Six Ways Statistics Can Help Your Company
by Dera DeRoche-Jolet

When Cliff on the TV show, Cheers, rattles off statistics, everybody around the bar rolls their eyes and shakes their heads. But if your central station can provide you with statistical reports, I promise you won't be bored. Instead, you will tap into a rich source of information that can increase your business, improve your service and yield greater profits.

Following are six ways you can put statistics to work for you:

1. Improved Service - Ask your central station to send you a false alarm report that tells you the number of alarms activated, the types of alarms involved, whether the alarms were dispatched upon, factors involved, e.g., user or technician error, weather, or equipment malfunction. Then, contact all of those accounts for which user error was the factor. "Hello, Mrs. Subscriber, I understand that you may be having some trouble with your alarm system. Perhaps I could come check out the problem." Mrs. Subscriber may not want to admit that she hasn't mastered her alarm system yet. Implying that the problem may rest with the equipment is merely a tactic to let her save face.

Keep in mind that customers who are having problems with false alarms assume that the installer knows about the problem. Many do not distinguish between the central station and the dealer. Imagine how happy a customer will be to hear from you especially if the problem is truly not their fault.

2. Upgrades and Referrals - Chances are the above approach will get you back in the door, giving you a chance to upgrade the system. Remember, the best prospects for future sales are those customers you already have. Because of your follow-through and consideration, they will refer you to their friends and will think of you when its time to upgrade or buy a new system.

3. Hiring and Firing - When customer volume increases and results in an increase in service calls, then adding a block of business may mean being shorthanded in the tech department. If too many false alarms are linked to a particular technician, it may be time to look for someone with a more reliable track record.

4. Equipment Problems - Does a particular manufacturer's name show up more often then others when equipment malfunction is cited as the cause for the false alarms? If your community has instituted fines for false alarms, then these manufacturers are eroding your profits. When a manufacturer already knows a problem exists and issues a recall, you can save hours of plowing through customer records by asking your central station for a report on only those clients with that equipment.

5. Service Contracts - Do you have trouble keeping track of service contract anniversaries? Service contracts are a rich source of continuing revenue and are far too valuable to be lost in the paper shuffle. Statistical reports can solve this problem in a nanosecond, making sure that you don't miss any of your expiring contracts and lose the business to a competitor.

6. Administrative Functions - You may not need to hire an assistant or you can free up the one you have for more valuable pursuits. Your central station should be able to provide you with mailing labels for your customers according to virtually any breakdown you specify. False alarms only? Manufacturer name for recall? Renewal anniversaries? All of the above? Coming right up. Need pass-code cards with company names? No need to go to your "branch office" to have them printed. This is a job for your central station.

What if you need statistical information and need it fast? No problem. The turnaround time for most reports is under 8-hours. What if you need it immediately? With your own computer and 24-hour access, you can link into your coded subscriber data base at your central station to print reports whenever it best suits you.

Just don't bore everyone at the bar.