CHAPTER
Marketing, Is It An Art Or
A Science?
Contrary to what many business owners and managers think, customers don’t beat down your door because you’ve invented a better mouse trap. It’s up to you, as the creator of this new mouse trap, to get the world to first notice, trust, and like you before they’ll buy your product or service.
Most companies accomplish this through effective (and most of the time, not so effective) marketing of their products and services.
Surprisingly, one of the unspoken secrets of the business world is that many aren’t very happy with the results of the marketing activities that they engage in. I’ve seen many security guard companies who felt that mailing out a brochure or sending out an email blast would be enough to drive hundreds of customers to their doors. The truth is that there is no single silver bullet solution; marketing is more of an art than a science.
Marketing can be the most frustrating yet rewarding undertaking for any manager. You can have GREAT results one week, followed by disastrous results from the same campaign the following week. When your marketing doesn’t work, it could be the result of a myriad of things. For example, is the offer attractive enough? Is it eye catching?
Is it believable? Do your customers even respond to offers? When is the last time you had a prospect call you to take you up on that “Free Security Evaluation”?
Aside from those considerations, when building a marketing campaign to sell security guard service, there are two rules that you should always keep in mind: 1. Never spend a ton of money on a marketing campaign that hasn’t been tested. Until you’ve found a real y successful marketing vehicle, spend a little money on several different techniques until you test out which works best for you and your business.
2. Repetition is essential in any marketing campaign. Studies show that a person must see your product NINE times before they’re truly interested enough to actual y consider buying it. It’s through repetition that you establish your credibility and brand familiarity and become the first thought when a need for your product or service arises.
Grow Your Security Guard
Company One Email At A Time
In the article “A Security Agency Lead Generation Program How-To”, we talked about using a lead generation company to source new leads for your security guard company. As part of that post, I suggested that the agency should have four objectives when contacting your list of potential customers:
1. Confirm that security guards are used on the property.
2. Confirm contact information.
3. Confirm the dates that the contract ends.
4. Determine who the current vendor is.
You may ask “After I have that information, what then?” For starters, how about developing an email marketing campaign for all those valuable email addresses. Although many companies are familiar with and use direct mail, studies have shown that email marketing campaigns are less costly and provide comparable results.
Benefits of Email Marketing for a Security Guard Company
When considering whether or not you should undertake email marketing, there are several benefits that you should recognize.
• Email marketing allows you to maximize your marketing ROI. It can be up to 20x more cost effective than some of the other traditional media sources.
• It helps increase prospect awareness. For just a few pennies, your email can drive traffic to your website and increase brand awareness.
• It improves tracking and feedback. When using email marketing services, such as ConstantContact or Mailchimp, your emails can be tracked so that you can see who clicked which links within your email. That click information can help you determine what the reader is interested in. As a security guard company, your sales and marketing department is probably tasked with dozens of projects and adding email marketing might seem like a stretch. Fortunately, companies like ConstantContact and MailChimp provide an email feature know as an “Autoresponder” that makes email marketing much easier.
Create, Add Email Addresses, Move On
An autoresponder automatical y sends out emails that you design, to a specific set of email addresses, at the times that you decide. For example, let’s say you have 40 different prospects that you would like to send a series of 12 emails to about your company. The autoresponder will send those emails according to the order and times that you specified… without you having to do much work. With autoresponders, you just create the emails, add the prospect’s email addresses, then move on and let the autoresponder do the work.
Autoresponders are a GREAT tool for the sales or marketing department at any security guard company. I’ve been using them for years and they are well worth the money.
How To Market Your Security
Guard Company In 2015 And
Beyond
What’s your biggest challenge as a security guard company? You would be wrong if you said anything other than, “Not enough people know about me.” Marketing your services to potential customers is the lifeblood of your security guard company. You could provide the most responsive service and the best-trained officers in the industry, but if potential customers don’t know about you, then you’re destined to fail. So how exactly do you go about marketing your security guard company?
It’s vital that you recognize that buyers are more informed and empowered than ever. In the past, marketing your security guard company may have consisted of direct mail, telemarketing, and maybe some print advertising. When a buyer wanted to know more about your services, they would call a representative from your company to ask questions. Now, however, prospective customers just go to your website or your company’s LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook page to learn more. Due to the ease of finding information about your security firm, buyers are much less influenced by traditional marketing methods.
