For Per Mar Security, the top security firm in this year’s 2014 Best of the Corridor voting, it pays to offer more than the competition.
“We do the alarm systems, cameras and access control, and have onsite security personnel,” said Brian Duffy, area sales manager in Cedar Rapids for the Davenport-based business. He said virtually all of Per Mar’s competitors specialize in just “one thing or another.”
Customers include such familiar names as the Green Bay Packers, as well as more unfamiliar ones, like the more than 1,000 residential customers in Cedar Rapids who use Per Mar as their home security providers.
Per Mar’s customers appreciate being able to work with a familiar, trusted provider for all their security solutions so that they work together smoothly, Mr. Duffy said. One of the biggest single advantages is that Per Mar has its own alarm-monitoring center in Davenport, close to its operations.
“An important part of the Per Mar culture is that the customer comes first when any kind of issue comes up,” Mr. Duffy said.
Per Mar was founded in 1953, but originally limited its services to providing background checks and investigations for clients. Through the years, it added security guard services, and in the 1960s began offering security alarm services. Technology has eliminated the need for security guards in many areas of the field, however Mr. Duffy said customers still value the rapid response to security alerts from Per Mar’s monitoring center, and its ability to dispatch security guards when needed.
“The biggest thing we hear from people is our response time once the alarm goes off,” said Mr. Duffy. “We’re calling them right away.”
Customer retention is one important indication that Per Mar is performing well, Mr. Duffy said. The average customer retention rate is 93 percent versus an industry average of 88 percent annually, and the average length of a customer relationship with Per Mar is 11 years.
Per Mar’s home security business has grown as the cost of installing and maintaining home alarm systems has declined, Mr. Duffy said.
Per Mar Security’s market covers all of Iowa and Wisconsin, and parts of Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska.
-Dave DeWitte
TIMES ON LIST:
1 Best Security Company (new category)
