For Affiliated Monitoring, an app can make an impact

UNION, N.J.—What a monitoring company offers its dealers makes a difference, according to Michael Zydor, managing director for Affiliated Monitoring, which strives to continually update its dealer app as well as monthly dealer reports.

The latest app update in mid-November has “already had an impact,” Zydor said.

The update brought a variety of new offerings, he said, including an e-contract function, the ability to put accounts on and off test, check signals as dealers are testing a new system, and a “cleaner” and “simpler” layout to the app.

“The e-contract portion of the app… makes [dealers'] lives much simpler, it's also much simpler for their customer,” because customers can view and sign agreements on a mobile device, Zydor said.

That eliminates the need for dealers to carry around papers or worry about faxing them. The e-contract can be directly emailed from a dealer's tablet. Paperless is also more environmentally friendly, Zydor said.

In addition to the app, Affiliated sends a monthly dealer health report to its dealers, Zydor said. “It really lets them see what their account base looks like, and they just do not get that data from [our] competitors.”

Affiliated recently expanded that service by adding information on dealers' account attrition.

Both the app update and the monthly report have been very well received, Zydor said.

Other information included in the report covers account growth, signal traffic and operator interventions.

“We are always looking to keep … putting tools in the dealers' toolbox to make them more efficient and effective. That [is] our constant mission here,” he said.