How Stanley Security Won the 2020 SAMMY Award for Best Overall Marketing Program (Large Company)

Stanley Security has shifted away from interruption-based marketing in favor of a customer-centric approach that not only engages but serves consumers.

How Stanley Security Won the 2020 SAMMY Award for Best Overall Marketing Program (Large Company)

In early 2019, Stanley Security conducted detailed research and participated in several cross-functional workshops with an overriding goal to more deeply understand the customer. The intent was to better distinguish customer segments; define buyer personas; build out customer journey maps for each stage of the buying process; and re-evaluate the company’s solution architecture.

“This process enabled us to define, articulate and visualize Stanley Security’s value proposition through the lens of consumers,” says Laura Rose, marketing director, Stanley Security North America.

The endeavor led the company to shift its focus away from interruption-based marketing — the traditional model of product promotion, in which people have to stop what they’re doing to pay attention to the marketing message or engage it in some other way — in favor of a customer-centric approach that not only engages but serves consumers.

“With a deeper understanding of consumers — and their business and security needs — we now have invaluable insights that guide all of our marketing efforts,” Rose explains, “from design and messaging to distribution channels and more.”

Defining 2 Customer Types

As part of the process for building a consumer-first marketing program, the marketing team developed internal materials to inform and guide its undertakings. This included identifying two distinct types of end-user clients: traditional physical security professionals, and IT professionals who are increasingly gaining decision-making power in the industry.

“As a result, our marketing efforts need to address both audiences, who have different wants, needs and priorities,” Rose says. By capturing these customers’ needs and building out buyer personas, the marketing team was able to provide the organization with the necessary information to create and evolve better customer-centric products.

This allows the company to have more meaningful and impactful interactions with its customers and drive long-term competitive value. For each persona, the team created a customer journey map, which was structured across the key phases of a purchasing and post-purchasing progression.

“Based on this, we identified consumers’ thoughts, feelings and needs across the journey,” she continues. “Next, we mapped out the brand touchpoints, messaging, content and calls-to-action to inform what customer touchpoint platforms are used, what content is required and what sales support is needed.”

As part of the shift toward a consumer-first marketing program, an opportunity emerged to differentiate the organization by changing the way Stanley structures its security solutions. The goal was to simplify the company’s offerings and separate them according to business size.

Using these internal documents and frameworks to guide their efforts, the company began implementing the marketing program in 2019 through three strategic projects: new multitiered content marketing, a reimagined trade show booth for ISC West and a website refresh.

The content marketing strategy itself — envisioned to educate and engage consumers based on their interests, preferences and goals — included three new initiatives:

  • Influencer Program: Subject matter experts in various roles across the organization — from field sales team members to product and innovation leaders to training instructors — share their expertise, customer stories and best practices.
  • Blog: In the second half of 2019, the company launched a blog to provide a new channel through which it can distribute content that educates consumers, answers their security questions, establishes trust and loyalty and ultimately helps guide consumers down the purchase path.
  • 2020 Industry Trends Report: In December 2019, the company published the first annual 2020 Industry Trends Report, the first of its kind to be published by an electronic security integrator. The report serves as an extension of STANLEY’s partnership with consumers by providing security professionals with free and easy access to expert insights and exclusive data that aims to help them prepare for the future.

Cost-Effectiveness and ROI

By investing in better understanding consumers, using cost-effective digital marketing methods and strategically deploying marketing messages to the target audiences, the company achieved some significant ROI. For example, the Influencer Program generated 12,000+ page views, 2,200+ referrals and more than $130,000 in potential revenue.

The website update resulted in a 30% rise in organic traffic and over 20% growth year-over-year in site traffic. A 67% increase in traffic to the site’s primary conversion page resulted in a 103% increase in digital lead generation. And a chat integration tool attracted 500+ communications that generated $250,000+ in the pipeline in just over a month.

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About the Author

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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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