Subscriber Discussion

What's The Best Way To Educate And Raise Awareness Of Dealers / Integrators / Installers Nationwide?

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Dori Ribak
Apr 12, 2017
RBtec Perimeter Security Systems

We are a manufacturer of perimeter intrusion detection systems (PIDS) that has been selling with major distributors for few years already.

One of our products is a cost effective standalone fence alarm system that needs no certification or training to install and connects to any alarm system so it's a great replacement to beams or cameras for perimeter security of commercial and industrial applications.

Our challenge as a company with limited marketing budget is where to put the money most efficiently. In the past the way to spread the word out in the industry was magazines, website and trade shows but it seems we don't get to major part of the market who might have a use for this solution and i'm struggling to think what is the best way other than to knock on doors and do cold calls to raise awareness.

The best results we see from the website and trade shows but those are people who pro actively looking for the solution while those who still think those technologies are "government pricing" or complicated don't really look for it.

Please share with me how do you guys usually hear about new products or what sources do you get your knowledge from.

Thank you for the assistance! and if this is not the place for asking it please let me know.

Dori

UE
Undisclosed End User #1
Apr 12, 2017

I'd like to see your cost effective standalone fence alarm system tested by IPVM. I'm sure many here would like to see the results and it would increase your product exposure.  

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JH
John Honovich
Apr 12, 2017
IPVM

Dori, thanks for asking! Definitely a good topic for IPVM, especially because we can provide feedback on what we see works / gets responds from integrators and dealers.

1. Focus the marketing on overcoming the known objection.

For example, you say:

those who still think those technologies are "government pricing" or complicated don't really look for it.

I would center my messaging around that - because I agree when I look at your website, I think 'expensive' and 'hard'. If you really have some advance, I would center around that - "The groundbreaking simple / cost-effective way to...."

Also, if there is some more commonly used substitute, like video analytics, I would message against that - "The more accurate and reliable alternative to video analytics"

In terms of where to market, I'd look at LinkedIn, see our report. I'd definitely do retargeting to make sure the people who do visit your website don't forget about you, and not sure about a third.

As for us testing, we want to be confident that there is a high likelihood that the offering makes sense to integrators. There's little point for us to spend time on a test on a product most don't know just to say, "Hey this product you never heard of it, it's too {expensive|unreliable|hard to use}, etc.}"

Happy to give more feedback. Thanks for asking.

 

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Dori Ribak
Apr 13, 2017
RBtec Perimeter Security Systems

Hi John,

Thank you for detailed answer!

As for your suggestions, i think you're right but the challenge is that we have systems that are entry level, sold with distribution on one hand but on the other government level products.
what i'm trying to promote is the entry level system for integrators in the commercial industry. When you enter the general website you might be right but not the IRONCLAD page which is the specific product.

Arguing against video analytics i think it's a great idea! didn't think about it that way.

I do a lot of effort on LinkedIn and i do agree with the article it's a great platform, is there any specific way you think you were able attract more followers to the company page?

I would be happy to provide a testing system for you to test and play with to decide whether it's worth it, but i promise you will be surprised as this is the easiest fence system you ever saw!

In my mind right now a lot of dealers stay away from those system as i said because they think they are "expensive, complicated and false alarm" once people will see you testing and the fact which are: $3-4/ft on average for a system, plug and play (no training or certification needed) and works very well since it self calibrates and standalone there could be a change of mind.

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David Morgan
Apr 13, 2017
Security Dealer Marketing

Hi Dori,

I agree with the End User #1 and John's comments. I'm especially glad that John brought up his LinkedIn report as well. I was going to reference it but he beat me to the punch. 

I'll share some thoughts on a plan for some outside the box channels which will get you results without breaking the bank. One thing to keep in mind is there isn't a magic bullet in marketing.  Marketing is about have a carefully thought out, strategic plan and properly implementing it.

Keep in mind that you want to position yourself as the leader in perimeter security solutions bringing awareness to Integrators, end users, distributors and dealers. One of the ways to do this is to push out content that positions your group as the subject matter expert. This can be done via:

  • Content articles distributed on your blog, e-newsletter and social platforms
  • Webinars
  • Case Studies / Whitepapers
  • Live events - ie trade shows, etc.

John had brought up 2 channels, LinkedIn and Remarketing.  I completely agree with those 2 channels.  Keep in mind there are many Remarketing platforms. Based on our experience we would recommend Google and Facebook as the channels (yes, I did say Facebook). For LinkedIn you'll want to post consistently in your company feed and to maximize your reach make sure you and your team like, comment and/or share to increase the impressions and engagement.  In addition, there are advertising opportunities which John's article shares some more details on.  I encourage you to read it.

