Tag Archive for: Marketing

How Integrators Can Identify Hot Prospects & Close Sales Faster

For integrators who rely on sales of gross margin projects, staying top-of-mind with decisions makers can more than a little challenging. It’s difficult to tell when these prospects are engaged and when they are ready to buy. Often, this can lead to frustrating sales meetings, or worse – lost opportunities. 

Fortunately, Ignite RMR is one of the few security marketing companies in the nation who can offer a solution: Lead Scoring.

A good lead scoring model can help you prioritize leads by:

  1. how likely they are to purchase,
  2. purchase size, and
  3. purchase timeframe

… so your sales team is always focused on the hottest, biggest prospects. This works well for both residential and commercial sales teams.

You can also use a lead scoring system to:

Identify and target leads that need nurturing — Lower scoring leads may need additional nurturing to increase their interest and engagement. With our marketing automation, you can segment your leads with a range of scores and drop them into nurturing campaigns built specifically to develop them into sales-ready leads.

Test assumptions about your target market and sales process — How well do you understand the characteristics of your customers and the pattern of behavior that leads to a purchase? You can think of your lead scoring as a predictive model and continue to refine and improve it over time. If it’s accurate, you can use the leads in your pipeline to forecast your revenue.

Identify your “raving fans” and “net promoters” — Lead scoring tools can be used to track the engagement of your customers over time, so you identify extremely satisfied, highly-engaged fans of your alarm company. These customers are often ready to recommend you when the opportunity presents itself, and you can encourage that with automated campaigns. These champions of your company deserve a little special treatment.

Standardize how leads are discussed and evaluated — By giving marketing and sales a common language for discussing the quality and quantity of leads, they’ll naturally align themselves. Marketing will have a numerical value of how important each lead factor is, and they can alter their inbound marketing to target specific factors to generate more leads that match specific criteria.

Further refine your marketing messages — You may find that your best leads respond to slightly different marketing. By segmenting those contacts that are the best match for your business, you can test different approaches that might not work for less interested leads. You may be able to contact these leads more often or be more aggressive with your calls to action.

Ignite RMR now supports lead scoring on our Dealer Marketing Premium plan. Lead scoring solves an important problem… it keeps your security sales team focused on only your best opportunities, so they aren’t wasting time on dead end leads. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation.

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How To Add A New Google Plus Page For Your Security Business

For most alarm companies, setting up and managing an online presence can be a little complicated and intimidating. In the case of Google, which is constantly making changes to it’s online properties and reconfiguring the rules it may seem easier to just ignore this online giant and be content with your Facebook page (much easier to set up and understand).

But of course that would be a big missed opportunity for your security business – especially of you have one or more physical locations.

Here’s where to start…

The Google My Business dashboard is the platform you will use to “manage how your business information appears across Google, including Search and Maps” as well as to interact with customers on Google + and through Google reviews.

This means that you can go through Google My Business to create and manage Google+ local business pages, Google+ brand pages, and Google search listings.

This new platform is more geared toward businesses with one or more physical location, for which local search traffic is important.

Whether you own a small security business without an office or are a multi-location regional integrator, you can use location pages OR brand pages with service areas to promote your business.

About Google My Business

I’m going to have to say “Google My Business” 1,000 times today, so let’s just call it “GMB” and save my keyboard the stress.

Whatever you call it, it has 3 goals:

  • To manage your business information as it appears on Google properties
  • To help you interact with customers on Google+ and reviews
  • To help you understand and expand your presence through insights and metrics

Because GMB provides the information for your local search listings, they have tried to make it as easy as possible for you to add and update information.

Through the dashboard, you can edit things like your hours and upload images to be displayed on your search listing (though they won’t be the only ones that appear there, so be sure to click through them periodically).

In addition to managing search profile information, the GMB dashboard also allows you to view insights and analytics, manage reviews, and access all of your business apps (e.g. email).

It’s also connected to your YouTube and Google+ accounts, so you can share updates to Google+ right from your dashboard or start a hangout.

People who rely on mobile devices to manage their businesses will be glad to hear that there is a GMB mobile app. Even if you’re not that reliant on your phone, you may still want to respond to reviews in real time or post about what you’re up to on Google+.

Setting Up Google My Business

for New and Existing Google Accounts

Before we get started, a few important notes: If you own a business with multiple locations, you’ll need to create a separate Google My Business account for each location (because of the local search information associated with the account), and each will get automatically get its own Google+ page. If you already have multiple Google+ pages associated with these locations, use the Google account (i.e. email address) associated with each Google+ page to set up the GMB account for that location.

Fair warning: I’m about to say “with the same account” a bunch of times. Heed my warning and sort out which Google accounts are associated with which business listings (and check on whether you already have Google+ pages for your locations, including unverified ones) before you get started.

