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When the home security market exploded during the mid and late 1990s, there were a lot of local and regional companies selling equipment and monitoring programs with very little regard for long-term customer relationships. It was all about selling back then. Fortunately, the industry realized that what was happening was not good for customers and began offering home security dealer programs to local business owners willing to partner with them. To say that these programs have benefited customers is an understatement.
A home security dealer program is essentially a partnership agreement between a branded security provider and local dealers authorized to sell the provider’s equipment and services. Under a typical agreement, the local dealer can establish and maintain its accounts or sell accounts to the branded partner. Local dealers also get a full list of support features covering everything from back office support to marketing assistance. Training is also provided by branded providers.
The authorized dealer model seems to be the best way to provide home security and automation services on a national or regional scale. Customers benefit from this operational model in numerous ways:
1. Dealing with Local Businesses
When a customer decides it’s time to install a home security system, working with an authorized dealer enables the customer to work with a local business that employs local residents who already know the community. How important is this benefit? Just try to call the helpdesk support number maintained by your computer operating system provider and you will quickly discover the challenges of trying to deal with a support technician who may be halfway around the country or even the world.
An authorized dealer program puts the task of engaging with customers in the hands of local business owners who care about their customers and communities. Local owners have a vested interest in making sure their customers are happy because geography naturally limits their businesses. If they fail locally, they will fail altogether.
2. Access to More Options
Home security dealer programs further benefit customers by giving them access to more equipment and monitoring options. For example, a local dealer has enough flexibility within his/her business to customize equipment and monitoring packages to meet the needs of the local community. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all security package, the local dealer can offer a list of options that customers can choose from.
One customer might be interested only in burglary and fire monitoring. Another may want full monitoring capabilities along with the latest home automation package. A local dealer is nimble enough to offer those options with the full support of the branded partner.
3. Competitive Pricing
Lastly, the authorized dealer model benefits customers through more competitive pricing. To understand why this is so, consider a local security company with no brand affiliation who simply sells retail security equipment over the counter. That company is locked into a particular pricing structure that is dictated by the retail market. The same is not true with an authorized dealer.
Dealers and their branded partners have a natural need to establish and maintain long-term relationships with their customers. That means they are more flexible in their pricing because they have more room to meet customer needs. They are also motivated to keep pricing as low as possible in order to maintain those long-term relationships.
Home security customers benefit greatly from the authorized dealer model established more than 20 years ago. It is a model that brings together a branded provider with a local dealer to offer customers the best possible service and pricing.
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