ESA product selection guide assists business owners with product selection

July 29, 2014
New guide helps security business owners evaluate new products

Irving, Texas (July 24, 2014) — The Electronic Security Association (ESA) announced today the release of a new guide to help security industry executives and owners manage changes to their companies’ product and technology mix.

The ESA Product Selection Guide was produced by ESA’s Executive Management Professionals (EMPs) group in conjunction with Bentley University. In a survey released in January 2013, the EMPs rated managing changes to their companies’ product/technology mix as the most important aspect of change management for their companies’ executive management teams. These results were the impetus for developing this guide.

The guide, funded by the Alarm Industry Research & Educational Foundation (AIREF), is designed to help ESA members work through a methodical process when evaluating new products and services to add to their businesses. Included in the guide is a product taxonomy, detailed checklist, vendor scoring system, cost benefit analysis template and additional resources that ESA members can access.

ESA engaged Bentley University and Bentley’s Center for Marketing Technology (CMT) to work on the project, which kicked off in December 2013, with a two-hour focus group moderated by Professor Ian Cross, director of the CMT at Bentley University. The focus group confirmed that existing suppliers strongly influence consideration of new product categories. It also confirmed that marketing awareness and customer demand for products is a very important factor for dealers and integrators when considering which new products and services to add to their offering.

“We are very excited to release the ESA Product Selection Guide to ESA members. The guide provides security dealers and integrators with a comprehensive checklist that will take them through a thorough process when evaluating new products and services. By utilizing the guide, ESA members will be able to make more informed decisions on which products and services are right for their business model,” said Dee Ann Harn, CEO of RFI and EMP Chair. “My team at RFI is very much looking forward to utilizing the guide as we evaluate new offerings to bring into our business.”

The guide will be located on www.ESAweb.org/MembersOnlyResourceCenter and accessible by ESA members only. To find out more, please contact Shannon Murphy, ESA VP of Sales & Marketing at 972-807-6835 or via email at [email protected]