SnapCount Insights

In an industry where work is done in the field, for many energy and retrofit contractors, digital marketing isn’t top of mind. While an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach might work for some, retrofit companies that want to remain competitive have begun to embrace digital marketing to drive new sales and growth.

Lighting retrofit companies have two basic options when it comes to commercial energy audit software. You can either develop your own software or purchase software from a third party.

The do-it-yourself route does have a certain appeal. When you develop software in-house, you can tailor it to your firm’s specific needs and workflow — in theory, anyway.

In a recent report, “Building a Connected Business,” the National Association of Electronic Distributors (NAED) wrote, “Digital transformation goes beyond technology to reflect a mindset of constant innovation, fast decision-making, and the integration of technology into all phases” of an electrical business.

Frank Agraz would agree with that definition. And he knows what it means for the future of the lighting industry.

America may have as many as eight parking spaces for every car, and a large proportion of those spaces are contained in corporate parking structures.

Considering the average parking space consumes 180 square feet of space, plus additional square footage for entrance and egress, parking garages may represent one of the most significant—and overlooked—opportunities for LED lighting retrofitters in the market.

As an LED lighting retrofit business, the current economic and labor climate is ripe with opportunities. The demand for what you do is high…and the number of people who can claim your skill and experience is declining.

But for smaller firms, how can you insert yourself into larger projects that cover multiple sites, include a lot more than lighting and carry price tags in the tens of millions of dollars?

One way is to partner with one of the “big fish” in the energy efficiency pond: an Energy Service Company (ESCO).

A single enterprise customer can provide a commercial lighting contractor with a steady stream of LED retrofit projects – and revenue – for years to come.

But landing deals with enterprise customers takes a lot of patience, tenacity, and a strategic mindset—most large corporations have painfully slow and rigid sales cycles. Not only are you often several steps removed from the person holding the purse strings, but your lighting retrofit project must also compete against some of the biggest players in the industry.

It’s a tall order … but far from impossible.

It would be impossible to accurately predict where the LED lighting industry is going in the next few years without first looking back at the unprecedented period of disruption we’ve just experienced (and, in some ways, are still going through).

When we gathered four leading LED industry insiders for a lighting retrofit roundtable during Retrofit Showcase 2021 (a virtual conference this May sponsored by SnapCount), the official topic of conversation was what lies ahead for the rest of 2021 and beyond.

And as it turns out, there’s reason for optimism.

For many lighting retrofit companies, the idea of landing a large, national account sounds pretty good. In reality, working with larger companies brings its own set of challenges.

During our recent SnapCount Retrofit Showcase we were joined by Lynn Hawkins, the CEO of Sustainable Turnkey Solutions, who has deep experience landing and managing such large national accounts.

Here are the strategies he recommends to help you secure large national accounts, using lighting retrofit software to set you — and the customer — up for success.

Most industries have seen their business activity impacted one way or the other by the pandemic, and lighting retrofitting is no exception. At the start of another year — one that’s likely to bring some of the same constraints and opportunities — we wanted to look forward by hearing from some of the industry’s leaders.

We spoke with David Errigo of Acuity, Brad Picht of Graybar, Gary Pellant of Building Resources and Tim Unruh of NAESCO about the trends from 2020 they believe will continue, and their predictions for 2021.

There is rarely a perfect time for a business to take on an operational overhaul; most are perpetually in 'fix the plane while we fly it' mode. However, the 2020 slowdown in the commercial lighting retrofit business due to the pandemic may have had a small silver lining: the opportunity to take on a long-overdue retooling of a retrofit business operation.

We spoke to two companies that did just that.

To discuss what made 2020 the perfect time to transition to a new software to retool their businesses, we spoke with Brad Dulle (Director of Engineering) and Frank Agraz (Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives) from Eco Engineering, along with Dimitri Papadakis (Chief Operations Officer) from STS Lighting Services Inc.