A New North American Strategy for Casambi

At ArchLIGHT Summit, Casambi President Will Norris and new EVP of Sales Ron Marcissuk Jr. explained how Casambi in North America is restructuring its sales strategy around local rep agencies.

Casambi is changing how it approaches the North America lighting controls market. During my interview at ArchLIGHT Summit, President Will Norris and newly appointed Executive Vice President of Sales Ron Marcissuk Jr. described a significant restructuring.

Casambi recently eliminated several internal regional positions and is placing more responsibility on its local rep partners. The goal is straightforward: build a North American sales model around the way our lighting industry already does business.

For Will, that starts with the agency. “The agency, in my mind, is the most important critical path to market in our market,” he said.

Casambi North America Puts Reps at the Center

Will brings an unusually broad background to his new role. He has worked for a rep agency, served as an integrator, practiced as a consulting engineer and worked as a lighting designer. That experience shaped his view of the rep network.

A strong agency provides local relationships, technical knowledge and people who can get to the jobsite when problems occur. Will believes that support becomes especially important during construction.

Electricians work under tight schedules and must coordinate with multiple trades. Controls add another layer of complexity. When an electrician calls late in a project, the agency needs to know the system well enough to solve the problem quickly.

“The job of the agency is to de-risk that construction cycle for the electrician,” Will explained. That philosophy now sits at the center of Casambi North America’s strategy.

Restructuring the Sales Organization

Casambi’s changes have included personnel reductions within its North American organization. Ron acknowledged that the company eliminated some positions as part of a broader corporate restructuring.

However, the changes do not mean Casambi is pulling back from the market. Will and Ron are rebuilding the organization around greater agency support.

Ron also stressed that Casambi had not terminated any rep agencies at the time of our interview. Instead, the company is evaluating its current network. Some agencies already have strong controls expertise and established Casambi businesses, while others may need additional resources or a different level of support.

Casambi also plans new eastern and western sales leadership positions. Those leaders will work with agencies rather than replace them. The distinction is important because the new strategy places local agencies closer to the customer while Casambi concentrates its internal resources on enabling those agencies.

Why the European Model Needed to Change

Casambi has a stronger market position in Europe than it does in North America. Ron said the company has operated in North America for roughly seven to ten years, but he believes the message became “somewhat convoluted” because Casambi tried to operate in two very different markets.

Europe offers a more open route to market. North America relies much more heavily on rep agencies, distributors and national account relationships.

The new strategy recognizes that difference. Instead of forcing a European model into the United States and Canada, Casambi plans to build around the established structure of the lighting industry here.

That seems like a logical move because our industry remains intensely local. Relationships matter, and the best reps often know the consultants, contractors, distributors and owners in their territories better than any national manufacturer can.

Local Expertise Can Reduce Project Risk

Will talked at length about what a good rep should provide beyond sales. The agency needs to understand the products it represents and know how those products work together on a real project.

When a system reaches the jobsite, there should be few surprises. That becomes particularly important with lighting controls, because an electrician may install many different systems across multiple projects.

Technology Remains Casambi’s Foundation

The restructuring does not change Casambi’s core technology strategy. Will described Casambi primarily as a firmware and software company.

Manufacturers embed Casambi chipsets into third-party products, creating an ecosystem of interoperable devices. The platform supports familiar lighting-control functions such as sensors and keypads.

However, Will pointed to Casambi’s extension interface as one of its more interesting capabilities. That interface allows manufacturers to add features such as motorized pan, tilt and zoom. It can also support vertical movement of luminaires.

In other words, Casambi provides the platform while its partners create products around it.

Will also previewed a new sensor from Verson aimed specifically at the North American market. The product is expected to support dual 0-10V relays, DALI and voltages from 120V through 347V.

A Large North American Opportunity

Ron sees substantial room for growth. He  said Casambi currently reaches only about 30% of North America.

“We’ve got five years of work ahead of us right now,” he said.

Energy costs may also help drive demand. Lighting has traditionally been the low-hanging fruit in energy retrofits, and controls can reduce consumption even further.  At the same time, wireless controls have become easier to install and commission. That reduces one of the traditional barriers to adoption.

A More North American Casambi

Casambi is clearly going through a transition in North America, but Will and Ron presented a focused strategy. The company wants to strengthen its rep relationships, build sales leadership around those agencies and adapt its go-to-market model to North American realities.

That approach puts more responsibility on the reps, but it also gives them a larger opportunity. For a technology company that believes local expertise can reduce risk and improve project execution, placing agencies at the center of the strategy makes sense.

The next step will be execution. For now, Casambi appears determined to align itself more closely with the people who already know how to sell, support and deliver lighting projects in their local markets.

Watch the entire video here: