To gauge what members of the digital display community want from display technologies and the companies that supply and service them, NanoLumens, award-winning creators of LED visualization solutions, today announced the initiation of a comprehensive, multi-month survey of digital signage buyers to better understand the value they place on the relationship between price, performance, reliability, service and warranty.
According to NanoLumens Vice President of Global Marketing Joe’ Lloyd, the new survey, now available here, is being conducted in partnership with Future plc. publications AV Technology, Systems Contractor News and Digital Signage Magazines to reach the broadest possible audience of potential respondents. “A recent survey of a select customer base revealed that, not surprisingly, customers would like to see improved LED pricing and improvements on several other performance related fronts,” Lloyd said today. “Unfortunately, these fields are often directly correlated; as the former drops, so too does the latter.”
According to Lloyd, NanoLumens’ initial customer survey showed that digital display buyers expect LED displays to last longer, require less maintenance and generate fewer expensive externalities. They also said that lower LED pricing would drive the adoption of direct-view LED technology. At the same time, however, a majority of surveyed customers also said they wanted to see further improvements in display quality, serviceability and durability, among other areas. “Unfortunately, you can’t have both, which means that customers need to focus more on the total cost of ownership over the long run and not on the initial purchase price of the display.”
To drive home the point, Lloyd referenced an oft-used metaphor that details the footwear purchases of a rich man and a poor man. “While the rich man can afford an expensive pair of boots that will last him many years, the poor man has to repeatedly buy and replace cheaper boots, over time forcing him to spend more money for a lesser solution. From the perspective of the two customers, particularly the poor man, this appears counterintuitive. The pricy boots are not actually pricier and the cheap boots are not actually cheaper. Though commonly employed to demonstrate other concepts, when viewed through the lens of the digital display industry, this metaphor perfectly illustrates the importance of considering a product’s total cost of ownership.”
Lower-end display technologies may seem like the best option at first glance. Their prices look practical, their performance seems on par with the competition, and their manufacturers advertise their technology can get the job done. They assure customers not to overthink things; their products are good enough.
“Manufacturers, integrators and savvy customers know, however, that when it comes to display technology good enough is never actually good enough,” she explained. “And the bitter taste of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of a low price has faded from memory.”
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