Ace Audio Information

The Ace Audio approach is one of being steady over the long haul, building one customer at a time and working harder at keeping that customer. Various marketing approaches through the years, including advertising in everything from cable TV to the Yellow Pages, produced very few qualified business leads. "The only marketing that works, at least in this area, is taking the P.A. out and doing the best job every time, so that the customer is happy while other potential customers take notice and ask about our services. That's the best way I've found to build sales leads," he explains. "I remember one company here that was headed by a guy who was really slick at marketing, but his company couldn't perform. So he'd get a lot of good gigs and invariably blow most of them, and I'd be there ready to pick up the pieces. All that I promise is that we'll do our very best, and then make sure we exceed that." The shortage of qualified help (system techs and mix engineers) is regularly confronted by sound companies large and small, and its one of the biggest challenges Ace Audio has faced over the years. Count it as a primary reason Goodreau's wife Ellen has stepped up as an invaluable system tech who can also, he adds, "move gear around with the best of them." His primary labor pool is a group of freelancers on call, always a fluid situation, and when someone proves their mettle and gains experience, that person invariable heads off to the greener pastures of full-time gigs at venues like the always- busy Mohegan Sun hotel and casino down the road. "I've probably mentored a dozen people over the years, teaching them the ropes, but it inevitably creates a Catch-22," he says. "As a small company, it's tough to be competitive in terms of salary and benefits, and you can't ever blame someone for taking a better offer. But it leaves us short-handed at times in terms of qualified staffing." The key to retaining these folks, of course, is growing the business, and indeed, prospects in central C o n n e c t i c u t h a v e n e v e ...