Milestone AV Technologies Launches New Website to Enhance the Customer Experience

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., June 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- www.milestone.com – Milestone AV Technologies, home to the Chief, Da-Lite, Sanus and Projecta brands, has launched a new website to better serve customers. This is the result of an extensive customer engagement process to help determine the best way Milestone brands can become the easiest partners to work with.

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"We have a successful history of design thinking that incorporates feedback at every step along the way to come up with new products for the AV industry," said Laurie Englert, Vice President – Customer Experience. "We decided to aim that same process at the goal of providing better service. The real a-ha moment was realizing we didn't necessarily need something new, we just needed to do what we do better."

The first evolution of the new website focuses on integrating the Chief and Da-Lite brands. Customers also have the ability to add Sanus products to their order. The next phase will focus on integrating the Projecta brand.

The path to the new website started two years ago. Employees from departments all over the organization were gathered to form a customer experience initiative that would examine every step along the customer path to find out where Milestone is excelling and where the company could do better. Interviews were held, both with internal and external teams, customers, installers, dealers and more, to find those strengths and weaknesses. The results were clear – Milestone needed to focus plans around operational efficiencies and an improved and expanded online experience.

Currently, customers experience Chief and Da-Lite on separate sites with separate log-ins, multiple accounts, different payment terms, shipping and tools.

A theme in the research that kept appearing was the desire for one consistent experience across Milestone's brands. This means one account, one website and one phone number. Customers wanted to access their account information online including pricing, order tracking and product availability. They wanted quick-turn quotes and an easier returns process. In short, they often wanted many of the same features found on consumer websites.

The new site provides one place to specify, configure, price, order and track. When customers log in, they will be notified immediately of any issues with an order, what the issue is and how it is being resolved. Customers will be able to find out their product status – pricing, availability and more.

It is also responsive, which means the site will change to accommodate tablets or smartphone screens. So no matter how customers access their info, it will be easy to read.

Historically, Chief, Da-Lite, Sanus and Projecta have operated as separate brands. The brands will continue to live as such, and this first evolution is focused on commercial products only. However, customers who have been specified as a purchaser of Sanus products and who are logged into the website will be available to add to orders.

The new site is at milestone.com. The individual brand sites will remain for an interim period of time.

"We are excited to see the internal work of the past two years begin to have real positive impacts on the customer experience with Milestone brands," Englert said. "We look forward to continuing to do everything we can to not only make the process easy, but to make it delightful."

At InfoComm, stop by Chief booth 3312 or Da-Lite booth 2501 for a demo and get entered to win a Microsoft® Surface™.

About Milestone AV Technologies

Milestone AV Technologies is a leading designer and manufacturer of branded audiovisual products including flat panel mounting solutions, projector mounts, screens, equipment racks and AV furniture for both the consumer and commercial AV markets. Milestone's innovative products, sold principally under the Chief, Da-Lite and Sanus brand names, are sold through numerous channels, including Pro AV dealers, regional home theater dealers, consumer electronics retailers, mass merchants and original equipment manufacturers. The company currently serves a broad base of more than 6,000 global customers with headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn.

In British Columbia, Milestone AV Technologies ULC carries on business as MAVT Milestone AV Technologies ULC.

Contact:  
Karen Mefford  
Director – Marketing & Customer Experience  
Milestone AV Technologies  
952-225-6874  
[email protected]

SOURCE Milestone AV Technologies