Exec Interview: Ring Looks to Engage Pros With New Installer Initiative

Company leaders reveal how what has been a DIY-oriented business, that expanded into security systems and surveillance cameras, is actively growing its pro install channel.

Exec Interview: Ring Looks to Engage Pros With New Installer Initiative

When it comes to the most impactful residential security product of recent years — smart video doorbells — Ring is king.

The biggest thing to come to America’s front porches since the iconic Ding Dong, Avon’s Calling campaign more than a half-century ago has undoubtedly been the Ring smart video doorbell.

Only this time, it’s something much more important than cosmetics — the safety and security of homeowners. Filling a niche no one realized existed, over the course of a few short years the device leaped off the shelves of retail stores and online warehouses to help watch over millions of residences.

It caught the fancy of a business deeply invested in both technology and front porches — Amazon, which paid $1 billion for Ring in 2018.

According to Ring’s founder and video doorbell inventor, Jamie Siminoff , “If not for my wife, the Ring video doorbell would not exist. One night I shared my idea for reinventing the doorbell.

She loved it! Not just for the obvious convenience but for the security of now being able to safely answer the door from anywhere. She said, ‘This is like caller ID for the front door.’” Siminoff appeared on TV’s “Shark Tank” in 2013 to seek funding and the enterprise was soon off and skyrocketing.

Today, backed by Amazon’s R&D and infrastructure muscle, Ring continues to grow its product portfolio (including professional alarm monitoring through Rapid Response) and expand its footprint.

Referring to its customers as “neighbors,” the company is laser-focused on stitching communities (along with law enforcement and first responders) together through its user-friendly products and Neighbors neighborhood watch-style app to create a fabric of safer towns and cities.

From the standpoint of professional security dealers, the good thing about Ring was that it introduced a brand new product category to sell and expanded the overall security market.

Now, among many other insights shared by Ring Solutions President Mike Harris and Ring Installed Solutions General Manager Andrew Vloyanetes in an exclusive interview with SSI, comes the most exciting news yet — a concerted push in the coming year to build and support the professional installer channel. Ding dong, Ring is calling!

How has the Ring business changed or evolved since the acquisition by Amazon?

MIKE HARRIS: Prior to the acquisition, Ring was a rapidly growing company. That’s continued as we expand within new market segments and with new product lines. On top of that, inside Amazon, there’s infrastructure we can take advantage of in manufacturing and procurement, and other things we can leverage as well.

We’re just continuing to scale and trying to bring more products and more of an experience to our neighbors around the world. It hasn’t changed dramatically in the sense that we change directions or made turns. Obviously, with more resources, we have the opportunity to do more, but really we remain very focused on the mission.

ANDREW VLOYANETES: Being pretty new into it and not knowing what it was before, one of the things under Amazon is being able to tell a more together story about brands we work with on the hardware side. Whether that’s being able to talk about how Alexa can control Ring products or my favorite use case scenario is talking to an Echo Show that says, with Alexa, “Show me the front door.” Your Ring video doorbell view then comes up on the screen. It’s been great to be able to deal with our counterparts on Amazon with the Echo team. We’ve also talked with counterparts about the eero [wireless router] product, which is also owned by Amazon. Being able to tell a more together story in a clear and concise way has been a fantastic output.

One of the biggest things, from a channel perspective into the lens of the pro installer verticals, is making investments to work closer with the installers and the install community going forward. There is a high level of commitment to invest in both people and resources on how we can partner with the installer community in bigger ways. Under me, I’ve hired and started to put in place a team of account managers, sales managers and analysts, teams of inside sales, tech support and how we can better serve the community.

We are also developing programs that are more conducive to the installer. The sales cycle is completely different from the installer than retail, and so we are looking to ensure that we support those installers the best we can. That includes not just great products, but also stuff like programs and incentives, support, certification programs. Those types of things we’re putting in place now to make a big push for 2020.

A few years ago, the video doorbell didn’t exist. When it came on the scene security pros saw it as a novelty. How surprising was it to see its explosive adoption?