E-Blasts / E-Newsletters - I'll presume you are already doing this but if not be sure to get started on this ASAP. Needless to say all of us reading this post all get too many emails daily but it still works and is one of the most effective forms of advertising today. 

One last channel I'll focus on is Facebook. I just spoke about this last Tuesday at ISC West and received great feedback from my talk. A common misconception is that Facebook is just for B2C or residential end users. That is not the case and Facebook has kicked LinkedIn's butt from the advertising targeting options perspective.  You are able to target just about anyone on Facebook including C level executives. Best yet, you can spend as little as $10-$20 on a single campaign for testing. Heck, you can even generate a lead on Facebook without the user having to click through to your Website. Additionally, you can upload your database of prospects/customers and the contacts that are associated with a Facebook profile can be a custom audience that can be marketed to. We see results with concurrent awareness and direct response campaigns running concurrently.

On a side note I've been told by LinkedIn corporate that there will be some new advertising products to better compete with Facebook later this year.

The list goes on but I believe this should be a good start  ;)

Hope this helps! 

Cheers,

David

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JH
John Honovich
Apr 13, 2017
IPVM

David, thanks for the input, very helpful!

Expanding on David's point on a newsletter, which I agree with, I could not find a way to sign up for your (Dori's) newsletter on your website. I'd advise you to make that easier / more proactive since you can better stay in touch with people who may not be ready to buy your offering until 3, 6, 9 months in the future, etc. Dori, what type of email newsletter do you do?

David, as for Facebook:

That is not the case and Facebook has kicked LinkedIn's butt from the advertising targeting options perspective

How so? LinkedIn knows the current employment and title of almost everyone. Facebook does not know this much or most of the time. Am I missing something?

To me, the big benefit of LinkedIn is filtering advertisements based on companies, titles, roles, industries, etc. which I have never been able to achieve with Facebook. Thoughts?

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David Morgan
Apr 13, 2017
Security Dealer Marketing

Hi John,

You are welcome.  Regarding Facebook, I do agree with your point on current employment, titles, etc. however Facebook makes it much easier.  For example, with LinkedIn there are many minimum requirements that in some cases are hard to achieve. More specifically, you are still required to have a minimum of 1,000 users in order to target an ad campaign.  For Dori, that may not be as big of an issue however for Integrators and dealers that have a local radius it is many times very challenging to reach that threshold. 

Please don't get me wrong, we are big believers in LinkedIn, however Facebook's ad platform makes it easier to do testing without having to spend big dollars and with more of a finite audience. My thoughts weren't disputed when I had recent discussions with 3 separate high-level individuals at LinkedIn corporate. I will be interviewing one of them for an upcoming Marketing Madmen article.

Best,


David

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Dori Ribak
Apr 13, 2017
RBtec Perimeter Security Systems

Hi David and John,

Thanks for the awesome input!
But is there something i am missing? The crowd i want to reach are security installers/integrators, a lot of these people don't have or use FB/LinkedIn and from my experience many are the generation that did not grow on social media and don't consume it regularly so i might fail to understand how those platforms help reaching these crowds.

I do newsletters and John you are absolutely right that i need to make it easier on my website to register to receive newsletters.

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David Morgan
Apr 13, 2017
Security Dealer Marketing

Hi Dori - So I agree that all dealers/integrators don't use social media however a large percentage of them do....more than you think. You can work with modest budgets on both FB/LinkedIn to your exact audience with measurable results. Also, video has become a huge. If possible be sure to add video to the mix of creative. It will help with your engagement rates.

On a side note LinkedIn just launched some new ad types this month that we will be testing with some clients over the next few days. 

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Dori Ribak
Apr 13, 2017
RBtec Perimeter Security Systems

That's an interesting insight and i might give it a try! Videos are hard for something like fence sensors... it's not as exciting as cameras or video analytics.

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David Morgan
Apr 13, 2017
Security Dealer Marketing

Hi Dori - I agree that our industry isn't as sexy as booth babes...LOL  but keep in marketing you've got to always be testing. There isn't anything wrong with you and/or the appropriate members of your team getting behind the camera and sharing your insights. For that matter, interviewing your dealers, Integrators and user customers wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Are you familiar with Facebook Live? Here's a tip...Send an E-Blast letting your customers / prospects / partners know you'll be holding a Facebook Live event. John had a great idea on sharing "The more accurate and reliable alternative to video analytics". This and/or other topics can be discussed from time to time. 

Best of luck and let me know if I can help to shed any more light on this.

(1)
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Dori Ribak
Apr 16, 2017
RBtec Perimeter Security Systems

I will try some of the tips and will come back with feedback and results! I need to learn this whole system of promoting in LinkedIn and facebook.

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