INDUSTRY RELATIONS
(Right Top/Bottom) Many companies also didn’t have someone on staff with CAD, Visio, or D-Tools software experience that could put together elevations, 3D room
renderings, touchpanel designs, and sometimes even high-quality proposals to present to their customers. (Left Top/Bottom) As an independent design consultant, Tekkease
provides project management services to end-users only to help ensure that the dealer chosen by the homeowner is installing the system the way that it was intended and
with the same functionality.
their business to be able to go after this higherend
segment of the market.
For homeowners looking to use an
independent consultant, most of the time the
customer has a fear of the unknown or perhaps
has had a bad experience before and is not sure
where to start. They see Tekkease as an
ambiguous resource and want to make sure they
are getting the best products while not being
taken advantage of, explained Zarb. Ultimately,
it comes down to working with someone who
can ensure their needs and wishes are met.
While most of what was described with the
experience for integrators who work with
Tekkease is the same for end-users, there are a
few more details that differentiate. For the
system design, the customer is provided with a
proposal that includes retail pricing for all items
and standard labor rates. They also try to design
a little bit bigger than the initial scope so the
customer can scale down in performance or size
based on the final number. This gives them an
estimate in-which they can budget, knowing
that most companies who bid on the job will
come in at or below the price of the estimate.
34 Residential Tech Today | July/August 2019
Tekkease also provides project management
services to end-users only to help ensure that
the dealer chosen by the homeowner is
installing the system the way that it was
intended and with the same functionality.
For most of these projects, they also provide
programming services that help to ensure
that the system performs from a software
standpoint in the same way the hardware was
designed based on the understanding of the
customer’s needs.
Often, once the design is complete, the
customer will ask for a recommendation of
integrators with whom Tekkease has worked, so
partnering with a good consultant can
sometimes lead to additional projects for their
integration partners. Their team likes to make
sure that they refer based on experience and
personality and will only refer the work of
companies that they have seen firsthand.
The cost of all of this is typically around 5-10
percent of the overall cost of the project,
additional for the programming services, but
very much a reasonable price for any
homeowner looking to make a sizeable
investment into their home’s technology.
Commercial AV consultants are far more
common than those in the residential market,
due to system size and budgets. There are,
however, many low-voltage consultant
companies that specialize in residential and can
be a great service to both custom integrators
and end-users.
While there are hundreds of custom
integrators around the country who do a great
job with having system designers and
programmers on staff, some would argue that
outsourcing these skills makes for a “best inclass”
type of experience for the end-customer.
Either way, it’s important to remember that
these businesses exist and can be a great
business partner or customer resource.
So if you’re a small business and feel like you
don’t have enough time in the day, or maybe
you’re a customer who is looking for an
advocate to help guide you through your
technology needs, remember that these very
experienced companies just might be the
solution you’ve been looking for. x