ProAV Magazine
11/2003

Custom made

ProAV Magazine

Three integrators who found creative ways to expand their businesses and create new market niches simply by listening to their customers
By Tom Zind

Since 1998, Phoenix-based specialty integrator ExhibitOne has equipped more than 375 federal, state, and county courtrooms with trial presentation systems it designs and assembles. In the last three years, the company has more than quadrupled its staff and increased its annual revenue to more than $8 million.

Kevin Sandler, who co-founded ExhibitOne and now serves as chairman and CEO, attributes the company’s growth to a few large government contracts and constant analysis of the business. "One of the questions I ask myself is, ‘Why would my client not be able to buy what I’m offering?’" he says. This simple, yet critical evaluation led to the evolution of a new product that’s allowed ExhibitOne to address the presentation needs of an entirely new customer base.

Dubbed TrialView Express (TVX), the new product is a scaled-down version of the company’s permanently installed TrialView Evidence Presentation System. TVX is a portable system incorporating many of the same AV components used in the flagship TrialView system. "The portable, scaled-down nature of this system allows us to put it into the hands of more people," Sandler says. "This idea evolved from a recognition that a lot of courts have been crying the blues from a budget perspective, yet they know that employing this kind of technology makes displaying evidence and reaching jurors easier. It also helps put more cases through the system faster."

Entrepreneurial strategies similar to Sandler’s are not uncommon in the competitive systems integration world as business owners look for creative ways to expand revenue potential in a difficult market. Chuck Wilson, executive director and CEO of National Systems Contractors Association in Cedar Rapids, IA, says these strategies have been successful for many integrators in his membership.

"This industry is widening in terms of what a systems integrator does and, increasingly, successful integrators are those who have embraced this concept of widening their business," he says. "Many companies are succeeding in finding some sort of niche that comes off of their core systems integration competency."

In ExhibitOne’s case, Sandler saw the market potential for a miniaturized version of the fixed TrialView system and delivered it in a cart-based system that could be easily moved between courtrooms. With essential components such as a document camera, LCD touchscreen, and powered audio speakers, as well as optional features that include a master control system, LCD projector, and plasma display, the TVX system offers the same basic functionality as TrialView. The streamlined TVX system is priced from $12,000 to $30,000, depending on configuration, while a full-featured TrialView system can cost $50,000 to $150,000.

"The concept looked feasible from the get-go, but the question was whether we could engineer something that would come in at a price point and a performance and form factor to justify it," Sandler says. "There wasn’t a lot of monetary cost involved because we understood the capabilities that were needed, but it did take some engineering time to develop a product to meet those capabilities at the right price. Our strong relations with equipment vendors allowed us to borrow equipment to use in our testing."

Although TVX is less expensive and significantly different than TrialView, Sandler says ExhibitOne markets and sells the systems jointly. "We have to be a little careful in the marketing of the portable system because the permanent system is more lucrative for us," he says. "At the time it was developed, courts were awakening to this technology so I didn’t necessarily lead my pitch with the portable system. But since the economy has softened we’ve tended to lead with it because we don’t want to shut down an opportunity. There’s a lot of overlap between the two and we can take the same technology out of a portable system and put it into a permanent system at a later date."

In developing TVX, ExhibitOne also opened up additional markets where TrialView wouldn’t be feasible. Some law firms, for instance, have purchased TVX to acquaint attorneys with how a presentation system works in the courtroom. The portable system also is being marketed to federal government agencies, Sandler says.

ExhibitOne’s foresight to develop dual versions of its product holds some key lessons for AV integrators struggling to expand their market and seize new opportunities, Sandler says. "The question that integrators should be asking themselves is, ‘What can I do to modify my technology and service offerings to get customers to say ‘yes’," he says. "Many entities just approach the market by saying, ‘This is my core competency and anything outside of that we can’t do.’"

Tom Zind is a freelance writer and researcher based in Prairie Village, KS. He has written for a variety of business-to-business publications and can be reached at tomzee1@earthlink.net.

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