How do you market a security guard company, or more specifically, how do you win new clients for a security guard company? Many firms put their name and logo on company patrol vehicles and uniforms worn by staff on the job. They’ll have a website and maybe a Google business listing. And while that’s a good start, it’s not marketing – it’s advertising.
Marketing your security company is about:
- Knowing what you’re good at
- Where you stand out
- Effectively communicating the value your service delivers to an identified target audience
- Providing easy avenues for customers to engage with you to grow the business
There is no single “right” way to market your security guard business; there are too many variables to build a one-size-fits-all strategy given different target markets, workforce sizes, areas of expertise, competitors, economic pressures, and of course, budget. You need a plan.
An effective marketing plan for your security company should answer these questions:
- What are your goals?
- Acquire X number of customers or achieve X% sales growth
- What is your marketing mix?
- Local event sponsorships, print publications, search ads, social media, email campaigns, etc.
- What is your budget?
- Include the cost of events, ads, and expenses for in-house staff or a marketing agency
- What is your timing?
- Aligned with local events, or are campaigns running all year or only during specific months
- How are you tracking the results?
- Reporting tools, spreadsheets, or CRM software
Here are 10 tips to help you answer these security marketing questions. Utilize these marketing ideas to improve the marketing strategy of your security guard firm:
1. Understand Your Market
2. Perform a Competitive Analysis
3. Build Your Messaging Strategy
4. Leverage Branding
5. Maximize Your Website
6. Email as a Campaign
7. Advertisements
8. Online Listings
9. Social Media
10. Report, Refine, Repeat
1. Understand Your Market
Who do you provide local security services to? To find the right clients looking for security services, learn what kinds of businesses dominate your market, can use protection, and are a good fit for your services. Adapt your services to those types of companies and zero in on your target audience. Analyze maps and business demographics. A local chamber of commerce is a good place to start.
The responsibilities and workforce needs of commercial property management and security are different from retail, residential, corporate, or event security, for example. Is your geography populated with a string of automobile dealerships, a college or university, a large stadium, or industrial parks? Is there an unmet demand for armed guard services in your market? Position your firm as the security expert with businesses popular in your market and build a niche.
2. Perform a Competitive Analysis
Any marketing strategy for your private security company is incomplete without competitive analysis. Research your top competitors with an eye on scale. What are they doing to market their services? Analyze their messaging and tactics used. Is it working? Emulate it. Is it off-base? Position your firm differently from them. What types of customers are they focused on winning? Is there enough business to go around, or have they monopolized a segment of the market to the point where you should focus on another facet of security?
Also, when comparing your firm to others, do so against businesses of a similar size. If your firm employs 50 guards, benchmarking performance against a competitor with 500 guards and 10 times the marketing resources will not yield apples-to-apples results.
3. Build Your Messaging Strategy
From the customer’s perspective, the purpose of physical security guard services is to protect their business assets and ensure the safety of their employees, visitors, and customers. Tailor your marketing message to address your audience’s goals –and highlight what makes your business unique. If you have targeted Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) for example, focus on how your firm can ensure the safety of the entire community through guards trained to use technology for real-time monitoring and response. Going after retailers? Talk about how your guards are trained to deal with incidents of smash-and-grab theft. Specializing in event security? Explain how your guards are thoroughly versed in crowd control, emergency evacuation procedures, and first aid. Addressing multiple markets? Segment your message by the motivating factors specific to each target audience.
4. Leverage Branding
Your brand – the sum total of your company name, logo, colors, imagery, and design – should be implemented consistently across the business. Employees should be instantly recognizable as security officers by the public as well as by would-be criminals for visual deterrence. Your security company branding should be prominently displayed on officer uniforms, patrol vehicles, video recording and monitoring equipment, letterhead, incident reporting forms, and signage. A sign saying, “These premises are patrolled by XXX Security,” with the company logo present never hurts. And of course, your website and social media sites should present a professional image to potential customers and to employees for recruitment and training purposes.
