Growth on NMC's wish list

Increases dependent on customer service, new applications Aliso Viejo, Calif. - By keeping a watchful eye on new technologies and customer service, National Monitoring Center expects to continue to grow at such a pace that it will reach 100,000 accounts during its fourth year in business. Launched at a 10,000-square-foot facility here in October 2001, third-party monitoring firm NMC turned on its first customers three months later. Since then, it has grown to an 80,000 account business as of January 2005, up from 60,000 a year earlier. “If we keep the same growth pace,” said company President Michael Schubert, “the market is there and we feel this growth will continue.” By also focusing on customer service and not losing sight of the company’s mission, Schubert said, “we were able to add so many dealers.” Schubert reported that last year was one of the best in the company’s 36-month history. The company has pushed video monitoring services in recent months unlike in the past. For example, the company increased the types of equipment it could support online in the early part of last year from one - Dedicated Micros - to eight. “Video monitoring is still taking off,” admitted Schubert, who said as price points decrease new customer sign-up should increase. But at this time, “we haven’t seen the payback like we should,” he said. Demand for the service has been driven primarily on the commercial side of the business and by revised laws that require verified response. Thus far, the company has been able to ink deals with approximately 200 clients for the service. Moving ahead, the company will promote the technology to the dealers, so they know how it works and the benefits their customers can experience by using it. “If you’re going to spend all this money (on upgrades), you can’t sit back and wait for it to happen,” said Schubert. But it’s just not the number of services a company offers that brings dealers to its door, said Woodie Andrawos, executive vice president at the company. It is the ability to stay focused on the company’s mission. “We will continue to focus on monitoring; that’s the business we’re in,” he said.