Sonitrol of the Triangle is a security company that offers access control (controlled entry in/out of facilities via electronic card swipers, badges, etc.) and surveillance typically to non-residential facilities. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, Sonitrol of the Triangle serves customers in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and surrounding areas.
Proposal: To improve the dissemination of information via the Sonitrol of the Triangle website.
Audience: Sonitrol of the Triangle customers and employees located in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, NC. Sonitrol customers range from universities, school systems, churches and various businesses. Customers are not typically private residences.
Purpose: To provide more in-depth information to customers about the services provided. To improve the lines of communication between customers and Sonitrol employees. To give customers more and better access to their account information. To improve the overall service to customers of Sonitrol of the Triangle.
Competition: Brinks, ADT
Challenges: Sonitrol of the Triangle is a customer service based company and their customer base is substantial. They are flooded with phone calls and emails daily. To quote their mission statement, ‘…treat every customer as if they were our only customer’ – their customers are accustomed to this level of service. Every email Sonitrol sends to customers with service requests states that all requests will be made within 24 hours. However, that statement does not stop customers from calling up within 2 hours of a making a request and demanding to know why a service request has not been addressed. The constant demand from customers via phone and email creates time limitations for actually executing the requests in a timely manner. Sonitrol of the Triangle services 600 customers (of which there are tens of thousands of individuals) with a staff of 15 (nearly half of which are installation techs out in the field leaving the rest in the office to field calls and emails and execute service requests).
Response to Challenges: Improve upon the Sonitrol of the Triangle website to give customers more access to information and more control over their accounts as a way to alleviate some of the burden on the small Sonitrol staff giving them a better opportunity to execute the service requests and, therefore, better serve their customers. The site would include a well documented FAQ to address many of the most common questions.
FAQs:
(This is more or less a very general FAQ)
- Who do I call for support for my existing system?
- Who do I call to make changes to my existing system?
- Who do I call to ask about a service request?
- Who do I call about billing?
- Who do I call to obtain a quote for a new system?
(This is more or less an FAQ for existing customers)
- How do I send a test signal?
- How do I add/delete an individual from my system?
- How do I restrict access to certain individuals?
- What is my current building unlock schedule?
- What times are my employees allowed to access my building?
- Is there a website where I can make changes to my system?
- How long does it take for a requested change to be completed?
- Can Central Station assist with changes to my facility?
- What do I do when an alarm goes off?
- What do I do when the police have been dispatched?
- How will I know when the police have been dispatched?
- Is there a fine when police are dispatched? If so, how much.
- Who does Sonitrol call in case of an emergency?
- How do I update my Call List?
Customer Usage of Internet: Customers would have to have computers and Internet access to benefit from the website. Customers would need to be made aware of the website and its features (via email and snail mail). The website would need to be user-friendly so that customers would want to use the new features on the website. The majority of Sonitrol customers would have access and be able to use the site.
Tech Limitations: These limitations are going to be based off of who is responsible for operating the security system on site. This varies from Presidents of companies to custodial staff.
Style Guide: Chicago Manual of Style
Part 2
Sonitrol of the Triangle and its customers have a need for an informational, interactive and more functional website. The new content on the site will aim to serve as a reference and self-help guide for customers and to hopefully alleviate some of the calls and emails Sonitrol receives for some of the most common issues.
Some of the new content may include:
- a directory of staff, their contact info, profile, title/duties
- in depth FAQ
- interactive online chat feature
- profiles of important clients (if customers or prospective customers see profiles for NCSU Athletics and Chapel Hill School System, etc. they may be more inclined to want to use Sonitrol)
- useful links and other information related to security issues
- a ‘how stuff works’ section featuring Sonitrol products and equipment used
To familiarize customers the new website features, I will create a press release on behalf of Sonitrol and customers will be notified via email and snail mail.
