With the release of the new DecoStudio software, many customer may feel the way this customer does. The author of this note is a customer, student and a person whos opinion I respect. She wrote a honest note with honest concerns. The best thing I could do is provide an equally honest reply.I would like to clearly state these are my beliefs and opinions and not an official statement by Wilcom or even SSC. Where it may appear I am speaking in behlf of either of these companies, I am not. Much of what I will say os based on my knowledge of the industry and technology. Let's get on with it!!!
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Good evening Tom,
I read on the list that you had a big part in the new software just released. Congratulations on a job well done with all of the new features.
Maybe I am the only person who feels a little disappointed and like a forgotten customer for spending thousands more for my software and training.
[Thomas] Any company, like an individual person, has to funnel their resources correctly to succeed. Companies who have tons of capital can afford to staff up R&D departments to fund many simultaneous projects, but Wilcom doesn’t have that luxury.
We also know in business that first to market is key. Wilcom was not first to market in the true auto-digitizing arena and that has cost them plenty in sales, which only hurts R&D and thus the future of the product line can be weakened. They needed to take a step back, look at what was not working for them, what was stealing their sales and address that first. That couldn't have been an easy thing for them to do because they are so committed to the ES line. It can be easy to say “We will just hit the competition harder with the same big hammer and let’s make the hammer BIGGER so the blows are greater.”
This approach was not working. ES didn’t need to get bigger to beat the cause of the loss in sales. The loss in sales wasn’t to the other full featured programs. It was to the Drawings, Sierra and Forte’s of the world.
So let’s look at the market for a minute. The majority of start up embroiderers do not want to hear about stitch lengths and underlays, etc. etc. So what happens is when they are looking at systems to purchase they chose the easy to use and half the price packages. I can talk to I am blue in the face about how the program they are about to purchase will disappoint them in the long run, and how the technology they are being sold is smoke and mirrors. All I seem to accomplish is to ensure they will not come back to me a year later in fear I will say “I told you so.”
The current automatic programs have a very short lifespan. The customer outgrows the product in 6 months to two years. They will often call frustrated with their software but then say I can’t afford Wilcom, I just spent $2500 on this program and another $1000-$3000 upgrading it hoping that would solve my problem.
Wilcom with its entry level software at $5000 and then the 6 month learning curve is not appealing. It comes off as much too expensive and painful to learn. Imagine a bar graph labeled 1-10. Drawings and other’s bar would go 1-3 and Wilcom’s bar 4-10. Now with Deco, Wilcom’s bar goes 1-10. We have a complete vertical product line path to place a customer in.
If the customer’s eyes begin to gloss over at the mention of underlay settings and stitch lengths, then guide them towards Deco. If they say they want the ability to change the settings in their designs, then guide them towards ES. Once a customer outgrows Deco and realizes they wish to tweak the design’s settings, it is time to upgrade to ES21D, just as a 21D user upgrades to 45 in the past.
Most ES users do not need more power in their ES, they need to learn how to use what they have. This doesn’t imply I feel ES has all the power it needs. There is Soooooo much I still want from ES and it will come, but they had to fix this problem first to capture that market or they wouldn’t have the revenue to progress ES as they wish to.
Think of a corporate giant who sells off a division of the company in order to gain the capital to fund another division. Yes it would have been nice to keep both divisions, but the growth was too small to achieve the financial goals in a timely manner. Wilcom didn’t have to sell anything off, but they did need to turn all their focus to this product to roll it out in a quick manner and now they can turn their sights back to their other product lines.
I understand that it may not have the flexibility and control that ES65 has but jeez.... when someone working anywhere with absolutely no education or training can simple click a button and create embroidery that most companies will be happy with, it makes me contemplate whether my decision was in fact a good decision.
[Thomas] Go back to Digitizing 101 pages 8 thru 10. Read it slowly if you truly want to get into my head and understand what I think and feel. Pay special attention to the last two paragraphs on page 9. Page 10 will show you my goal of almost eleven years. You will see that your purchase of ES65 and your continued drive for knowledge is the substance to accomplishing my goals.
I was asked in an interview once if I was a digitizer first - teacher second, or teacher first – digitizer second. My answer was digitizer first. Another category would be business owner. I would still answer digitizer, teacher, and business owner. I am a passionate designer and I wish to pass on my passion and skills to generations behind me. In order to do this I must train thousands of others to see what I see and know what I know. This will never happen if I don’t make good business decisions.
In some ways Deco will be a fishing net to catch many more fish and then convert them down the road. If they went in a different direction from the beginning, they are basically lost forever listening to others about “that’s as good as it’s going to get.” Now I feel they will rush down the rabbit hole of Deco only to learn there is a whole new world down there and there’s a mad hatter who will tell them all the secrets if they will only stop a minute and listen.
I apologize if my email sounds mean in any way. I sure don't mean it to at all and I hope you know that I praise your training and recommend you continually to others and absolutely do not regret any of my education expenses.
[Thomas] I don’t take your words as mean. I expect many to think the same thing and not have the courage to mention it to me. They will go on thinking I have duped them or sold myself out. This is very much far from the truth. It won’t be the first time my complex life has caused misunderstanding. I am involved in many aspects of the industry and people will naturally know me for the portion we are both involved in. Truth is I have many projects which may appear to conflict on the outside, but truly dovetail together from my vantage point.
Perhaps, I'm one of the few that believe you should know something about embroidery and the mechanics.
[Thomas] Know this without reservation. I am committed to the high end designers who have the ability to create quality designs as I see that as the only way for embroidery to remain a high dollar product.
It's just that I'm not sure where the industry is going and worry about the economy of the industry.
[Thomas] I don’t disagree with you. I have been concerned about this as well which is why you just read again with better understanding of what I was saying in Digitizing 101. I am committed to a mission of raising the quality of embroidery for the good of the industry. I believe this can be done. If we look at painters or photographers we can find both at very different ends of the spectrum. The automatic cameras of the 60’s pretty much put the photographer out of business, yet when a project means enough to us we still hire a photographer. Every house has a camera now. They are built into our phones; they come in little yellow disposable boxes. Still there are photographers and when you think of the press or film industry there is a huge market for people with trained skills in photography.
Yes, the field continues to grow and there may come a day when anyone can create an average design with the click of a button. Automated digitizing software may become as common to a sales force as a phone. The world will still need well trained skilled designers and that is where you come in. The weaker will drop off where the passionate and dedicated will strive for higher and higher skills.
This software could pretty much give the digitizing to companies for free.
[Thomas] Very likely. The second to the last paragraph on page 10 I state there is no point in battling automation. Automation comes whether we want it to or not. I feel the path to success is to employ old skill sets with new technology. To completely buy off on new technology is to believe a microwave is a viable way to cook a turkey. It’s great in a pinch and we couldn’t live without one, but we have all come to realize the initial marketing of this technology did not live up to its expectations.
Again, my new vision is we will grow the market by offering a better entry level tool (bait) and then when the users outgrow the amateur software we will have a pathway for their desire to grow. This is not to suggest we are "tricking" anyone. At times it's easier to give a person what they want and allow them to decide if their wishes actually work for them or if they will realize they need what else you have to offer. As I said before, we used to lose them to other products and we often never got their attention again.
I hope this in-depth explanation will provide some reassurance that you are many steps ahead of the pack and not finding yourself lost on a pathway to no where.
Respectfully,
Thomas
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