How to Optimize Your Audio/Visual Technology for Meetings
It’s common for non-techies to have trouble understanding how audio/visual technology works. They imagine it to be a daunting mess of cables and connections that only an expert can maneuver.
How can a layman have attractive sound bites and visuals without the help of an IT expert?
Technology is daunting on first glance. But, in-demand locations, such as restaurants and meeting rooms at fire stations, are often tasked with creating a welcoming environment suitable for hosting meetings, networking events, and fundraisers that’s also capable of showcasing the organizations they let in.
Does this sound familiar? If your business opens its doors to outside community groups to hold meetings, it’s your responsibility to make it as easy to use as possible if you want to uphold your strong brand image and have repeat guests in your facility.
You probably won’t be at your office every time a group sets up to hold a meeting – and you shouldn’t have to be. Your team should be able to help get a group going quickly and easily in your absence.
Minimize how much training you have to do by standardizing your audio/visual technology company wide. By doing so, you will shorten the IT learning curve, saving yourself, your staff, and your guests headaches down the road.
Make Plugging Into Your Meeting Room’s Audio/Visual Technology a Cinch
People will show up with a variety of technology that they’ll want to plug in. Some will have a PC to connect while others will have an Apple computer. Some people will want to have audio playing, while others will only want the visuals. Some will need a microphone; others will not.
To make your meeting at your facility more attractive, it’s imperative that you make plugging in a cinch. Have a connection box with all of the necessary cables, so everything is organized and in one place. This will simplify the setup process and make getting started easier.
Have a Guide to Your Audio/Visual Technology Available
When you welcome the public into your business, you’ll meet people with a wide range of IT abilities and interests. Not everyone will be an expert in getting set up with your specific television screens, audio equipment, and more.
Make working with your business a breeze by having a quick and easy connection guide available to everyone who rents your space. The easier it is to use the technology in your meeting rooms, the more likely your tenants will be to return. It’ll also improve your brand’s image. And, it’ll save you hours of fielding calls from frustrated guests.
What Can You Improve?
Ready to make some adjustments to your audio/visual technology in an effort to get more people into your business? We can help ease the burden of set up on the front end and standardize your IT company wide, so holding events at your facility is simpler and more enjoyable.
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How Having an Audio and Video System Can Help Your Restaurant
All-in-one audio/video systems are becoming very popular for restaurants and other commercial establishments. The primary reason why is clear – offer entertainment and the patrons will follow.
In other words, more audio/visual equipment means more revenue for your restaurant. Case in point: Lindy’s on 4th, a restaurant in Tucson, Arizona.
We recently worked with Lindy’s on 4th for a large project that involved installing the data network for their POS system. While our Harrington Technologies crew was in the building, Lindy’s on 4th also had us install an audio/visual system, which included TVs and a stereo mixer system. After a successful installation, they were able to connect to all kinds of media and hardware: audio, video, laptops, cable boxes, and even a jukebox system.
Now, pay them a visit and you’ll notice that they’re currently enjoying the fruits of this labor because their customers have a new reason to come back and enjoy all that the restaurant has to offer.
Sound like something you could use in your restaurant? Here’s how having an audio/visual system could help bring in a bigger crowd.
Easy Restaurant Entertainment
Having an entertainment system can help to attract and retain customers, especially if you tend to experience long waiting times. Choosing the right music or video entertainment to play at a restaurant can also add to the overall ambience, enhancing the mood. For example, having games playing at a sports bar can reinforce to customers that it is a sports bar, and playing popular music videos will make customers view the restaurant as a happening place.
With an audio/visual system, the possibilities for entertainment are endless: watch movies or TV shows, listen to music, or create an endless loop of music videos. A restaurant with entertainment gives patrons a reason to stick around, and order more drinks or courses.
One of the greatest perks of a functional A/V system is the ability to control everything with a single remote. Although it requires a high starting investment, it can save you (or earn for you) money in the long run.
Special Events and Sports
Having a high quality audio/visual system will put you at the top of your customers’ minds when they’re looking for a place to host an event. Not many restaurants have audio/visual capabilities, so it’s an incredibly easy way to stand out from the crowd.
These systems can also come in handy for attracting customers interested in watching big games and other sporting events, and provide an excellent opportunity to expand to a new customer base (or give your existing customer base another reason to come in more often!)
Creative Marketing Display
When not in use for entertainment, the audio/visual system can be used to display marketing collateral, whether still or video adverts. By doing this, you’re also doing your part to save the environment, by reducing the need to print out signage. On that note, by using your audio/visual system for marketing purposes, you’ll save time (and money!) waiting for printing and delivery.
Consider using your screens to display your social feed, an easy call to action for customers to follow your social media accounts. To increase engagement, encourage submission of user-generated content, like photos or reviews from customers. You can even hold contests for customers to send in their reviews, hashtags or tweets to win a prize (perhaps a free meal for two at your establishment?).
Aside from using the audio/visual system to display ads, consider using the TV as a menu board (if you own a restaurant) or a display board (if you own a retail store) to showcase photos of products. It has been scientifically proven that people are driven to desire more once shown visuals.
How Having an Audio/Video System Can Help Your Restaurant
Having an audio/video system installed in your restaurant can be good for business in many ways, especially when it comes to bringing in and keeping customers.
Before trying to DIY your audio/video system, consider hiring an expert. They’ll be able to suggest ways to optimize the installation, taking care of details like hiding equipment so it’s not an eyesore. If you’re curious about the process and pricing, get in touch for more information.
