United through a customer-centric business model, Digital Scoreboards and ScoreVision formed a strategic partnership in 2021. Before the partnership began, the two companies were long-time competitive rivals in the LED industry. We sat down with Digital Scoreboards Vice President, Chris Kirn, to learn more about his perspective on our partnership and its impact on schools nationwide.
ScoreVision: Can you please describe the relationship – as you see it – between Digital Scoreboards and ScoreVision?
Chris Kirn: The relationship between Digital Scoreboards and ScoreVision is evolving by the day. We’ve been in the scoreboard industry since 2013, and until last year we have had a singular software provider. We were not unhappy with that software provider, but we knew ScoreVision was out there and was a competitor of ours until about a year ago.
As far as how things have evolved now, it’s the perfect partnership. We include the ScoreVision software in our packages that we sell directly to schools, and ScoreVision is now buying LEDs from us to provide to their customers. I don’t think you can find a stronger partnership; whenever both parties are spending money with each other for the betterment of the customer. ScoreVision’s focus on customer satisfaction is exactly where our focus has been since we started our company.
ScoreVision: Can you describe customer satisfaction and how it has been demonstrated?
Chris Kirn: I will focus on one project in particular, the foundation of our partnership; a district in Fort Collins, Colorado, Poudre Independent School District. We built a fantastic relationship with the school, and they loved our product and our people. The school said they wanted to go with our LED, and we were super excited about the relationship. Then they said they liked the ScoreVision software. From a customer service perspective, they were treated the same way Digital Scoreboards treated them.
They asked if we’d be willing to partner with them; without hesitation, I said yes. We are a family-owned and operated business. We don’t have to go through a big approval process. Soon after, Poudre introduced me to the team at ScoreVision. We struck up a mutual appreciation for one another. It went fantastic. We installed the LED powered by the ScoreVision software, and the customer was happy. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
We are 30 to 35 schools deep within the last year, and there are no signs of slowing down. Our customers have the best LED in the industry powered by the best software in the industry. We offer the only 10+ warranty in the industry on an outdoor LED. It’s hard to beat when you look at our competitors because we both use a consultative approach with our schools. We don’t sell a singular product. We are constantly evolving.
ScoreVision: Poudre Independent School District was also a unique situation, correct? Have you run into a software provider who can easily provide for a multi-school and multi-sport facility?
Chris Kirn: That’s a great point. The prior software we were using, and still use for certain schools today, is all computer-based. When you look at the cloud-based ScoreVision software, and then you look at the district level with multiple high schools using one venue. It’s pretty powerful. Each school can remotely upload its content, whether advertising, sponsorships, graphics, player headshots, school-specific animations, etc. And each school can uniquely manage its content to make its own game-day experience within a district venue. I don’t know of any other software in the industry that allows that to happen. It’s a huge selling point when we talk to schools.
ScoreVision: Describe your working relationship with members of the ScoreVision team? How has this partnership impacted your business and customer satisfaction?
Chris Kirn: I think it goes back to how I opened up this conversation. We have a mutual interest in growing our companies and doing it by helping schools. If we can stay consistent, focused, and professional through that process, it will continue to transcend our businesses. It’s been wonderful.
ScoreVision: How do you hope to continue growing, and what needs did ScoreVision meet through this partnership opportunity?
Chris Kirn: I think we will do 60 (ScoreVision) subscription licenses this year, and we are proud of that. We are just scratching the surface. We will be over 600 schools by the end of this year as a company. We will probably continue to do over 150 schools a year in the high school and college space. I would anticipate seeing ScoreVision become more and more consistent as the sole software provider. From that perspective, growth is incredible.
ScoreVision: Describe your experience with ScoreVision in 3 words or less.
Chris Kirn: ScoreVision is innovative, progressive, and customer-centric.
We want to thank Chris for his time. You can learn more about Digital Scoreboards at: https://digitalscoreboards.net