Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden
As Lou Reed, one of my all-time music idols sang, “I guess that I’m dumb because I know I’m not smart, but deep down inside I have a rock and roll heart.”
Some of you know about my rock and roll heart already. Besides my 27-year career as a journalist in the office technology industry, I spent a year as a part-time music agent and 18 years as a concert promoter. The former was a failed attempt at a career change and the latter is an ongoing hobby. So it should be no surprise that I get excited whenever I attend a dealer meeting with big-name musical entertainment. My tastes are eclectic and quirky and over the years I’ve been just as excited seeing Shirley Bassey (Ricoh) or Marie Osmond (BTA) as Ray Charles (Sharp), The Blues Brothers (Konica Minolta), or Cheap Trick (Toshiba).
To be honest, I was somewhat skeptical when Sharp announced that their guest speaker for this year’s dealer meeting in Orlando was Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. My tastes may be eclectic, but rarely delve into the heavy metal arena. I expected a presentation short on substance and high on substances. What a surprise when Dickinson took the stage, looking more like one of the dealers in the audience than a heavy metal rocker. His theme turning customers into fans didn’t quite strike the same chord as his discussion of the changes sweeping the music industry.
It’s one thing for a group of 50-somethings to tour the globe three months out of the year playing to adoring throngs of 16-25 year olds while consistently releasing new music to keep that dedicated fan base coming out, but does that model work for office technology dealers? Correct me if I’m wrong, but what kind of a sick, twisted sister kind of customer base would be pumping their fists in the air, body surfing through the office, and head banging every time the dealer showed up at the door with a new MFP or solution? I’m sure most dealers would love that kind of reception, but that’s the rock world not the real world.
Yet, you don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows in the office imaging industry because as you listened to Dickinson discuss the changes taking place in the music industry, the parallels with the office technology industry were unmistakable. Thank you digital technology. Or not.
Even though Iron Maiden still plays to 50,000-60,000+ fans, Dickinson acknowledged the band no longer makes the same kind of money selling CDs like they used to thanks to digital downloads and new ways of consuming music. It’s the same way dealers can’t make the kind of money they used to on copies and prints as page volumes decline and more information is consumed digitally.
Despite these changes, Iron Maiden hasn’t thrown in the towel and seems to have figured out how to sustain a career in a digital music world even if that means an even greater emphasis on touring into remote corners of the world. To be honest, I don’t see that trend continuing for the band, but that’s another discussion. Let’s stick to our world.
Indeed, we all realize or should that the digital evolution has created new opportunities unlike the old opportunities for the dealer community. Think mobility and the cloud to name two prominent ones. If you ask me, this gives office and imaging technology dealers an edge over their musical counterparts like Iron Maiden, many of whom no longer enjoy the excesses they did in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. Yes Iron Maiden is still releasing new music, which Dickinson said gives them a reason to continue to hit the road without just having to play their greatest hits.
And that’s a great strategy for dealers to embrace as well, especially if you consider that a dealer’s greatest hits are the hardware they’ve historically sold.
If you’re an office imaging dealer or reseller, the message is simple. You can’t count on your greatest hits to win customers anymore. You’ve got to rock and roll with the flow and take these emerging services and solutions on the road because that’s what it takes to give your customers some satisfaction in the digital world.
Thanks for reading.