Decide which Google account/email address you want to be the primary one for your business, and transfer ownership of any Google properties held under other accounts to your primary account. Then, set up your GMB account under the primary Google account for your business.

Step 1

google-my-business-1

Go to google.com/business and click “Start Now.” Enter the Google account you use to manage that business or that location of your business.

If you don’t yet have a Google account associated with your business, click “Create Account” below the login box and follow the instructions.

If you have a private account associated with the business but want to make sure multiple people have access, don’t create a new account—you can always add and remove page managers later. Just choose someone who will be actively using the account as the “owner” of the page.

Step 2

Search for your business by name and address using the box in the top left-hand corner, and select the correct listing for your business or location.

gmb_searchlistings

If your business isn’t listed, make sure you entered the correct information for the location associated with the email address you used, and check variations of the street address and phone numbers that reach the business directly.

If you still can’t find your business, select “Add your business” or and you’ll be asked to enter more information.

If you’re setting up a new business listing and your company has a service area rather than a fixed location, be sure to check “Yes” under “I deliver goods and services to my customers at their location” and follow the instructions.

To add a service area to an existing business listing, follow these instructions from the Google support team.

Step 3

Verify your business. You can do this by postcard, by phone, instantly, or through bulk verification if your businesses has 10+ locations.

If you have already verified your business’s website through Google Search Console, you may be instantly verified. Just make sure you use the same account you used to verify your site with Search Console. FYI, this verification option may not be available for some business categories.

Setting Up a Google+ Business Page

The instructions below cover people who are setting up Google+ Business Pages through other means as well as through Google My Business.

There are 2 kinds of Google+ pages: local business pages and brand pages. Brand pages don’t include the address, hours, or other information that appears on Google Maps. They’re more focused on engagement with customers, fans, and followers, Lots of businesses and brands don’t primarily operate through a fixed physical location, making brand pages a better fit for them.

If you don’t yet have a Google+ page associated with the account you used in the setup process, Google My Business will automatically create one for you. So thoughtful! BUT see my warning above about duplicate Google+ pages.

If you want to make sure you haven’t already set up a business page, or if you want to see all of your Google+ pages, you can navigate to the Create a Page screen by logging into your Gmail account, selecting the 3×3 block icon in the upper right, then selecting the Google+ icon.

apps_box-v02

Then, at the upper left of your personal Google Plus homepage, click on the “Home” drop-down menu and select “Pages.”

From there, you will be able to see all of the pages attached to your account. If you want to create a new one,  select “Get Your Page.” Once you reach the Create page, you’ll see three options: Storefront, Service Area, or Brand. Select the kind of business page you want to start.

You may also see this prompt while you’re going through the GMB setup process. Here’s what it looks like:

choose-business-type-693x405

Storefront and Service Area are both types of local business pages, while Brand refers to the aforementioned Brand Page. If you’re a brand, you’ll be asked to pick the page name and enter your website address; if you pick one of the other two options, you’ll be taken to the map search page, where you’re asked to type in the name of your business (unless you’ve already done so as a part of the GMB setup process).

If Google can find your business’s location on the map, select it. If not, go to the option that says “Add your business.” Be sure to check the map carefully, including any old addresses or address variations, before adding your business. Once you click create, you may be asked to verify the page via text or phone call.

Next, add your information to the new page. There are lots of ways to optimize your Google+ profile, and there’s a blue progress bar on your new page to help guide you through it. You’ll need a profile picture, a cover photo, a tagline and a keyword-rich introduction. You’ll also need to include the best contact information, and links to your website and social media platforms.

Keep in mind that any Google properties may influence your organic search results, so you’ll want to take every opportunity to optimize your Google+ business page.

After you’ve filled in the basic fields, you may see a prompt at the top of the page that you’re eligible for a custom URL. If so, be sure to take advantage of it! Otherwise, the URL of your Google+ business page will be a string of random numbers.

According to Google, businesses that add photos to their listings receive 42% more requests for driving directions on Google Maps and 35% more clicks through to their websites than businesses that don’t.

The final step to making your page complete: Start sharing content, engaging with other people, joining groups, and connecting with friends and colleagues.

If setting up a Google + page for your security business still seems a little overwhelming and time consuming, contact the experts at Ignite RMR. We’d be happy to provide a complimentary 15 minute consultation to help you with the set up process of Google Plus for Business.

 

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The Security Dealer’s Guide To The Buyer’s Journey

There are two powerful things that security dealers need to know about their strongest potential customer base. Your potential customers for security systems are event driven. So at this very moment most of them are completely oblivious of their security needs. Secondly, those potential customers do not know your name (yet).

If those customers do not know their need and do not know to search for you, how will they find you and be converted? That is a serious question.