Research shows that 93% of all buying decisions start with an online search. This means that if you’re still going the direct mail route to market your security guard company, now is the time to stop. To have the prospects come to you, it’s vital that you establish an online presence much sooner than later.
To stress the importance of being found online, here are a few statistics regarding a website’s click-through traffic based on its position in search results.
• The first position in the search results gets 42.25% of all click-through traffic.
• The second position gets 11.94%, the third gets 8.47%, and the fourth gets 6.05%.
• Results one through ten on page one receive 89.71% of all click-through traffic.
• Results 11 – 20 receive 4.37%.
• The third page receives a total of 2.42 % while the fifth page receives only 1.07%
• Results on pages six and up receive less than 1% of total search traffic clicks.
Does Google Charge To Market Your Security Guard Company?
When a person does an online search, they’re presented with several types of results, the two most important being Paid Results and Organic Results. Paid results are basical y paid advertising. They’re found at the very top or on the side of your search page and will be marked as an “Ad.“ Companies pay search engines like Google to have their websites or webpages displayed in these positions.
On the other hard, Organic Results are the listings of the websites and webpages that search engines believe most closely match the user’s search query based on relevance. The results that search engines shows as part of their organic results are free and CAN’T be purchased. This means that being showcased at the top of the organic results provides a much greater benefit to both the searcher and the listed website.
Although getting onto the first page of organic search results doesn’t cost money, it will take time to learn the strategy behind getting ranked. This strategy is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which is simply the practice of improving and promoting your website in order to increase the number of visitors your site receives from search engines.
Do You Really Need SEO to Market Your Security Guard Company?
The answer is a resounding “YES!” Search engines can help market your company by driving buyers to your website when they’re looking for security guard services. Although social media and other types of traffic can drive buyers to your website, search engines are the primary method of finding information for most internet users. Consider SEO marketing that works for you even when you’re sleeping.
Although SEO can be complex and take time to learn, most people can easily comprehend the basics. They range from what you name your page to the way that other websites link to your website.
I’ve found that even applying a few simple changes here and there can sometimes make a big difference in your search engine ranking.
Does Your Security Guard
Company Website Suck?
I recently had the need to start a new website. I’ve already done this several times in the past, and the process usual y involves finding a web designer and going back and forth for weeks until the site is complete. Based on my experiences and a short timeline, the traditional route wasn’t going to work, so I decided to tackle it myself. Although it started out seeming like a monumental endeavor, it turned out to be a great learning experience, so much so that I wanted to share it for anyone who is looking to start or upgrade their security guard company website.
The project began with me evaluating two options: Wix.com and WordPress.org. The former is a drag and drop website builder that allows you to build a website quickly and easily. However, after doing a little research, there were two things about Wix.com that made it a less-than-optimal choice.
First, there’s not an ability to change your website theme. A website theme allows you to easily change the way your site is displayed, all without modifying the underlying code. Changing your theme is similar to changing the background display of your cell phone or computer; the background changes but nothing else does.
Second, Wix.com scored poorly in search engine optimization (SEO). The ability to optimize your website allows search engines to determine what your website is about. Poor SEO can mean the difference in coming up as the first choice on a Google search for “Security Guard Services” and coming up on the 53rd page of that search. The closer you are to the top of the search results, the more opportunity you have to attract new customers.
Because of those two factors, I decided to use WordPress. It’s one of the most popular website platforms with more than 70 million websites using it. I was also fairly familiar with WordPress as it’s the platform that OfficerReports.com uses for our blog.
WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com
If you research WordPress, you’ll find two versions of this popular software: WordPress.org and WordPress.com. The difference in the two comes down to flexibility. Wordpress.com is easier to use, but it’s also more restrictive and automatical y comes with a WordPress.
com domain (for example officerreports.wordpress.com instead of www.officerreports.com).
WordPress.org, on the other hand, is a little more complex to set up, but the flexibility that you get is worth going through the setup process. With WordPress.org, you download the WordPress software onto your server (aka your hosting company’s server), which provides advanced features and options. Using WordPress in this way is referred to as a self-hosted version of the software.
