5 Marketing Mistakes That Are Costing You Money, & How to Fix It

There’s no avoiding the reality that you must have a modern website and marketing plan to succeed as a security company – so if you have one, why are you still failing to get customers online? Here are the top 5 reasons you may be losing money with your website and marketing, and how to fix it. 

1. Your website is seriously is outdated

 

Time sure flies, doesn’t it? Maybe it looked great when it was first launched, but now the website looks like something from the early days of the Internet: weird graphics, generic and irrelevant photos, colors that just don’t make sense. You can offer a great service at an amazing price, but no one will care about it if they are turned off by your unsightly web design, or they can’t read it clearly on their mobile devices. 

Pro tip: Hire a web design firm that specializes in the security industry to do a redesign of your website; it can make a huge difference in the way potential customers perceive you.

– Us

 

2. You’re not incorporating, or haven’t updated your SEO strategy

 

 

Search engine optimization is more important than ever when it comes to making your website visible. If it’s been a long time since you adjusted your SEO strategy, now is the time to revisit it. For example, Google now differentiates between search and intent. When someone enters a query, Google can now tell when the user is searching for a service provider versus a job. By segmenting queries you want to rank for and competing for the terms your competitors are using, you can make a big difference in your SEO. 

The first step to SEO success does not involve your computer at all. It actually starts with your customers, and how THEY think about security systems and alarm services in YOUR service area.

And guess what, the SEO keywords you think are obvious choices may not be. You know the security business too well, and you may be tempted to use industry jargon over words that an average potential client would use. Think like a potential searcher for a security solution with real needs and you’ll see SEO differently.

You may be tempted to use industry jargon over words that an average potential client would use to look for you like “commercial security” vs. “business security”, which on a national level gets 45% more searches. Or, “alarm company in (city name)” vs. “security company in (city name)”. “Security Company” typically generates results for guard, patrol and private security rather than an alarm company.

 

Also, don’t think of keywords as individual words. Think about how you approach a search. Suppose you’re going out to dinner in Boston and want to find the right restaurant. Do you type in “restaurant” and sort through the hundreds of thousands of responses? No, you might type in “restaurants in Boston” or “pizza places near me” There will still be lots of choices, but you’ve eliminated all of the chains and restaurants not within driving distance. Your potential clients approach a search the same way.

Trends change, but one thing remains true: Simple digital marketing strategies still work. Begin incorporating these now, and you can see major improvements in your digital marketing ROI throughout the year. 

 

3. No system for gathering reviews

 

Like anything in business, positive customer reviews aren’t going to come to you automatically; many times, you have to pursue them or even ask for them. It is a much better idea to proactively seek out positive customer reviews, rather than hoping for any customer reviews at all. According to leading online review authorities, waiting for reviews is more likely to result in a high volume of negative reviews coming your way, rather than positive.

And although positive reviews continue to have the greatest impact on purchase decisions, negative reviews are becoming more important. Naturally, this translates into a dip in sales and a damaged reputation. In fact, a Cone Communications survey found that the impact of negative online reviews jumps by a full 12% with each passing year.

On the flip side, seeking out positive customer reviews is more likely to help a brand’s “silent happy majority” of customers leave a positive review online. When you seek out reviews from happy customers, they create a domino effect that encourages others to chime in as well. When this happens, your star-based review score can increase by a full one to two points. Ideally, you could watch your star jump from a three to a five in a matter of days.

 

4. No lead nurturing system

 

Once a potential customer contacts your company, do they get an automated email reply? These are easy to set up with most website platforms. It can be as simple as a text email with a “Thank You” message. What about automated continual follow up? The fortune is in the follow up.

While lead generation helps you create new leads, lead nurturing helps you get more customers from the database you already have. Companies that are good at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales leads at 33% lower cost per lead (source: Marketo). 

Lead nurturing is the process of moving marketing leads through the funnel until they become qualified sales leads. That process is made up of steps that maintain and increase the interest a lead has in your product or service. When the prospect is interested enough in your offer to be receptive to a call from your sales team, that’s the apex of lead nurturing. Here’s what else you need to practice along the way. 

What if your salesperson cannot contact your new lead right away? What if after the first sales call, your sales team gets busy and the lead falls through the cracks? What if the lead is just in the information gathering stage? All of these issues can be easily solved with an automated series of emails that connect with your lead after the initial contact. The content of the emails should be helpful information about your services, to help educate and persuade. The content should also be relevant. You wouldn’t want to send commercial content to a residential lead, right?

Strategic and automated follow up is simple but time consuming and you need the right tools to do it. Your competitors are doing it, and if you’re not then you’re website is failing.

5. No calls to action or lead magnets

 

What is a lead magnet? It’s a simple piece of content that provides enough value to your visitors that they’d be willing to exchange their email address to receive it. Studies show that most people value their email address at around $7 to $11. That means that the free content you are offering must be something that people would pay up to $11 for.

They get great information that they can use instantly, and you get your visitors email address, which gets added to an email list for automated follow up and tracking (see above reference to automated follow up).

What kind of content should you provide? For a security company, it could be as simple as a free playbook on a particular piece of security technology. For alarm companies, a simple checklist for finding the right provider, and questions to ask potential alarm companies in their buying journey.

Again, the objective is to get the email address so that you can follow up with more helpful content, add value, and stay top of mind.

During the 2020 pandemic and business shut down, security companies that had invested time into collecting email addresses were able to pivot their messaging and had higher retention rates because they stayed in touch with their customers. Those companies that did not have an email database struggled, and lost business.

How are you doing with your website and marketing plan?

 

Now that we’ve taken a look at some of the fundamentals of a good marketing plan, how would you rate your current program? Take the time to carefully analyze your website and marketing, and determine whether any of the points mentioned in this article and free report apply. Pass this report onto your marketing company or person and get their input and then map out a 6-12 month strategy to put these tactics into place.

If your website and marketing needs some tweaking, or even a complete overhaul, we’re here to help. Hiring a professional marketing agency that specializes in the security industry can save your company valuable time and money. At the very least, we can help you make better decisions for your website going forward – decisions related to website content, search engine optimization and marketing strategy.

About AlarmBrand

We create websites and media for the electronic security industry that communicate your story, resonate with your audience, and generate revenue. Since 2009, brands that you know and trust have leveraged our digital marketing expertise to grow their businesses, including SDM 100, SDI Fast 50, monitoring centers, technology providers, professional corporations, and security SMB’s across the USA.