Alarm Companies and Their Websites

Like many others who were originally not up to speed in the wired world a few short years ago, I was all caught up in what I refer to as “web euphoria”.  Get a website, place it on the internet and if you’re lucky, you’ll open up your email every morning to discover order after order for a 24-hour monitored residential security system.  NOT!  In actual fact, the chances of someone on your website ordering a home alarm on-line is akin to a lost city being discovered on the south pole of Mars.

That being said, there are a myriad to reasons as to why it’s worth investing one or two thousand dollars to have a good face in computer land and here are just a few.

· Having a credible, professional on-line image can go along way to assisting those who are already considering your services.  In today’s increasingly wired world, there are even prospective clients out there who would actually have second thoughts about you if they found you didn’t have a site.  Remember the motto there are no second chances at first good impressions.  Make it look professional!  If it’s outdated or looks like something Mickey Mouse (sorry Mickey) conjured up, you better off not having a site at all.  Client testimonials of how your system “saved the day” are also a good idea.  Be sure to have your web address on business cards, company advertising, etc.  Your motto should be “if it requires your phone number, it also requires your web address”.

· Remember that your website is a valuable tool in serving your existing client base.  For instance you can save on newsletter printing costs by offering newsletters online.  One idea of promoting both your newsletter and your site is through information inserts going out with monitoring bills.  Also remember there are programs readily available that enable you to put the current day and date on your newsletter cover page every time someone opens it.  Having a newsletter online subscription box automatically pop-up on people’s computer screens when they visit your home page is also an excellent idea.  Who knows!  With a large online email client base, you may also have additional products or services to offer your existing clients (if not now, in the future) that can be of further benefit to their lives.

· Service, service, service!  DSC, ITI and Ademco all provide readily available CD’s on customer service manuals for a myriad of their panels.  You’ll probably need to provide a link to a readily available software program called Acrobat Reader to enable your customers in search of a manual to simply click and view.  Additional online service items can include information on preventing false alarms, contact numbers, home security tips, quizzes, and the list goes on.

· A growing number of customers in other sectors like to pay their bills on-line.  This may be an area you might wish to investigate further with a web professional.

If you are thinking of creating or upgrading your web site, it also pays to look at how others in the alarm industry now express themselves on the Internet.  The suggestion is to take any major national or international alarm company and simply add dot COM to their name and you should have lots to look at.  There are a number of interesting tidbits as to how they do things.  How about utilizing a program which asks a visitor to answer a series of security related questions and then automatically formulates the level of protection their residence might require?  The sky is the limit.

There is a saying in direct sales organizations that you should do everything you are supposed to do for the customer and then, a little bit more.  One U.S. dealer group promotes a parents and kids initiative on their web sites which further reflects concern and support for community projects.  Whom ever you might currently support or opt to support, it’s also a great idea to present such endeavours to clients and prospective clients to show how you are giving back to the community in which you serve.

More than anything else, your web site can additionally help you build trust.  A professional presentable web site is another important tool in enhancing that objective. The biggest fear of purchasers in the whole wide world is the fear of making the wrong purchasing decision.