NBFAA Member Update for Tuesday, February 22, 2005

The night before ISC West 2005 opens in Las Vegas, NBFAA will host an evening event, dubbed "It Happened One Night," which will feature the presentation of the prestigious Morris F. Weinstock and Sara Jackson Awards. The reception will be held at Las Vegas' newest hotspot, the Tangerine Lounge & Nightclub at Treasure Island. Guests will enjoy an open bar and heavy hors d'oeuvres while enjoying the captivating view from the club's exclusive VIP deck for the "Sirens of TI" pirate show - Treasure Island's signature strip.

If you are planning to attend the NBFAA Spring Conference and Symposium in Las Vegas during ISC West, you can now register online at www.alarm.org. By registering through the NBFAA website, you can take advantage of a 20 percent discount on the ISC West Educational Conference package and free admission to the ISC West Expo (a $40 savings).

This special registration opportunity is available exclusively to NBFAA members who register through the NBFAA website.

To take advantage of this incredible opportunity, go to www.alarm.org. Once your completed registration has been submitted, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from NBFAA.

For more information on conference registration, please contact Michelle Hariston, NBFAA Meetings and Membership Manager, at 301-585-1855 x117 or MichelleH@alarm.org.

The Board of Directors for Security America Risk Retention Group (SARRG) has voted to accept a proposal from Employers Reinsurance Corporation (ERC), a division of General Electric, to extend SARRG's coverage limits to a maximum of $5 million per occurrence.

This will provide policyholders with flexibility when choosing their SARRG coverage. Effective immediately, policyholders may select $1 million, $2 million, $3 million, $4 million, or $5 million per occurrence.

NBFAA collaborated with Marsh Insurance to found SARRG in late 2003 to provide NBFAA member companies with general liability insurance, including errors and omissions coverage. Since its founding, SARRG has helped member companies save, in some cases, thousands of dollars over their previous policies.

To take advantage of SARRG or the extended coverage limit, contact Carol Kats, Marsha Katchen, or Sandy Montoya at (866)-315-3838 or e-mail carolk@securitysameriarrg.org.

Member Benefit Spotlight: Extended Warranty Insurance

To provide our members with an additional source of recurring revenue and to help cover the cost of alarm system maintenance, NBFAA is giving its members access to the first insured extended warranty program for commercial alarm systems.

Under the program, Security Finance Associates' Warranty Division, in conjunction with QOMLINQ LLC, Client Services Network, Inc. and Heritage Warranty, are offering alarm dealers the capability of offering five years of extended warranty (parts and labor coverage) on new and existing alarm systems.

Best of all, alarm dealers can offer this coverage without incurring any financial risk. The program is backed by insurance coverage, which customers pay for themselves. This can be collected each month with the monitoring service fee and can also be financed in most equipment leases.

NBFAA members receive the warranty coverage at guaranteed special lower rates and can mark up the retail price to provide a new source of recurring monthly revenue in addition to the increased service profit.

NBFAA Associate Member Company ADI has announced plans to open 25 offices in 11 countries, including France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

ADI President Tom Polson said the company is seeking to replicate its current business model overseas.

"ADI can be successful in Europe for all of the same reasons it has been a success in North America - convenience, great product selection and outstanding service," Polson said.

Michael Flink, who had been ADI's vice president of marketing and operations in North America, will now manage ADI's European operations.

We want to hear from you. If you have a story you'd like to share with other NBFAA members, contact us at 301-585-1855 or by e-mail at communications@alarm.org.

Business News

What You Know About Your Customers Helps You Serve Them Better

Courtesy of SCORE

How can you find out what the target market for your business wants or needs? Simple: ask.

That is what market research is all about. It is a systematic and objective way of determining who your potential and actual customers are, the types of products or services they use, and how they make purchasing decisions. Big corporations spend millions of dollars annually to study the marketplace. As a business owner, you have the advantage of being closer to the customer. This enables you to better to detect buying patterns and customer desires, and react almost immediately.

Market research can also help identify particular sales and profit opportunities, as well as indicating waning interest in a product line. You already conduct some research as a part of doing business. For example, you use merchandise returns as a guide of products not to restock. You watch what your competition is doing. And, you gather trade information from your professional or trade association.

There is probably more published information available on your type of business than you may realize. The Census Bureau has a wealth of employment, income and demographic data available. You can download pages of information from the Bureau's Web site (www.census.gov) to learn what publications and reports are available.

Marketing research can be as informal as observing customers in your store, or as elaborate as coordinated focus groups and surveys. Marketing research consultants and ad agencies can help you develop a full-scale program, but many techniques can be done on your own. Remember that while helpful, self-organized market research will be more subjective than a program implemented by an outside agency.

For free and confidential advice on market research, contact the SCORE Association "Counselors to America's Small Business." SCORE is a non-profit organization of more than 10,500 volunteer, business counselors provide free and confidential to veteran entrepreneurs and those just starting out. For the SCORE chapter nearest you, call 800-634-0245, or sign up for e-mail counseling at www.score.org.

For Member Update Sponsorship information contact
NBFAA Director of Business Development Tonja Jenkins.

NBFAA Spring Conference and Symposium: "It Happened One Night"

Online Registration Now Available

Security America Extends Coverage Limit to $5 Million

Member Benefit Spotlight: Extended Warranty Insurance

ADI Expanding Internationally

What You Know About Your Customers Helps You Serve Them Better