INSTALLATION
Experiential
Showroom
How an Indianapolis-area Technology Integration Company
Leveraged a Knock-Out Location to Grow Its Business
Since 1999, The Premier Group has been
servicing homeowners in Indianapolis, IN, and
surrounding areas with technology solutions
and installation services for categories including
audio, video, lighting, electrical, and more. Over
the past 20 years, however, the integration
business has changed dramatically. Where
audio/video solutions used to dominate
Premier’s business, today categories such as
networking, security, and automation are
growing at an exceptional rate. Unlike a simple
AV system, Premier found it increasingly
difficult to explain to customers the vast
possibilities of the smart home.
Having been at the forefront of home
automation technology and one of Control4’s
first authorized dealers, Premier understood the
importance of demonstrating to homeowners
how nearly all of their technology at home can
work together seamlessly and be managed and
controlled through a single system. Over the
years, when they had opportunities to bring hot
leads to existing customers’ homes during the
quoting process, Premier closed project bids at
a significantly higher rate. For that reason, the
burgeoning custom installation business
decided to open a showroom to further
showcase the many possibilities of a truly
intelligent home.
For years, Premier’s first showroom was
located in a strip mall alongside one of
Indianapolis’ busiest roads, Meridian Street.
Although it was a prime location from a
visibility standpoint, it just didn’t catch the right
kind of foot traffic and customer base Premier
desired. In 2010, they were informed that the
plaza was undergoing major construction.
Knowing this would reduce foot traffic even
54 Residential Tech Today | July/August 2019
more, Premier decided it was time to rethink
their business model and find a new location.
“You know the old saying, ‘Timing is
everything?’ Well, it applies to Premier’s story as
well,” said Jamie Sanger, director of business
development for Premier. “As we started to look
at changing locations, we found out the brandnew
Indiana Design Center was coming to
Indianapolis’s wealthy and highly desirable
neighborhood of Carmel.”
Located 12 miles straight north of the heart of
Indianapolis, the 88,000-square-foot design
center with multiple levels of mixed showrooms
and offices promised to offer designers a onestop
shop to bring their clients into a space that
allows them to touch, feel, experience, and
ultimately purchase every single design element
related to the interior and exterior of the home,
including flooring, stone solutions, drapery,
cabinetry, and more.
“Needless to say, it was the perfect location for
a stunning technology showroom, so we were
quick to secure the space,” Sanger said.
Fast forward to 2017, Control4 called on
Premier with an offer for them to become one
of the first dealers to participate in a new sales
and marketing initiative: the Control4 Certified
Showroom Program. Designed to benefit
Control4’s top-performing dealers, participants
of the program work with Control4 to build out
beautiful showrooms demonstrating a fully
automated home experience while reaping the
benefits of qualified leads – exactly what
Premier had in mind but just didn’t have the
right tools to do all on their own.
“We have been a Control4 dealer since the
inception of the company, and when they came
By Erin Phillips