend time with our rep. This is important because a rep definitely benefits from it. They learn about how we present, which they can take forward and utilize. We would typically visit eight or nine dealers in a day, so we wanted to figure out how to spend the time with them.” The decision resulted in a proactive Zoom session, he said.
AudioControl launched the calls with its home audio business first, then adapted the concept for the car side. Calls range from 30 minutes to more than an hour. “Of course, we don’t want to abuse peoples’ time as we know everyone is busy, but it’s turned out to be a good way for us to gel with our dealers,” Camara
said. “We send lunches over or some pizza and it’s definitely been successful for us so far. It’s a great way for us to be interactive and to keep things more personal. I’ve been impressed by how these ZAP calls have gone.” Of course everyone wants things to go back to normal, he added, “and we’re looking at that now, but we know there won’t be the same level of interaction like there was before. It will be different on the road or at tradeshows, at least for the next few months or maybe even longer.”
Forecast: Sunny, With a Chance of More Car Audio Sales
Looking ahead, Camara feels optimistic about the car audio industry’s near future. He cited a recent McKinsey & Company report that analyzed challenges and opportunities for 2020 and beyond.
“The report talks a bit about consumers’ increased utilization of the car from the current five percent they claim it to be, to what is predicted to increase to 60 to 70 percent over the next five years,” he said. “As a result of COVID-19,
Chris Cook, President of MEA, interviews Alex Camara, CEO of Audio Control, during the Learning From Leaders Podcast.
the utilization of cars is becoming more important than ever.”
Indeed, the report cited the growing role of digital communication for the driving experience, noting that consumers want to combine mobility with staying in touch. Camara feels any spaces in which someone can have a personal experience with their families will do well.
“The home is an obvious choice, but so is the car,” he said. “Home entertainment and car entertainment are both going to do well over the next six months to a year. We’ve seen some amazing business spikes, but right now we’re expecting double-digit growth over the next year and beyond in our home and car categories.” Critical to this, he noted, is ensuring the company has the right product and continues to provide the right experience. “Interestingly, this is a reversal of some forecasters’ opinions a few years ago when they were anticipating some of our markets shrinking. What we are seeing now are greater opportunities.”
From Solution-Oriented to Technology-Oriented
Camara pointed out that everything comes down to aftermarket car audio dealers transitioning from solution companies to technology companies. “When a consumer walks into a car dealership or aftermarket car audio dealer, they’re looking for a much broader solution than they were three or five years ago when maybe they just wanted their radio replaced or a new subwoofer installed,” he said. “We are really poised to become technology companies, and that is a wonderful opportunity for our industry.”
Perhaps one of the more interesting experiences Camara brings with him in his role as CEO, motivator and leader is that of an actor—a profession he had early in his career, and one that certainly trains a person to think fast, improvise and value teamwork.
“My mom was an extra and she was called to go to Pinewood [a movie and television studio in Buckinghamshire,
England] on a night shoot,” Camara recalled. “They asked her if she had any kids she could bring along, and at the time I was 10 or 11. They needed a handful of children, so I was packed up and taken along. There I was, dressed up for the cantina scene in Star Wars as a mini alien.”
He’s always liked the story itself, he said. “It’s a classic. ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was another favorite of mine, and ‘Return of the Jedi’ also,” he said, adding, “The newer ones are good, but I haven’t quite loved them as much.”
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