The buyer’s journey has changed, and unless your marketing strategy adapts to meet the potential customer where they are at this very moment in the journey using a strong and consistent inbound marketing strategy, they will remain only potential customers.

Understanding the buyer’s journey is a marketing imperative, and Ignite wants to give you the upper hand with this insider’s guide to the buyer’s journey.

Understanding The Stages Buyer’s Journey

Awareness

The point at which the buyer becomes aware that they have a problem that needs solving. The buyer engages content editorial and educational content such as blogs, eBooks, eGuides, and research reports to gain information.

Consideration

The buyer has a clearly defined idea of the problem, and is committed to researching the need and discovering all of the options in solving that problem. At this point, the buyer turns to comparison papers and expert guides to research and compare product offerings.

Decision­

Once the buyer has defined their problem and a method to solve the problem, the buyer researches documentation, data, and endorsements to support their decision. During this phase the buyer engages vendor and product comparisons, case studies, and product literature to push them to the final decision.

Today consumers do most of their own research and that research is done online. This makes your content offerings critical in helping the buyer through the journey and ultimately to conversion. Consider these statistics about how consumers engage content to support the decision making process:

  • Consumers are 5x more dependent on content in the buying process than they were just five years ago. (Nielsen)
  • 70% to 90% of the buyer journey is complete before ever engaging a vendor. (Forrester)
  • Consumers engage 11.4 forms of content before making a final decision. (Forrester)

Your content is not just important in the buyer journey; it’s critical. For help in developing a custom marketing plan around your buyers journey, contact Ignite RMR today: (877) 655-3779.

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Why Call Tracking Matters To Your Security Business

For security dealers, the marketing tools available today are much more diverse and complex than they were years ago. Most businesses will leverage a variety of different marketing methods in order to generate leads and conversions. But how do you know which of these marketing platforms are most effective? Which options give you the most return on your investment?

Many dealers utilizing web marketing strategies are already using the numerous analytics tools available in order to track the performance of their website. While these analytics can give you a great deal of detailed, actionable data, they can’t paint the entire picture of how successful your marketing efforts are. In fact, since they don’t evaluate phone leads from your website, these analytics tools can’t even provide you with the total number of leads being generated by your website.

If you aren’t using call tracking, you’re missing out on a wealth of data that can significantly improve your marketing efforts. By using call tracking metrics, you can compile important data about the phone leads you receive from the various marketing platforms utilized as part of your campaign. This will help you optimize your marketing channels so that you get the best possible return on your marketing dollars.

What Marketing Channels Are Ideally Suited For Call Tracking?

You can use call tracking to compile important data on the phone leads you receive from just about every aspect of your marketing campaign:

  • Pay per click (PPC) campaigns
  • Print marketing
  • Web marketing
  • Television marketing
  • Billboard marketing
  • Direct mail marketing
  • Email marketing

Ideally, you’ll want to use a different call tracking number for each different marketing platform so that you can more accurately track the performance of each.

What Can Call Tracking Metrics Tell Me?

Call tracking metrics provide you with much more information than just how many calls come from each of the marketing platforms in your campaign. These metrics give you the type of detailed data that can help you streamline your marketing efforts and maximize your ROI.

For example, if your business places a heavy emphasis on email marketing to generate leads, call tracking metrics can help you determine which landing pages generate the most calls and which ones need to be improved. If you’re not leveraging this type of data, you will never truly know how to refine your marketing efforts to maximize your success.

What Call Tracking Metrics Should I Pay Attention To?

The following call tracking metrics will help you get the most out of your marketing efforts:

Number of calls

At its most basic level, call tracking records the number of calls you receive, eliminating the need for you to manually track this data yourself. You can receive detailed reports regarding call patterns, allowing you to gather a more accurate understanding of your ROI.

Call duration

Not all calls are equally valuable. Some calls are likely to yield better leads than others. In general, the longer the call, the more likely it is to turn into a quality lead. After all, why would a prospect waste a lot of time talking to your team if they weren’t interested in your product or service? Call tracking metrics provide you with the length of each call, allowing you to determine which campaigns, keywords, PPC landing pages, and ads generate longer, more meaningful conversations (and most likely the best potential leads).

Conversions

Most importantly, call tracking metrics can help you track conversions for each marketing platform in your campaign. Not all calls convert to customers right away. Sometimes, it may take weeks or even months between the initial call and when that prospect becomes a customer. Call tracking allows you to trace new customers back to their original call, giving you a more accurate assessment of which platforms in your campaign achieve the most conversions. This data can also give you a better understanding of your sales cycle.

Cost per lead

How much are you spending to generate each lead? If you’re spending $1,000 a week on your PPC campaign and you generate 100 leads, then you are spending $10 per lead. If your direct mail campaign has a $500 weekly budget and it generates 100 leads, then you are spending $5 per lead. This is important information to have when deciding how to allocate your marketing resources.

