A Security Dealer’s Guide to Adding RMR Via the Internet of Things and Smart Home Devices
Traditional security dealers should begin positioning themselves as smart home experts.
Home automation and home security go hand-in-hand.
As more consumers integrate Internet of Things (IoT) technologies into their homes, more doors will open for home security companies to act as the homeowners’ trusted experts. This becomes an excellent way to form new revenue-generating relationships.
Consumers are already aware of professionally-monitored home security systems. Maybe they’ve been visited by an in-person sales associate, seen a commercial on TV or visited a neighbor who has a “Protected by…” sticker in the window and a keypad on the wall. Traditional security systems with 24/7 monitoring are great options for certain customers, but the cost of such a system can price some consumers out of the market. In answer to that, owner-installed self-monitored products, such as Wi-Fi connected home security cameras, help draw in consumers with lower price points. At the same time, hybrid solutions that bridge the gap between professional and self-installed products can provide useful solutions for more customers while also offering recurring monthly revenue opportunities for security companies. Security pros have a real opportunity to be at the front of this mainstream adoption.
Traditional security dealers should begin positioning themselves as smart home experts, especially as they educate themselves about the growing variety of smart home products and how they augment and enhance a security system. The growing popularity of hybrid systems, such as those promoted by Alarm.com, iControl, ADT Pulse and Comcast’s Xfinity Home, also help expand consumer awareness. Adding smart home technologies not only makes for a more savvy security dealer, but it also contributes to the bottom line. By being not only the neighborhood home security expert but also the trusted smart home expert, dealers can earn more per client than with monitored security alone. Smart home customers provide greater monthly revenue with lower churn than traditional monitored security.
RELATED: How Security Dealers Can Thrive in the Growing Smart Home Market
Aside from the revenue possibilities, why do home automation and home security go hand-in-hand? Many of the features of smart home devices are designed to perform daily tasks so the homeowners don’t have to, and many of those tasks can do double duty as both convenience features and proactive security features (some are also great energy savers too). The key to designing home security that prevents as opposed to reacts means looking beyond the point of intrusion, all the way to the home’s front curb. Today, smart home and IoT technology is being developed to add security layers that mimic the preventative nature of the Neighborhood Watch and deter burglars.
Using home automation, control and preventative safety technologies can help to create the appearance of authentic occupancy within the home and ensure effective crime prevention. The idea is to prevent the intruder from even stepping into the driveway because technology in the home has made it appear that someone is home. And if they do take the step to the front door, a combination of intelligent systems that incorporate light and sound will give a clear warning to anyone ringing the door that the occupants are home.
Consumers are also looking for value-adds from their security system and today’s smart home technology can provide additional safety features to a system. A dealer who can layer proactive smart home technologies and home safety on top of a security monitoring service not only creates more customer satisfaction (which reduces attrition) but also can increase monthly revenue opportunities.
As customers become savvier about smart home devices and more selective in their home security needs, they’ll look for dealers who can offer the total package. Homeowners are no longer satisfied with a system that simply offers a keypad and security monitoring; they want an app that can arm their security system, turn off the lights, lock the door, adjust the temperature and let them view the dog with a Wi-Fi camera. They want remote services that give them the same level of control out of the house as they have in the house. They want security that starts before the home is broken into and they want solutions that will provide safety and peace of mind.
Today, both consumers and security dealers are also demanding simple-to-use, intuitive and easy-to-install smart lighting systems. However, traditional smart lighting systems generally require licensed electricians to install. Of course, there are smart lighting products today that require no installation (think smart light bulbs), yet most of these require that users abandon the traditional light switch to operate the light via a smart phone app. We offer a solution to this problem, offering the pro security channel an easy to install system that preserves using technology that’s already in our home and part of our daily lives – the standard light switch.
Smart security — combined with smart home devices — allows for a more personalized system experience and a more engaged customer. As a dealer, you can work with the homeowner to craft the system that fits the family’s individual needs, and thus make the customer more invested in the system and your services.
RELATED: Global Home Automation Market to Reach $21B in 2020, Forecast Predicts
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Bio: Alexei Erchak is the CEO of BeON Home.
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