HARRIS: What it comes down to is solving a problem that real people have, and giving people the security that they know what’s going on even when they’re not home. It’s compelling. Once they understand and experience it, then it’s one of those things that you can’t live without it. It serves a need people didn’t know they had. The growth has been explosive. There’s millions of Ring doorbells in people’s homes today and that is continuing to grow. It’s been quite a wild ride.

VLOYANETES: Within our Installed Solutions Business, we have found that dealers and security professionals are really addressing a new segment of neighbors beyond Ring’s initial segment — the do-it-for-me [DIFM] customers. These are neighbors or customers that could install the product themselves but prefer professionals come in and tell them where they should have the sensors and where they should have cameras and how to install their doorbell, and really provide a whole-house solution for them — and then ultimately do the install for them.

From the security professionals’ point of view, Ring opens up that market opportunity to a person who’s really price-conscious or wants more of a product with really good brand recognition that they can do some of their own research about, but then have a pro come in and perform the install and educate them on the products.

It happened to me in my own neighborhood. I was a very early adopter of Ring products. We started to have break-ins where people were opening car doors and taking loose change. A security pro ended up coming into the neighborhood to install Ring cameras and security systems. Almost overnight, it was impressive that we had the car break-ins stop and saw the adoption of Ring products flourish to others throughout the town I live in.

“I’ve hired … teams of inside sales, tech support and how we can better serve the community,” says Ring’s Andrew Vloyanetes.

Let’s talk more about that product portfolio. Could you detail current offerings and the foreseeable roadmap?

HARRIS: It starts with the Ring doorbells and the cameras, which are WiFi enabled, HD video, motion alerts, all the capabilities people have come to know and love. As we’ve evolved that product line we’ve been able to understand the different segments, different needs that people have, whether it’s wired or camera-operated, indoor, outdoor and all of those sorts of things that continue to broaden that product line.

With Ring Alarm, our professionally monitored security system, that is built around accessibility and reaching people who might not otherwise want or be able to afford a security system. It affords them a commitment-free, super easy-to-install system they can have monitored for just $10 a month. The most recent product line is Ring Smart Lighting, which is a network of outdoor lights. That continues to enhance the “Ring of security,” as we call it, extending out of the perimeter and into your yard. It really all plays very nicely together. There are also accessories, but those are the three major product areas we’re working on now.

VLOYANETES: Within the pro install space, Ring Smart Lighting is going to be fantastic because it’s a battery-operated product. For an installer who doesn’t have an electrical license or certifications to do landscape or high-voltage lighting around a house, you’re now able to add our Ring Smart Lighting to increase the security and visibility of the home, and bring more value for the customer.

HARRIS: It’s about delivering a compelling experience and all these products working together, but then working with products from outside our portfolios as well. That could be Works With Ring, working with the big door lock manufacturers or lighting manufacturers, working with things like the Amazon Echo devices, and more. It doesn’t just start and end with the Ring product; it’s about creating an overall security experience for our neighbors.

What processes are in place to keep a feedback loop open with those “neighbors” as well as resellers?

HARRIS: Our focus on our neighbors is very fundamental to who we are and has been from the very beginning. When we started the company, [Founder] Jamie Siminoff put his email address on every box and it’s still there today, and he answers those emails. It’s that close. I talk to an alarm user probably two or three times a week, at least. We’re getting feedback personally. Beyond that, we’re very active in social media and other areas. We work with all our partners as well, whether that’s the retailers or installers, understanding what they’re hearing as well.

VLOYANETES: From the pro install perspective, we have started developing our Partner Advisory Board, which is a collective group of installers, distributors and partners. We are beginning to gather their feedback in how we can bring new unique experiences to the market and what the customers or neighbors are telling them.

Next Page: Read on to learn more about Ring’s pro installer initiatives and what it has to say about privacy concerns…

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!

About the Author

Contact:

Scott Goldfine is the marketing director for Elite Interactive Solutions. He is the former editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He can be reached at [email protected].

Security Is Our Business, Too

For professionals who recommend, buy and install all types of electronic security equipment, a free subscription to Commercial Integrator + Security Sales & Integration is like having a consultant on call. You’ll find an ideal balance of technology and business coverage, with installation tips and techniques for products and updates on how to add to your bottom line.

A FREE subscription to the top resource for security and integration industry will prove to be invaluable.

Subscribe Today!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Our Newsletters