Finding A Host For Your Security Guard Company Website
If you decide to use WordPress.org, the first thing that you have to do is find a company to host your site. You may already have a hosting company, but if not, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of choices to go with. Before you decide on any particular hosting company, make sure that they meet the minimum requirements. I’ve used several hosting companies over the years including myhosting.com, Bluedomino.com, and GoDaddy.com.
Sidenote: Although I’m sure that GoDaddy works well for some people, I’ve always found it to be too complicated and not very user-friendly. Your mileage may vary.
Based on personal experience, I would recommend Bluedomino. com due to the ease of instal ation and 24/7 customer support if you run into trouble (again…your mileage may vary). On my latest install of the WordPress software, I ran into a problem, but their tech support team had me up and running in about 10 minutes. Did I mention they have great customer service?
Installing the Software
Installing the software is relatively easy. In many instances, you’ll be able to do it with just a few clicks. With Bluedomino.com, those few clicks get you right to the WordPress install screen.
Setting Up Your Security Guard Company Website
Once the software is installed, it’s just a matter of learning your way around the WordPress Admin Panel. As you can see from the image below, there’s no need to know how to write code. By using the dashboard/admin panel, you can easily create pages and posts and format the website to your exact specifications.
Choosing Your Security Guard Company Website Theme
Choosing the theme is the fun part of building the website. The theme you choose will determine the overall color, layout, and flow of your website. There are hundreds – if not thousands – of different WordPress themes to choose from. Pick the one that’s right for your company and you’ll be on your way.
How To Easily Market Your
Security Guard Services
Using Video
In recent years, social media has become all the rage for companies looking to market their businesses online. However, if you’re one of the 60% of businesses that say that you don’t see any ROI from social media, then chances are you’re at the point where you’re interested in trying something different. If that’s the case, have you considered doing a video? Recent research has overwhelmingly supported the use of videos for marketing your security guard services. The following are just a few of the stats:
1. Online videos are viewed by 85% of the U.S. Internet population, and it’s the most consumed content format online.
2. The total number of online videos watched has increased by 800% in the last six years.
3. YouTube, which has 153 mil ion unique viewers, is the #2 search engine in the world.
Creating Videos For Marketing Your Security Guard Services
I’ve been asked quite a few times about how we create our videos for OfficerReports.com, so I’ve decided to supply a quick explanation of our process. Many are surprised by how simple and inexpensive it is.
To begin, all you’ll need is three things:
• Your favorite presentation software (Powerpoint, Prezi, etc.)
• Screen recording software (i.e. ScreenFlow for Mac computers, Camtasia for Windows, etc)
• Your imagination
The first step in the process is creating a presentation that will serve as the content for your video. Make sure to use all the cool slide transitions and animations supplied with your presentation software. Remember, however, that this isn’t a presentation, so keep the slides simple and clean. Here’s an example of a presentation for your reference.
Second, after you’ve designed your presentation, write out a script to go along with it. I’ve found that it’s helpful to mark the transition points on the script to note when I should be advancing through the slides so I don’t have to try to watch the screen as I’m reading the script.
The last step is to record your full screen presentation and your voice-over by using your preferred screen recording software. This step is the most difficult if you’re not already familiar with your software. If this is your first time using screen-recording software, there are hundreds of online tutorials available on YouTube to guide you. I use ScreenFlow and have found the Macintoshtipz YouTube Channel extremely useful.
Adding a music track to your video can provide a real y nice touch. You can find royalty free music sites, such as Incompetech, by doing a quick Internet search, just make sure that each song is royalty free for commercial use.
Here’s a sample video that I created for a fictitious company: https://youtu.be/jTXFVxYNLd8
Although social media is great, marketing your security guard services by using video should be one of the tools that you have in your marketing arsenal.
Want New Customers For Your
Security Company? Start A
Blog!
Chances are, if you have a small or medium-sized security guard company, you’ve considered starting a blog. If that’s true, stop thinking about it and just do it! Although blogging started off in the late 90’s as a way for people to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions, businesses have embraced blogs in a big way. In fact, everyone from Fortune 500 companies to small family-owned businesses have started blogging. The driving force behind it was that companies wanted to acquire new customers, and they knew they could do so by increasing their digital footprints.
