How B Safe Security Takes the Initiative to Stay on Top
B Safe’s multipronged business initiative strategy helped earn the company an SSI 2020 Installer of the Year runner-up honor.
Although B Safe serves a multitude of clients — including businesses, educational institutions, governments and homes — the company cultivates a local feeling.
It was another incredibly impressive showing for SSI’s Integrated Installation and Installer of the Year Awards. Read about the winners and runners-up throughout the month of July by visiting the Best of the Best page.
B Safe Security was founded in 1978 by current owner and CEO, Phil Gardner, who established the company with his long-time friend Joseph Gallagher. Experience is a hallmark of the company’s leadership team. Gallagher continues to serve as senior vice president, with other executives averaging 30 years of management experience and two decades of technical experience.
As the largest privately owned security company in Delaware with over 20,000 monitored clients, B Safe serves the greater Tri-State area from five main offices, including its headquarters in Wilmington, Del. Along with being a full-service security provider, the company is also NICET-III certified for fire alarm signaling systems.
Although B Safe serves a multitude of clients — including commercial businesses, educational institutions, governments and homes — the company separates itself from the competition by cultivating a local feeling. Among its clientele, only a small fraction aren’t personally known by one of the company’s employees, explains Neil Appel, vice president of sales and marketing.
“B Safe created its local and personal presence through its acquisition management strategy and execution. When we acquire or partner with another company, we integrate with their staff so new clients feel comfortable with the transition,” Appel says. “Critically, we also allow new employees to continue servicing their previous clients while familiarizing themselves with the larger base.”
As part of its strategic roadmap, last year B Safe created a dedicated fire division composed of industry experts. This group of specialists has spent decades serving the fire and life-safety needs for a range of business clientele. An expansion into western Pennsylvania accompanied this new division.
Among other recent business initiative successes, the company’s inside sales department formed a new move program spearheaded by a newly created Move Coordinator position staffed by Tina Scarfo. Scarfo coordinates transitions for new and existing homeowners.
“Armed with a printed move package and a caring personality, Tina has greatly cut down on attrition, generating thousands of dollars in new business within the existing base,” Appel says. “She has become a staple of B Safe’s success and one of the top salespeople in under a year, turning inside sales into one of the strongest RMR generators for B Safe.”
The company also developed a 3G Sunset plan that revolves around the expansion of its Diamond Service plans. B Safe offers clients an option to upgrade the alarm communications hardware and prevent a pause in their service; this is paired with an opportunity to prepare for all future technological changes. The details of the transition were outlined in monthly newsletters, guiding customers to make informed decisions.
Yet another recent business initiative that has proven itself to be a winner was a dedicated improvement toward B Safe’s SEO rankings on Google. Anthony Paparo, marketing manager, explains the company teamed with industry experts to learn how to organically boost the number of people who find B Safe through keyword search terminology such as “security company.”
The partnership has boosted the company’s Internet presence, significantly: 86% of searches that potential customers find the company with are “discovery searches,” meaning that they searched industry-related terms to find B Safe. The digital promotion led to a near doubling of leads over a six-month period in 2019.
“While we can’t attribute every lead to our Internet presence, a concentrated effort focused on social media and Google My Business [GMB] has allowed B Safe to stand out against competitors,” Paparo says. “Between our five branches listed on the GMB platform, B Safe has garnered over 100 five-star reviews. These reviews spread our reputation and drive new business.”
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About the Author
Rodney Bosch, Senior Editor
Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.
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