Could you gain more sales if you offered your prospects more choices?

Here at Security Dealer Marketing we’ve been in the security game going on seven years now. And in the short amount of time that we’ve been involved, we’ve seen the security market evolving and changing.

There’s no question that end users in our industry have more choices than ever before: a monitored vs. unmonitored system, a traditional security system with a panel or some cool looking security camera built to look like an owl, or a DIY system that you can simply pick up at your local tech store or even online.

We’re sure we don’t have to tell you about the many choices end users now have when considering protecting their homes. We’re still in the early stages of our research, but the data seems to be indicating that giving potential customers more choices than a security package and a two- to six-year contract will actually help with increased conversions.

We’ve seen increasing numbers of searches online via Google for all kinds of different security — searches such as “do-it-yourself home security,” “cool looking security,” “security with no monthly payments,” etc. In typical security marketing and selling, a security dealer wants to show up only for searches such as “monitored security,” “home security company,” etc.

But showing up for these searches is only a piece of the puzzle; now you have to convince the online user that your company, product and service is the right choice and, more importantly, better than the “cool” product that he can pick up at his local electronics store. This fight is getting harder and harder each year.

So, what should you do? What we’re starting to test on a few customers’ websites is giving the potential customer more choices. Make them feel as if it’s their decision to get a professionally installed system with a monitoring agreement. What we’re about to say, some might agree with and others will look at us as if we’re bat crazy, but hear us out.

What we are testing on a few sites is giving the potential online customer more choices on how they’d like to secure their home by giving them three options when they land on a website. Would you like to simply purchase an entire security system package with no monitoring? Great … Click here. Would you like to purchase a home security system that is professionally installed and comes secured 24/7? Then click here. And for those dealers that provide a DIY solution, click here.

Now, what we’re seeing is most online users are clicking on the first option where they can simply purchase a package for X, but on each page we have been cross pollinating each option with a graphic button that leads them to the next option. For those of you saying, well, the package system is essentially the DIY option; yes, but now manufacturers are providing external links where the online user can build out their system and simply order it. And we want to see if online users simply want a package deal or want to build one out.

One thing to note is that we display our clients’ phone numbers really big on the screen, and we’ve noticed that potentials are calling in to ask questions on the available options, in which cases the security representative of course has been directed to persuade the potential customer to purchase the system with a monitoring agreement because it’s a better solution.

So if you missed it, this marketing tactic got a potential customer to engage with you whether they picked up the phone or filled out a form — and that’s half the battle, my friends. By simply giving a potential customer a choice, they feel as if they’ve made the right decision simply because they chose it. Get it? Got it? Good.

We plan to send a monthly newsletter to those who choose the package or who go the DIY route, explaining the benefits of purchasing a monitoring agreement. We’ve had lots of dealers recently talk about providing a higher-cost monitoring solution that allows the customer to purchase monitoring as they please or on demand. So they can purchase, at a premium, two weeks of monitoring while they’re on vacation.

This might not sit well with some of you, but it might with others. Change is coming, in our opinion. How will you adapt? Be innovative and stay ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving market.

Adios muchachos! Until next time.