Vivint Updates Online Presence as Part of Overall Business Plan
SSI’s annual Best of the Best issue (July 2013) includes profiles of seven of the industry best-run installing security contracting companies. My interviews with executives and managers from runner-up Vivint covered much ground not included in print. Following is the second of a few bonus excerpts, with Vivint’s Jeremy Warren and Kristi Knight here addressing business and sales & marketing strategies. Be on the lookout for more online extras from Vivint, as well as other Installer of the Year and Integrated Installation of the Year winners and finalists.
What business practices and strategies does Vivinit deploy to ensure its success?
Jeremy Warren, Vivint Vice President of Innovation: Vivint attributes much of its success to its door-to-door sales approach, affordability and award-winning customer service. With our advancing product line and services, customers of nearly any income level can monitor the things that are most important to them — their home and family — from the convenience of any Web-enabled device. Because consumers are rapidly adopting the connected lifestyle, we recently launched the Vivint Innovation Center, completely devoted to product development. The center currently employs about 50 software developers and engineers and is projected to hire another 100 professionals within the next two years.
What sales and marketing techniques are used to support those business plans?
Kristi Knight, Vivint Vice President of Marketing: Vivint’s integrated marketing department, which includes government and community relations, public relations, videography, design, writing, social media and digital marketing, is continually incorporating new technology offerings and consumer trends. The company is forward-thinking in not only its product offering but in its marketing techniques. In addition to working with traditional and social media marketing, Vivint’s integrated program employs heavy use of digital media. To amplify the door-to-door sales approach, Vivint implements a unique iPad app that allows salespeople to show potential customers regional news stories featuring Vivint, product videos, and customer testimonials that apply to the subject. Using this medium provides the sales team with credible resources and visual aids at every point of the sale. In addition, Vivint’s new Web site, which launched this past November, has an enhanced user experience interface that adapts to the user depending on their status as a first-time visitor or a returning customer or their geographic region. This setup allows Vivint to provide relevant content to the site visitors, increase sales conversations, and improve the customer experience.
How are these sales and marketing initiatives measured, reviewed, and revamped?
Knight: We strive to ensure that every aspect of our sales and marketing initiatives tie directly to our central business goals: to protect homes and families, increase energy efficiency, and simplify lives. If any initiatives don’t fit this mold, then they need to be altered so they do. We are also constantly evaluating the effectiveness of our sales and marketing tools to make sure they are communicating effectively to potential customers by showing them how our products and services can fit in to their specific lifestyle. During 2012, we revamped the Vivint Web site in hopes of accomplishing this goal. In order to measure and review our outcomes, Vivint uses a variety of tools. We actively distribute and collect customer satisfaction surveys and review every piece of feedback we receive from our customers. We also rely on the Salesforce program to ensure that marketing campaigns are on brand and on target with the customer’s expectation of the company. We also use our own proprietary customer service system, Adobe Digital Marketing Suite, and our proprietary Web content management system, DMP. Both Adobe and DMP help us serve the right content to the right people at the right time, creating a personalized experience with Vivint. We are constantly innovating and working to meet the demands of a changing market to make our customer experience the best.
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
Scott Goldfine
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].
Related Content
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.
