Caring Not Scaring: How Alarm Companies 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 scary tale of a family’s home broken into and everything taken, talk about the burglar who was caught red-handed because the alarm brought the police while the thief was taking down the flat-screen TV – 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.

Stuck? Need Help?

Our team has experienced brand journalists who write sales copy for systems integrators and alarm companies every day. Contact us for help with your next sales flyer or website landing page. We promise not to scare your customers….to much 🙂

Happy Halloween from your friends at AlarmBrand!