There are many ways to find and reach new customers online, including through social media and email. However, even if you’re already doing that, your blog should serve as the foundation for both efforts.
If your business website doesn’t have an active blog or “Learning Center” that’s updated frequently, you’re missing a huge opportunity to increase your brand’s visibility, reach, and authority with prospective customers. For example, let’s take a look at how G4S uses its blog. On the G4S website, you’ll see a section called Security Resources. Although the section isn’t labeled “Blog,” for all intents and purposes, that’s essential y what that section is. As you’ll see, their Security Resources section has an extensive amount of information that the company’s potential customers could benefit from reading. It’s this ability to create and distribute informative content that helps companies with blogs – such as G4S – establish themselves as authorities with their prospective clients.
In addition to increasing your company’s authority, there are three primary reasons that any company should start blogging.
First, blogging helps build trust with potential clients. It’s been my experience that many security guard service clients have had bad experiences with security guard companies in the past. If they didn’t personal y, then they probably know someone who has. As a result, many will harbor some level of distrust for security guard contractors. Research shows that a blog with truthful and helpful content can help bridge the gap between trust and distrust. That’s because blogs allow potential customers to connect and get to know you and your organization on a more personal level.
Second, having a blog will help drive traffic to your website. Most security guard company websites don’t have many pages and aren’t updated very often … if ever. Unfortunately, a small number of pages and a lack of updates result in very few potential customers finding their websites. Blogging helps solve both of those problems. Each time you post an article, it’s one more page that Google and other search engines will find, index, and display to searchers. The more often that your website is displayed to searchers, the more often people will visit your website and find out about your company.
Additional y, Google also tends to reward active websites with a higher ranking in their search results as compared to less active sites.
Lastly, blogging drives more awareness of your company than cold-calling can. If you and/or your sales team use cold calling as a marketing technique, how many leads can you generate in 1 hour?
Maybe 1 or 2? Well consider sitting down for an hour to publish a real y good blog post. On the first day the article is published, your current followers and network might generate 50 views and 4 leads. On the second day, you might get 25 views and 2 leads. After a couple of days, the post is less interesting to your immediate network and interest dies, but you’ve generated 6 leads with 1 hour of work.
That’s great, however, the lead generation doesn’t stop there. Once your blog is ranked in the search engines, it can continue to generate leads for days, months, or even years as searchers continue to come across it. All that for just 1 hour of work.
Blogging is an opportunity you can’t afford to pass on
Blogging should be one of the most used tools in a security guard company’s sales and marketing toolbox. With minimal effort and time, you can build your company’s authority, give more people a way to find you, and even foster relationships with potential customers.
Blogging is an opportunity you can’t pass on if you real y want new customers for your security company.
Now That You Have A Blog,
What Should You Blog About?
I often talk to security guard vendors about the benefits of blogging, especial y as it pertains to brand building. During part of those conversations, I often hear people say, “I wouldn’t know how to write a good blog.” or “What would I possibly write about?” I’m writing this blog as a response to those questions and as a follow-up to my previous article “Want New Customers For Your Security Company?
Start A Blog!.”
If you’re a security guard vendor and you want to know how to write a good blog post, there are 4 basic principles that you should follow to help structure your content.
1. Be extremely useful
2. Write great headlines
3. Make the post scannable
4. Write in a plain, concise, common-sense style
An explanation of each of these principles can be found in the article “The 4 Pil ars of Writing Exceptional Blogs.” (If you would like to read the article you can Google it). In addition to making sure that your blog is grammatical y correct, following these principles will get you 90% of the way to your goal of writing a good post. Now that we’ve cleared that hurdle, it still leaves us with the question of what to write about.
I tend to either write about personal experiences, things that I’ve seen, or topics that I believe will benefit my readers. I also like to write about other people’s experiences that I think could be helpful.
As an early example of what that looks like, I’ve included a link to one of my very first blogs below.
I wrote the blog based on a conversation that I had back when I was selling security guard services. During that conversation, my customer quoted some facts that I thought were pretty incredible. I also believed that the process he outlined during our conversation would be extremely useful to my other customers who were facing similar issues. With that said, you can find the original blog at: http://www.officerreports.com/blog/youre-security-guard -vendor-blog/