5. Maximize Your Website
Besides presenting a professional branded image to potential customers and employees, your website should be secure, mobile-friendly, and reinforce the message that your firm is the local market leader in your chosen area of security expertise. Digital marketing for security brands typically starts with a well-built website. Populate the website with search-engine-optimized (SEO) articles, service pages, case studies, and videos that will help drive traffic to your website from search engines. In addition to pages about the services you provide and markets you serve, be sure to have clear calls-to-action that encourage visitors to contact you, request a quote, or view employment opportunities. If your firm provides digital insights, analytics, and advanced online reporting of criminal activity and key performance indicators (KPI) to clients, showcase those capabilities and solutions as well. List all professional associations in which your firm participates. Finally, have a page of customer testimonials and reviews to build credibility.
6. Email as a Campaign
Email marketing for your security company can also be an important element of your digital marketing strategy. When emailing customers and prospects, design your communications as a series of short, related messages rather than a one-time note. If you are focusing on a niche – take auto dealerships as an example – spend time researching and building a list of prospective customers to include in your campaign. Develop a theme and point them to interesting content on your website about a new solution, upcoming event, or criminal trend. Follow up with a message asking if they had time to check out what you sent, and then another with how your firm can replicate the results, or prevent a similar fate from happening to them. Include calls to action in every message, like a free security consultation offer or an invitation to subscribe to a newsletter. Ask for an appointment to discuss next steps or invite them to read content that requires a form fill in order to capture contact information.
7. Advertisements
Security company marketing should include advertising. Advertise in both online and traditional media. Website banner ads and print ads on local publication websites can be inexpensive and effective. Paid search pay-per-click (PPC) ads such as Google ads are highly effective, but you’ll need to dedicate a budget and need someone experienced in digital marketing to manage the campaign. Is your firm handling security at a concert, ball game, or auto show? Take an ad in the playbill or program touting the security services provided by your firm at the event. Print your brand and contact info on promotional items and give out pens, calendars, or stress relief squishy balls at local community events to keep your name top of mind. Signs posted outside the entrances of client businesses are free advertisements for your firm. Ask clients for permission to post signage at every entrance.
8. Online Listings
Make sure your firm is accurately included in local online business directories such as Google My Business, Yelp Biz, and even lesser-known search engines such as Bing Places under “Security Guard Services.” There are also services like Yext that will help you manage dozens of business listing sites in one place. According to a 2022 Brightlocal consumer survey, 93% of consumers use the internet to find a local business, with 34% searching every day. Put your name out there.
9. Social Media
Social media has evolved into an effective outreach tool. The key to effective social media marketing for security companies is having a presence in the right digital spaces and matching the message to your clients. Start with a Facebook Business page. It’s okay to be informal on Facebook. Use a mixture of high-profile photos, videos, and posts showing your guards in action. Include customer comments and always have a link to your website in Facebook posts. Instagram is a great way to reach people on their mobile devices. Post pics of your team and boast about your employees and their accomplishments. Tagging people and locations in photos can help spread the word among user groups.
Use LinkedIn to reach other professionals outside your established network to promote your business and engage with prospects. Always maintain the highest levels of professionalism on LinkedIn. LinkedIn Jobs is an inexpensive and effective means to help you recruit new talent. It’s critical that you consistently post content on these platforms that feels fresh and informative to keep your name in front of prospects and prevent your social media accounts from getting stale.
10. Report, Refine, Repeat
How effective is the marketing plan for your security company? It can be hard to tell until results come in. How much did you spend, and how many new clients did you land? Track the results through your Customer Retention Management (CRM) application or by using a spreadsheet. When evaluating your efforts, be sure to pick a consistent metric, such as the same time period from a year ago, or only clients that fit a specific profile. Identify the triggers that moved a client to sign a contract or increase their hours and focus on those factors in your next marketing campaign.
Marketing is about customer acquisition AND retention
At the end of the day, security marketing is not just about finding new business, but also retaining current customers. The costs associated with customer acquisition mean that technically, every new account comes to you at a loss. It is only through customer retention over time that the account contributes to the profitability of the business. Building these tips into your marketing efforts will not only reduce the cost of customer acquisition, but will also lead to long-lasting relationships that will improve your bottom line.
TrackTik offers this advice because we want to see all security guard firms realize their potential. We provide security workforce management software tools and solutions that help security firms optimize their workforce to achieve their growth objectives.
