Audio’s Fall from Grace
Manufacturers continue to maneuver to keep quality audio on the minds of younger consumers.

Many people within the consumer electronics industry remember when audio was a major entertainment pastime. Since the 1980s, however, the audio category has seen its consumer base erode while newer hobbies like gaming, home videos and web-based technologies have risen to prominence.

Put in a reactionary position, manufacturers in the consumer electronics audio categories have been trying for the past several years to retake their slice of the entertainment market.

As audio manufacturers re-assess their position in the consumer market, many of them have finally come to the realization that they must adapt to today's market conditions to capture the attention of a new generation of consumers that have little loyalty to their products and entertainment capabilities.

What Went Wrong?

The consumer electronics audio industry allowed itself to fall into a state of commoditization in which it's price-shopped next to computer products, according to Alec Chanin, president of KEF America.

Chanin suggests that it was actually more than the development of the gaming and Internet markets that facilitated the fall of the audio hobby. He theorizes that it was a combination of those factors and the audio industry's lackadaisical approach to sales that led to the audio community's current situation.

"Manufacturers and even retailers allowed the notion that ‘CDs all sound the same' to be accepted," he says. "I also believe that we lost the passion for our products by not conveying excitement through demonstration.

"How many retailers got in trouble by clerking flat-panel displays … yet never asking the customers what they are doing for audio? In all too many cases, the retailer and their sales people could not do an audio demo if their life depended on it. From the consumer's perspective, if a retailer is happy to let them walk out with only the flat-panel television, they are left to assume audio really doesn't matter."

Chanin notes that back in 1990 home computing was much more expensive relative to today, and it was a stand-alone activity that didn't have the benefit of high-speed Internet.

With products like personal computers becoming much more affordable, today's youth can spread their money on such other hobbies. Plus, Chanin asserts, they don't place the same importance on audio quality as they used to.

Electronics Are Evolving

Over the past several years, the manufacturing community has had to adapt to this shift in consumer preference. John Bevier, sales and product manager for Audio Plus Services (APS), a North American distributor of products from companies like Focal, Cambridge Audio and Dream Vision, says that manufacturers are aware of what's going on in the market and are trying to walk a fine line to accommodate the diversity of today's consumer.

"While there remains a vibrant audiophile marketplace for traditional gear [turntables/monoblock amplifiers/large loudspeakers] it's obvious our industry also caters to lifestyle shoppers," says Bevier. "These shoppers break out into similar striations as our traditional marketplace: value-oriented, status [luxury] seekers and architectural oriented. The only difference is these lifestyle shoppers generally don't want their audio or A/V systems to be the central visual focus of their rooms."

Bevier admits the manufacturing community has come to the realization that the iPod has changed the way people buy and listen to music. Bevier recalls a recent experience at the MacWorld Expo where he asked show attendees when was the last time they purchased a compact disc. "Virtually no one under 20 said they had ever purchased a CD," he says. "There has been a paradigm shift away from physical music toward downloaded content; and like the advent of the iPod, the audio world will never be the same again. A thousand songs in the palm of your hand beats fumbling with CD cases as you walk toward your stereo any day."

Rethinking Sales Approach

Rather than wallow in what used to be the good ol' days, Bevier says that the consumer audio industry must rethink how it approaches sales. "It would be easy to sit back and say that video killed popular interest in audio," he says. "Perhaps the more accurate thing to say is that video is incomplete without quality audio's participation. Big screens and high pixel counts don't fully involve the viewer until powerful audio joins the experience."

He adds that manufacturers and distributors must provide the necessary tools to make dealers successful in selling audio. In the case of his company, Bevier says Audio Plus Services provides training on each of its lines, including factory visits and classroom time. Keeping up with today's technology, APS is also ramping up an initiative that leverages new media such as Skype, Google Apps and WebEx to better facilitate communication with installers, he says.

Bevier supports Chanin's contention that something has been lost in generational transition, headlined by the migration from traditional media to multimedia, and how it relates to dealers' sales skills.

"The essence of good salesmanship is doing the best for your client, in the end that will also align with what's best for your store," he says. "If it doesn't, then you need to look at your product alignments and sales practices to see where the breakdown occurs. While there's no gate to entry, no test to take, no degree to earn before you can call yourself an audio/video salesperson, to do the many tasks involved in our industry to a level of true professionalism takes years of hard work and focus."

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