Sometimes you have to put a name to something to make it official. It was that way with Extron’s “Match It or Lose It” program. Let me give you some background.

Here at Extron we host training every month for Resellers, Consultants, and technology managers at K-12, Community Colleges, and Universities. It was at one such class that “Match It or Lose It” was born. I was eating lunch at a table full of consultants and the conversation turned to system design. The lady sitting next to me shared that she wanted to use Extron on her last project, but, when her customer asked her to reduce costs, she was forced to turn to a cheaper, less effective solution. I couldn’t restrain myself.

“Would you have rather used Extron?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” she said.

“You designed the original system using Extron.”

“Yes.”

“Your customer was happy with the original system design? It met their needs?”

“Compared to what they ultimately installed, the original design was much better.”

“But they told you to cut costs…”

“They had a very tight budget. They wanted the better system which included your product. We were told to make cuts and get the price down.”

“Did you call us?”

“No, I didn’t think about calling Extron.”

“You mean to tell me that you designed a lesser system for your customer and never picked up the phone to ask for our help!??”

“I didn’t know I could.”

At that point I had to admit it was our fault that she didn’t know she would get a warm reception at Extron when asking for assistance in a situation like the one she described.

Another person at the table jumped in.

“I had a project just last week with a university where money was tight. I picked up the phone and called Tim on the Education Team. He helped redesign the system using your new TouchLink Cable Cubby touchpanel. It saved a bunch of money and the customer is really happy.”

Now, I’m not relating this story to put anyone on the spot. I told the consultant as much in the course of our conversation. However, it is amazing to me that we wouldn’t be contacted to help when a customer would rather use Extron, but feels that their budget won’t allow it. I went home and stewed on the situation all night. In the morning I had the answer, “Match It or Lose It”.

I walked into the class the next morning and told the story, just as I related it to you. The entire class agreed that they had all run into situations where they would have rather used Extron, but went elsewhere because the budget wouldn’t allow it. At that point I made a commitment to them that I make to you today – If you run into a situation where you want to use Extron, but believe you can’t due to price, give us a call! It’s up to us to either find a better way to design the system using Extron, adjust our price to meet the competition, or walk away if we have to. We’ll “Match It or Lose It”. Either way, you’ll ensure that your customer has the opportunity to receive the best solution for their money. And at the same time you will be giving us valuable feedback on our products and prices.

Our entire product development roadmap and sales/marketing strategy is shaped by this kind of feedback. Knowing what challenges you face and designing solutions for you is just another application of the same Service, Support and Solutions philosophy that drives our support teams.

You see, at Extron, we introduce 75-100 new products each year. So many that sometimes it’s hard for our own staff to keep up! There is no way I can expect you to know every feature of every Extron product and the products we are about to ship. That’s what our support hotline is for. By working with us on the design we could very well identify a product that would fit your application that you were not aware of, or that has yet to be introduced which would meet your timeline.

Remember, with over 1,750 employees worldwide, no one at Extron is on commission. We are an engineering oriented company. Our primary objective is to see that you get the right solution for your application.

In the current economic times I believe that “Match It or Lose It” is more important than ever. No one wants to give up on the quality and support we provide, but in certain situations, price will rule the day. Knowing that Extron is here to support you with cost effective solutions will help you satisfy your customers and keep them coming back for more.

Thank you for your continued support of Extron – and be sure to give us a call!

Andrew C. Edwards
President, Extron Electronics