Dealer programs can offer a dealer many different benefits, including a ready-to-go marketing team with customized, affordable marketing materials and new social media offerings.
Small to mid-sized security companies, especially in today’s economy, do not have deep pockets for marketing. Sometimes it can be a challenge to do any marketing at all. Even if a marketing department exists, it can be understaffed and unable to meet the demands of all the ways a company can be marketed — leading to missed opportunities and lost potential customers. That is where a dealer program’s marketing offering can make a difference.
For the first time in 26 years, Vector Security, Pittsburgh, refreshed its brand strategy with the goals of highlighting the overall customer experience and positioning the company as a leading provider of security and security-related solutions tailored to customer needs and business objectives.
The SDM 5th annual Channel Partners Awards, voted on by SDM’s subscribers, recognize the superior support that vendors provide to the security dealer and integrator channel.
As a reseller in the security channel, you know that if you choose the right vendors to partner with you will get plenty of support — technical support, sales support, marketing support, and advanced product solutions. This is especially important to smaller security dealers and integrators, who may not have the time or resources to do these functions in-house. Recognizing the vendors that offer top-notch support in these areas is the purpose of SDM’s Channel Partners Awards, now in its fifth year.
In a campaign to attract dealers and installers to its wholesale alarm monitoring business, Mason Monitoring of Kings Park, N.Y., embracing its self-defined maverick persona, pitches a $2 per account deal while also offering “two years of free central station monitoring on any basic digital account switched to Mason” during a set signup time.
As with any move, deciding on the use, kind, look, and feel of social networking sites by today’s system integrator is more a business decision than one based on dazzling technology. Here are some ideas courtesy of Inc.com.
Can a dealer or integrator play a significant role in building the brand of a manufacturer? Think about it. Brand building is a function of products, people, services, support and customers. Channel partners are a huge part of the brand.
Home Automation Inc. (HAI) has a printed 16-page marketing document available for free to all listed HAI dealers. HAI’s “Building Automation” marketing booklet was previously only available as an online document, but HAI has printed several thousand copies at the request of integrators.
Getting customers to your website is critical if you want to generate new business in the security and home systems markets. One way is to optimize your website to maximize search engine rankings, which you can do in-house or outsource. Either way, you should understand basic elements of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Firefly Design Group of Hollywood, Fla., a design, engineering and consulting firm in the custom electronics industry, now offers electronics system contractors (ESC) streamlined access to a full range of its documentation, sales and marketing products, and services through an e-commerce site, the Firefly Design Group Store (http://www.shopfdg.com).
The Electronic Security Association (ESA) announced the formation of two new groups designed to increase knowledge, skills and professionalism of individuals charged with specific business duties within security integration companies.