B&O’s non-integration strategy

[sorenfelden]

Hello Beophile community,

I recently relocated to a new city and encountered a frustrating barrier: the lack of seamless integration between B&O TVs and speakers with other brands. Even more disappointing is the absence of compatibility among some of B&O’s own products. For instance, the inability of the Beolab Stage to connect to other B&O speakers. Strange, as B&O’s cross-selling possibilities would have been obvious…..

It seems B&O is caught in a loop, persisting in promoting ‘the entire package – or nothing’ to its customers. For decades, B&O has maintained a stance of non-compatibility with other products. Perhaps the intention was to compel customers to adopt their entire product range. However, times have changed. B&O products are now relatively significantly more expensive compared to other brands, and technological advancements shorten their lifespan – a worrying combination. This combination creates a toxic scenario contributing to B&O’s steady financial decline over the past decade. Albert Einstein famously remarked, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” So, arguably B&O needs to do something radically different in its marketing strategies.

While B&O has made a few strides in integration, such as the collaboration with LG OLED for the Beosound Stage, there is still significant room for improvement. This strategic stance is perplexing, as enhanced integration could propel B&O forward through cross-sales. Although offering more integration options would prohibit B&O from imposing ‘the entire package’ onto customers, the effectiveness of this approach seems dubious, given their stagnant sales figures over the years – there is consistent evidence it simply doesn’t work, as evidenced by B&O’s consistently disappointing financial results.

Nevertheless, it’s heartening to observe enthusiasts within the B&O community devising clever solutions to facilitate integration. While I’m uncertain if Linktronic is still active, I recently stumbled upon a Danish company, B-O Frederikshavn, offering simple yet effective solutions. These solutions enable the control of non-B&O TVs with the Beoremote and allow wireless pairing of Beolab speakers with non-B&O TVs, even in creating surround sound setups. You can explore their offerings on their website (only available in English) or reach out to them directly; they boast excellent customer service. https://lbs-b-o.dk/

 

[Author]

Posts