4-5-2017, Mobile Electronics -- For any retailer, knowing the ins and outs of product can be the difference between making a large sale and watching their revenue walk out the door. Since its inception, KnowledgeFest has been an event that offers retailers a chance to brush up on product and service knowledge, for both the novice and veteran.

Aside from the workshops, networking and Mobile Electronics Show booth reveals, anyone's 12-volt IQ can be enhanced even further with manufacturer trainings, which are taught by some of the biggest names in the industry.  Not to mention, there are plenty of goodie bags handed out.

Companies offering training this year include Voxx Electronics, DD Audio, Omega Research & Development, Compustar and Alpine Electronics, among others. While most of the companies maintain a focus on specific products, there are some surprises mixed in, such as how products work with different vehicle models, bettering the customer experience with specific products or how to make installing certain products easier on the installer.

New Innovations

In an effort to promote the latest and greatest products that 12-volt has to offer, vendors will be going in-depth on the inner workings of their 2017 offerings. One such company is Omega Research & Development, which will be discussing the Excalibur 70-series, the most advanced remote start line the company has yet released. It contains built-in accelerometers and other high-end features, according to the company.

"We focused on refining the installer experience by adding a very comprehensive vehicle learn routine, and on the user experience by adding a BUILT-IN 3D accelerometer for manual transmission, starting without the complicated exit routine, as well as a cold-temperature start included in the 'entry units,'" a spokesman for the company said. "Every single remote start has a built-in Alarm Suite, so let us show you how easy it is to upsell your customer with little or no additional install."

 Remote start manufacturer Firstech will have a similar offering at its training by discussing the latest additions to the Firstech product lineup, including the new in-car dash camera systems, the Momento M4 and M5.  "Two new online resources for Firstech dealers are FirstechData.com, an installation resource website, and myFirstech.com, an e-commerce platform where dealers can place, track, and manage their orders for Firstech products," said Justin Lee, Marketing Manager for Firstech. "We will open the floor for discussion and review the challenges faced during the 2016 remote start season, followed by our team’s proposed solutions for 2017."

To compliment the brand launch of the Momento dash camera systems, Firstech will reveal an in-store display concept. In addition, the company will discuss its myFirstech Rewards program, which pays owners, installers and salespeople for every DroneMobile activation. "Entering 2017, Firstech remains the only company that is offering every dealer this type of revenue-share opportunity," Lee said. "To further promote awareness for myFirstech Rewards, dealers will be able to register their business and employees for the revenue-share program at Firstech’s booth so that they can get paid for every DroneMobile activation."

American Road Products hopes to educate its retailers on how best to sell the safety category during its training. Its latest product, the omniDRIVE 2.0, which began shipping in April, is a CES Innovations Award winner that provides great opportunity to tap into the safety category, according to the company.

"Retailers will take away knowledge that will help them 1) increase their gross margin per ticket, 2) build a new category business foundation that will expand sales and 3) learn new business and installation skills that will help them in the overall Active Safety category," said Steve Witt, president and Chief Technology Executive at American Road Products. The ARP Dealer Training will focus on why a retailer should sell active safety products, how to sell omniDRIVE and what to sell that is relevant to both commercial and consumer customers, according to Witt.

Ease of Installation

Finding the balance between installation knowledge and product knowledge for installation techs is a strong focus for DD Audio this year as they offer a tech vs. product session. "Our goal with the training we’ve developed is to demystify the dark art of subwoofer enclosure design for DD Audio's products. Our customer service department receives several requests daily for subwoofer enclosure design assistance," said Kevin Doyle, service, sales and support representative for DD Audio. "These requests not only come from inexperienced end users but from seasoned dealers and installers as well. Many of the enclosure design questions we get could easily be answered by using our tried-and-true DD Box system."

The DD Box system has been developed over several years of subwoofer and enclosure design, according to the company. One of the major things that the enclosure design system different from what other manufacturers offer is that they started off by engineering a high-efficiency type of ported enclosure, then they set about engineering their subwoofers to optimize the box energy.

"This order of design is the reverse of most manufacturers' TS parameter driven, speaker then box, design approach. Our subwoofer designs are intended to handle much more than 1w so we keep the moving mass low, energy high and add a suspension with high restoring force to help control cone motion. This means that our subs will not have to rely on the box for their loading," Doyle said. "The DD Box training will explain why our no-nonsense approach to enclosure design works in real world applications allowing installers to consistently and efficiently design great sounding subwoofer enclosures. We will also be expanding on the basic DD Box system to help designers tailor enclosures to their customer's specific needs."  

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