Using Call Tracking Metrics to Identify Performance Issues

Wouldn’t it be great to know which members of your sales team are most effective at converting leads into customers? Call tracking metrics can tell you what percentage of leads each member of your team actually converts into sales. This data is extremely valuable and can help you:

  • Determine which team members to send the most calls to
  • Determine the training needs of your sales team
  • Evaluate the performance of team members with regard to raises, promotions, and dismissals

Ignite RMR offers phone lead tracking with every Digital Marketing Package. Since roughly 60% of new leads will pick up the phone and call rather than fill out a web form, we think that call tacking is critical to maximize the success of any digital marketing campaign. Email us today to scheule a free demo or call (877) 655-3779.

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Caring Not Scaring: How Security Dealers Should Write Sales Copy

You have choices to make when you open a security company. An important one is how you want to present your services to potential customers. Some think it’s appropriate to use scare tactics to talk people into upping their security efforts. They may even rationalize it with the perspective of, “it’s for their own good.”

In reality, if you use fear to get people to buy your services, you are doing your company and your customers a disservice. While they may pay you money, they will always be uncomfortable with your company.

In addition, they will see their security system as a defensive measure against the world, rather than what it really is; a caring step that provides a modern way of protecting their families from potential trouble.

Tip #1: Tell A Good Story

So when you write copy for advertisements, brochures, articles and blogs, focus on caring rather than scaring. Instead of telling a tale of a family’s home broken into and everything taken, talk about the burglar who was caught red-handed because the silent alarm brought the police while the thief was taking down the flat-screen television – and his statement that he was taking it away for repair didn’t hold water when the wife’s jewelry was found in his pocket.

Tip#2: Relate To Your Audience

You can also write about the extra secure feeling parents can have when their children are home alone after school – and that children are less uncomfortable when alone in the home if they know a security system is on and help is only a panic button away. For people who travel a lot, they know their homes are safe by a quick check on the Internet or a smart phone. When you sell people on caring enough for their families or homes to add an additional layer of safety, you become a source of support rather than someone carrying tales of modern-day bogey men.

Tip #3: Positive Selling

When thinking in terms of copy writing, also include your sales pitches in that category. Use training to ensure that your sales team doesn’t scare people into becoming your customers. You may get some business that way, but it may cost you in referrals later. If the message is upsetting, the messengers will not be looked on positively. Whether consciously or unconsciously a bearer of bad news is never popular and referrals are based on liking your people as much as they like your service.

As a matter of fact, you could even state truthfully that you hope they never need your services – and that you would be glad if those signs showing that they are protected against unlawful entry are enough to discourage any burglars that were considering their home as a target. You can say that if five or ten years from now your customers wonder why they bought a system because of their total lack of trouble, then you and your company have done your job well. After all, your first goal is to prove as a deterrent, and then as a final line of defense against a break-in.

At Ignite RMR, we have experienced brand journalists who write sales copy for security dealers every day. Contact us for help with your next sales flyer or website landing page.

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Why Press Releases Are Important for Alarm Companies

Press releases have always been one of the most powerful but highly undervalued tools in the marketing tool kit. However, a recent change in Google’s algorithm has just given them even more value, and the results can be profound.

Now, Google includes news releases among the authorized sources used to gather its “In the News” search results. Previously, only links to stories on approved sites such as newspapers and television stations appeared in this section. This will allow companies’ own statements to appear ahead of searches.

The goal, according to Google, is to get people the right answer as quickly as possible, whether the information comes from a large recognized publisher or smaller niche publisher.

This means that even a small business can earn top ranking in searches focusing on specific topics with well-optimized press releases, receiving the same powerful exposure that drives traffic.

While the press releases has always been a very powerful tool when optimized and released online, the new algorithm gives them renewed prominence, and a direct pathway to consumers.  Press Releases are not just for the big guys any more. They are for any business with a story and authoritative information to share.

Why Should Security Dealers Consider Regular Press Release Distribution?

One of the most effective business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing tools for large companies has always been the press release, but its power has largely been dismissed by medium and small companies that believe their press releases would be overshadowed by those of major corporations.  Now, the value is universal and should not be dismissed.

  • Being included “In the News” lends credibility to your company
  • Press releases establish you as a leader in the industry
  • Customers respond positively to companies whose links and information is found offsite
  • A well-optimized release boosts your SEO
  • Helps establish your brand
  • Regular press releases help consumers see you as a reputable and authoritative source
  • Places you ahead of companies unaware of Goggle’s change

Strategy is everything in marketing. For help in developing a digital marketing plan that will place you ahead of the pack, contact Ignite RMR today: (877) 655-3779.

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