In November, I attended and presented at my first Honeywell Connect 2017 Security Dealer conference in San Diego, CA.
Three days of inspiring learning from security company leaders, the Honeywell team, and fantastic keynote speakers. This years' theme was to "Differentiate, Disrupt, Deliver". Honeywell showcased their impressive array of residential and commercial security technology while providing an engaging and fun atmosphere for learning and networking.
Let me start with the keynote speakers. Best-selling author on creativity and disruptive innovation, Josh Linkner kicked Friday off by teaching us how to become obsessed with innovation. Defy tradition, get curious, crave what's next, adapt fast, engage your customers, and get scrappy! One security example Josh provided was a fire alarm for college dorms that detected smoke from gunfire.
Jason Dorsey, founder of GenHQ.com & The Center for Generational Kinetics provided a hilarious overview of the generations, specifically millennials and Gen Z's. We learned that security is a big deal for millennials (age 22-40) now that they are getting older, starting families and buying homes. When selling security services to them, millennials want advice from an older sales person. Using the words "unique", "special", and "one-of-a-kind" appear to resonate better than "custom" or "customized" with millennials. Other selling suggestions included:
- Keep a list of questions generally asked during the sales process
- Humanize your security website with real people, local & community images
- Start with the security plan you are recommending, then show how you got there
- Sell by showing the information on your screen instead of a written proposal
Here are some of the other golden nuggets I picked up regarding the 11.7% average security customer attrition rates. Attrition warning signs include:
- Accounts requiring a lot of intervention
- High signal traffic accounts
- Accounts without interactive services (should be upgraded)
- Accounts still on phone lines
- People that never set their alarms
The 11.7% average customer attrition rate is comprised of the following:
- 5.4% - Customer moves
- 3.0% - Financial reasons
- 1.2%- Service issues
- 2.1% - Other
Residential attrition rates below 10% are considered good. Tracking the above activities and data points should be part of a security company's daily process and you should review the numbers monthly. Establishing programs to keep your in-region movers as customers should be part of every security company's retention strategy.
There is a huge opportunity for security companies to capture more market share in the regions they operate. Only 20% of eligible homes have security systems, 60% of eligible homes do not. In the 60% group, DIY and Cable providers pick up 750,000 customers per year on average. That leaves about 2.25 million eligible customers who get security systems each year!
On Saturday, November 11, 2017, I presented a 45 minute session - Hyper-Targeted Digital Marketing and Search Engine Optimization for Security Companies where I provided insight on the latest digital and security marketing trends, how to leverage the seven hyper-targeting techniques that our friends at Google, Facebook and LinkedIn have enabled, reviewed the hottest residential and commercial keywords, and how consistent content marketing can increase organic search rankings.The Honeywell team puts on a first-class conference, and the party at San Diego's Petco Park was fantastic! I think I hit at least three home runs in the wiffle ball batting cage!
WebStrategies is working towards becoming part of the Honeywell Corporate Alliance Program and have been actively following up with the security company leaders, industry partners and complimentary service providers we met at the conference.
Next year's Honeywell conference is in Marco Island, FL, on Nov. 15-18. 2018. We expect to present the latest security marketing best practices, continue learning from security industry experts and Honeywell, and see how well security dealers "Differentiated, Disrupted and Delivered" in 2018!
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