Varolii, Monitronics Partner on Home, Business Security

Security is only as strong as its weakest link. For homeowners and businesses who purchase alarm monitoring services it is low batteries—most devices are now wireless for ease of install and improved hardening, i.e., no wires to be accidentally or deliberately cut, which when they die it can literally open the doors to thieves. 

Alerting the home or business owners makes sense when the batteries run low. Now here’s the rub: it costs time and money to make outbound calls to all of them, which eats away at profits in this highly competitive business amidst a tight economy.

“With so many battery-operated security systems, contact centers are unable to make all the necessary calls in a cost-effective, timely manner,” said John Mejia, vice president of customer care at Monitronics, a nationwide alarm monitoring firm.

The solution? Going to a third-party automated voice messaging supplier that can deliver this vital information, along with others e.g. bill payment reminders and technology upgrades to clients.

Monitronics has done just that through partnering with Varolii. The two companies will provide automated, proactive reminders to customers to keep security alarms working in the best possible condition and prevent potentially life-threatening situations. These automatic reminders mark what is believed to be an industry first for security services, and serve more than 700,000 Monitronics customers internationally.

Communications to homeowners will include reminders of bill payments, business and technology updates, and low battery notifications. Monitronics’ security systems are equipped to send a signal when a battery is getting low and needs to be changed. Following the signal, Varolii will send an alert directly to the customers advising them to change their batteries – an action that could save them from potential break-ins and security breaches. 

Varolii is a cross-channel communication platform which creates a single conversation across all channels to provide recipients with clear, easily understood options to self-serve or take other action. The conversation is tailored to each individual recipient and powered by Varolii ID automated mass personalization technology. Varolii ID automatically analyzes the results of each individual’s previous responses to customize messages across the various channels and knows when to use each channel for maximum response. 

“Monitronics is the first home security company to use intelligent automated communications to proactively reach consumers with critical notifications,” said John Pierson, senior vice president of services at Varolii. “This partnership provides consumers invaluable information on their home security systems to provide enhanced home protection while adding a new layer of customer care to the process.”

Monitronics sees many uses for the Varolii automated messaging solution. For example, people sometimes give the security code to their house to a plumber or other maintenance service personnel to enter while they are at work. With this technology, clients can now get an alert sent to their phones saying the person has entered their house and then, they can receive a real-time report of when the person left the house.

“The real-time data will better help people stay connected and secure,” said Mejia.

Monitronics is presently using Varolii for automated voice, but is looking to use SMS text message to more effectively reach customers. It also sees potential to open up this technology to its dealer base. Its dealers will usually call customers to confirm an appointment. By automating these calls, the dealer can coordinate appointments at a much lower price point.

“Automated communications technology and Varolii’s ability to ‘learn’ and customize communications for each person are really limitless,” said Mejia.