In 2011, the largest cable company in Canada introduced their own home alarm system, completely changing the residential alarm business.
AT&T has followed suit in the United States, and is shaping a new competitive landscape for home alarm dealers there. We are all used to competing with the giants of our industry, but how do we compete with giants that already provide the majority of our clients other home services?
The easiest way to compete with cable providers is to give clients superior service. Security giants are notorious for providing poor service, and large cable companies are no different. If you run a small business, you know you can provide better service than your bigger competitor — and hopefully you do.
I remember changing cable providers about a year ago. As a new customer, the best service they could offer me (for the initial hookup) was a three-day wait and an estimated arrival time of between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The dispatcher I spoke with on the phone had no working relationship with the technicians he scheduled. They were simply names on a calendar, and he had no power or influence to speed up the process. Since most alarm companies are small, we are able to offer a rapid and dynamic service that the giants just cannot match.
Flexible advantage
Cable providers also lack skilled technicians and flexible product lines. Clients choose from a selection of upgrades, but there is no flexibility outside of the listed options.
If their client wants a 1080p camera that supports edge storage, cable providers do not have the products or skills to fill this need. Their technicians are trained to install the same products in the same manner every time, with no training or experience to allow for customization. With more experienced technicians and flexible product offerings, smaller businesses can offer a customized system that users will appreciate.
Lastly, beat out the giants by keeping things simple.
Every time I call my cable provider for even the most basic question, I am forced to decline multiple offers for more channels, faster internet speeds, or additional telephone lines. By giving your clients exactly what they want, and by not pushing them into purchasing features they will never use, you will win their trust.
Cable companies cannot offer this kind of honest service. By maintaining authentic relationships with your clients, you offer them a level of comfort and security that no cable company can.
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Colin points out the advantages of competing on services, and I couldn’t agree more. That’s how we’ve built our business and there’s always room for someone who does things better, in terms of quality and/or service. In my area, my cable provider started offering security monitoring services at a very attractive price. While I am very happy with my security monitoring provider and have no desire to change, I thought I would call them and see how they reacted to the competition. Despite the fact that my contract with them included a service plan while the one with the cable… Read more »
Price is one factor but is system security another?
My own system is connected via land line with a Sim card backup – A cable into this village could be chopped or the cabinet smashed and all properties protected would be vulnerable – If there was a high risk premises even more so.
So many workers with so much access to cable cabinets – I would worry (if I had something of real value)
In time gone by I have seen these cabinets laying on the pavement.
And to extend on that, I’ve seen them lying on the ground, wide open, ready to be vandalised. It’s not just insecure, it’s costly generally for the maintenace of those cables.