What Is Your Security Company’s Communication Strategy?

Recently I was involved in a conversation regarding how a security company should communicate with its clients.  The conversation boiled down to the difference between push vs pull strategies for communication.  Ok, so what do I mean by a “push vs pull” strategy?  A great way to think about this is using broadcast media as an example.  With broadcast media whatever is pushed out across the airwaves is what you have to watch.  Or in the business world, email is a classic example of a push communication strategy.  With email, the sender chooses who to push the email to leaving the recipient no choice in whether or not they receive it.  In both examples the sender is firmly in control.

But in the era of digital technology, that model is changing.  In the digital era, pull communication strategies put the recipient in control of the information by allowing them to choose what information that they receive.  A great example of a pull information strategy is the popular social media network Facebook.  On Facebook, you have the choice to dip in and out of your news feed without the risk of missing anything that is vitally important.  The information waits for you to retrieve (pull) it when you are ready.

Should Your Security Company Be Pushing or Pulling

So how does push vs pull communication apply to your security guard company? There are 3 areas where push vs pull strategies are relevant.  The first applies to your security guard reporting technology (If your security company isn’t using daily activity report software read my article on that topic).  The second applies to your marketing and advertising.  The third applies to your company’s internal communications.

Security Company Reporting

First, for those who use digital reporting,  how do your customers really want to receive that information?  It has long been my position that security company customers don’t want to be emailed every report that your security officers generate.   Your clients inboxes are filled daily by dozens, if not hundreds of emails.   Why add to that barrage?  Instead, they should be able to access (pull) that information when and where they desire.

Marketing and Advertising

In the case of marketing and advertising, many businesses are leaning toward a pull marketing strategy in the form of inbound marketing.  Inbound marketing is about creating and sharing valuable information with your prospects and customers via a website.  By creating content that is specifically designed to appeal to your prospects, it keeps them coming back for more and increases your brand’s recognition.  Inbound marketing removes many of the obstacles associated with successful outbound marketing.  With inbound marketing the customers are drawn to you naturally.  With a pull approach, customers who are looking for a security company will find you through either social media or a search engine results page.

Internal Communication

In most companies email is directed from an individual to one or more people by who the sender includes on the “To” and “Cc” lines.  In a large security company this form of communication limits access to your company’s pool of institutional knowledge.  Using a pull strategy in combination with an Enterprise Social Networks (ESN) like Yammer, connects the right people to a project at the right time.  For example, if you are working on a project to increase client retention, trading emails between you and one or two people limits the project to three people.  But by using an ESN you open the conversation to your larger organization with the possibility of gaining deeper insights.

So which strategy is right for you? The answer is that a mix of both is best.  Too much push leads to information overload and a general apathy toward the information, while too little will lead to lack of accountability.  Both push and pull strategies have a role to play in you security company’s communication strategy.

Have you implemented pull communication strategies within your security company? If so, in what ways?  We would love to hear about them.

 By Courtney Sparkman 

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