Wednesday 19 November 2008

Happiness is...

...having great customers who love us!

We've completed the first ever AlertMe customer survey. Twenty-nine percent of our customers made the effort to take part, giving us heaps of feedback on what we're doing right and how to make AlertMe even better.

We wanted to learn so rather than forcing tick-box answers, we asked mainly for free-form written responses, to hear from the heart as well as the head. We then trawled through the written answers, categorizing them into sensible categories. Here are the results, illuminated with a sprinkling of representative comments.

Overall
First we asked whether AlertMe is good value. A whopping 94% said "Yes!"
We then asked about overall satisfaction with AlertMe, and were delighted to hear that more than 30% of our customers think we are wonderful (OK, we did pre-pick the 5 categories for this one):


We asked "why?" - and here are some of the answers:
  • “Originally spouse was cynical of system and thought it was toys for the boys, but has been pleasantly surprised with the support and service provision”
  • “The ease of use, my girlfriend is a complete technophobe. All you have to press is one button or the other. I have yet to explain the online side of thing”
  • “A useful boy's toy according to my girlfriend….”
  • “Excellent, but sometimes has problems (e.g. sensors dropping off, keyfobs not always working). Reliability seems to increase with each firmware update”
  • “The booster lamp doesn't need to be a lamp...I'm not a student, I don't need a colour changing flashing lamp going 24hrs a day....”
  • “One battery fits all – brilliant”
  • “I think AlertMe type services are a very smart way of defending property, and are the way of the future”
Likes and Dislikes
We asked what you liked most, and least...

The six aspects of AlertMe that were liked most were (best first): Simplicity, Web interface, SMS/Email/Voice notification, Expandability, Customer Service and Style. It is really great to see that simplicity is valued so highly by our customers, because it takes a lot extra work "under the hood" to make a technical product simple - which is probably why so many technology companies just don't bother.

But before we get too big-headed, you were equally frank about the areas where you think we still have some way to go. The six aspects of AlertMe that were liked least were (worst first): Hub too quiet, keyfob too big, false alarms, bell box, hub light/volume control, no cameras. There were also several comments about gremlins and teething troubles. The good news is that we're already working to address all of these - except for bell-boxes which we hate almost as much as your neighbours do! If you'd like more window-stickers to use as a deterrent, please ask.

Would you recommend AlertMe?
We asked whether you'd recommend AlertMe to others. 63% of our customers have already recommended us, and to an average of 5 other people. In marketing-speak, this is "viral growth". Sounds horrible doesn't it, but it's a Good Thing!



Slide 14
Unexpected Features
It's fascinating to hear what surprises people had when they first installed and used AlertMe:
  • Temperature-measurement
  • Night mode
  • How big the keyfobs are …. and how small the hub is
  • Presence
  • Energy coming
  • Packaging ("wow" Apple-like experience)
  • The upgradability of it
  • That you can add so many accessories
  • GPRS and battery backup
  • Being able to control it via SMS
  • The phone-in feature
  • Didn't realise hub would play a message when alarm was triggered
  • Barking dog doorbell
  • Uploadable audio for doorbell sounds
(and my favourite...)
  • How fun it is!
Conclusion
We are driven by a passion to create a company which gives its customers a truly excellent experience. Our great team has put in a lot of hard work to try to achieve that, and it makes me very happy to see that, by and large, we are achieving it. Thank you so much for all your support, and sometimes your patience when things don't quite go according to plan.

Please keep the comments coming - we always love to hear from you - in the forums, by email, IM or phone.

Tuesday 4 November 2008

The Bubbles of Radio

I wanted to share this wonderful image which my colleague Amyas found - a beautiful visualisation of different radio technologies. Click on the picture to find out more...