Simon Middleton, AIM Area Manager in the East of England discusses speech dialler versus key-holder alarm monitoring.
More often than not, when alarm companies offer alarm signalling options to new clients, most will start by offering speech diallers, before moving on to other options. When asked why speech diallers are fitted, most claim that it is all customers are willing to pay for. It is the cheaper option, and customers do not want the police to respond.
While speech diallers do perform a valid role, once fitted they are a ‘dead end sale’ to the alarm company, and customers have many other options available to them. Although the alarm company can add a small amount to the customer’s maintenance fee to test the speech dialler, it is extremely difficult to up-sell to other forms of monitoring once the customer has chosen this option.
‘Key-holder only’ monitoring however, is a better option both for installers, and customers. It employs a Digital Communicator (Digi), which in most cases is built into the alarm panel as standard. The customer saves on paying for the speech dialler and, more importantly, the alarms are dealt with by a person who can make informed decisions, rather than a machine which can only follow pre-programmed tasks. The automated diallers need to have up-to-date information such as landline and mobile numbers to have the maximum benefit to the customer.
If customers are concerned about on-going costs, they should consider the personalised service that comes with central station Digital Communicator monitoring. Yes it does cost a bit more, but customers should consider that they will be dealing with a person and not a machine. Is also means that once the relationship develops, the provider will be able to advise more in depth on what services and solutions could be of use to the customer.
Avoiding the dead end sale means developing an ongoing relationship with clients. It creates opportunities to discover more about the client’s needs and to provide a personalised service each time. This is only made possible by encouraging customers into a two-way communication; one of the ways to do this is through key-holder alarm systems.
