Not All Security Guard Customers Are Good Customers

Have you ever heard the saying “The customer is always right”?  Well the truth is, although they may always be right, they are not always right for you.  I learned many years ago that not all business is good business, especially as it pertained to security guard customers.

In many instances when you are responsible for selling security guard service, you are tempted to pursue customers for one overwhelming reason: Revenue.  In the beginning, most new security guard companies have no choice other than to take on any customer that comes through the door.  But the sooner that security guard companies can transition away from that customer acquisition model, the better off they will be in the long run.  Over the course of more than a decade l also learned that there are some tell-tale signs of which security guard customers are going to be bad customers.  Here are a few of those signs:

  • Customers who are cheap, hard to get along with, or indecisive.  Customers who display any of these traits are guaranteed to be a drain on your resources, both financially and emotionally.
  • Customers who just see your service as a commodity.  If the customer is accepting bids from 20 different companies, more than likely it’s not worth your time developing a proposal.
  • Customers who want you to take on roles and responsibilities that move you in a direction that you don’t really want to pursue.  Example, if you don’t typically offer armed security officers, then it’s probably going to take an inordinate amount of time to develop processes to ensure that you are providing great service.
  •  Customers who don’t have a clearly defined scope of work.  If the responsibilities are not clearly defined upfront, you will undoubtedly find yourself at odds with the customer about what your officers should and should not be doing. Ever heard of the term “Scope Creep“?

In order to avoid bad customers, security guard companies need to determine what good security guard customers are.  In order to make that determination, security companies should analyze their customer retention rates, profitability, brand recognition, and ease of acquisition.  After completing that analysis you will be able to understand what the optimal profile of a good customer is.  This is extremely important because the more time that you spend chasing customers that are sub-optimal, the less time you have to find and acquire good security guard customers.

What are good security guard customers?

Every company feels the pressure to chase certain customers despite having the nagging suspicion that they aren’t going to win the bid.  If you are submitting proposals thinking that “We might get lucky” you are wasting your time.  Instead, if you pursue security guard customers that fit your target profile your win rate will increase dramatically.

As a result, having a process to identify which customers and bids to pursue is crucial.  One of the ways to identify good customers and/or bids is to use a bid decision matrix…and stick to it.  A bid decision matrix will take into account many of the characteristics from your profile of what good security guard customers are.  When developing your bid decision matrix here are some examples of factors that you might consider:

  1. Do you currently work in that area?
  2. Do you currently have the resources to manage the project?
  3. Does the customer already know you?
  4. Have you submitted a bid before?
  5. Do you have an X Factor that differentiates you from the competition?
  6. Are their specs within the job that will price you out of it?
  7. Are you hoping to get lucky?

Below you will find an example of a bid decision matrix that I used in 2012 when the Affordable Care Act was the topic of the day.  Keep in mind that every company’s decision matrix will be different depending on their particular resources and situation.  Any bid decision matrix should be a living document that changes with the circumstances of the company.

security-guard-bid-decision-matrix

Identifying the right security guard customers to pursue is one of the primary factors in determining whether or not your security company will be successful.  The reason being, doing business with the wrong customers will leave you with decreased client retention rates, stretched resources, and thin margins.

Have you ever had a bad customer?  If so how did you handle them?  Under what circumstances would you fire a customer?  We would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave your comments below.

 

 

By Courtney Sparkman

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