Invest In Marketing
Strengthen your reputation and generate sales
- By Lindsay Lougée
- Jul 01, 2017
The Super Bowl is the biggest marketing and advertising
event on American television. TV networks sell 30 second
commercial ads for an average of $5 million to one
of the largest audiences of the year. Interestingly enough,
the corporations investing in Super Bowl advertising
have established brand recognition, but continue to advertise to enhance
their customer base, strengthen their positive business reputation
and generate sales in the future.
The Super Bowl proves an important theory to home security
business owners of all sizes: marketing increases sales. Although
top home security companies cite door-to-door sales as more than
90 percent of their sales growth, exercising marketing efforts, such
as radio ads, trade publications or local TV and newspaper ads, can
generate revenue. Marketing should be an ongoing initiative for every
successful business regardless of how large it grows or how much
brand recognition increases.
In the home security industry, the importance of investing in
marketing is the fuel for your company’s business engine. Without
fuel, your engine will stop running.
MARKETING ENHANCES THE CUSTOMER BASE
Thriving businesses must continue to grow year over year to survive
in the ever-evolving alarm industry. Over the course of a year, products
and services change, customer needs evolve and public perception
changes with the economy. Tying together business changes is
a chance to enhance the customer base through an effective marketing
strategy.
An effective marketing strategy also targets different audiences as
the business evolves. Dealers should take a moment to think about
the demographics of customers targeted at the birth of the home
security company. If the company was established a few years ago,
you should be able to see how your customer base has changed since
inception. Traditionally, Cheerios targets families. During the Super
Bowl, Cheerios continues to advertise to families, but grew to targeting
families of different races and types to continue expanding their
customer base. The question is: does your current marketing strategy
reflect the change of audience? If not, pinpoint avenues to update
your marketing plan.
MARKETING IMPROVES BUSINESS REPUTATION
Why should prospering home security businesses continue marketing
after establishing high brand recognition? It is imperative to continue
investing in marketing efforts to maintain a positive reputation
or repair a negative reputation. For example, joining the Super Bowl
conversation on social media opens dialogue between the company
and the consumer in real time. This creates immediate feedback to
introduce new products or hear from an overlooked audience. The
highly competitive nature of businesses in the alarm industry dictates
companies continually work to maintain and improve customer
relationships. A customer with a positive perception of your home
security business is more likely to continue frequenting your business
in the future.
At MONI Smart Security, the company recently began investing
in more in brand management, shaping the identity in the eyes of the
consumer as trustworthy, tech-forward, and committed to protecting
what matters most.
Your company should continue evolving, growing and improving.
Your customers need to trust you are evolving your products, growing
within the alarm industry and improving your customer service.
Using marketing as a reputation management tool keeps your customers
in the company evolution while also introducing new customers
to your business.
MARKETING WILL DRIVE YOUR
COMPANY INTO THE FUTURE
Too many small business owners see marketing as a survival mechanism
to maintain a flow of new customers. Instead, they should rely
on marketing as a tool capable of driving customers to their businesses
in the future.
An effective marketing strategy is forward-looking. It may appear
to concentrate on the present while accounting for the successes and
failures of the past, but it ultimately looks forward — growing and
expanding your business by attracting new customers who will stick
around long term. In fact, 29 percent of viewers were likely or extremely
likely to become a customer of the brands with the best commercials
within three months.
Long-term success requires ongoing marketing efforts regardless
of the industry. Stay consistent in your message and channels,
be genuine, and remain true to your core values, and customers will
respond in kind.
This article originally appeared in the July 2017 issue of Security Today.