Clearview National September 2019 - Issue 214 | Page 42

WINDOWTECHNOLOGY Are You Ready? Giovanni Laporta, inventor of the Smart Ready® certification standard talks about the realistic potential for smart technology and why he thinks installers that aren’t selling Smart Ready® windows and doors, soon won’t be selling windows and doors at all. » » SOME OF US LIKE NEW TECH and some of us don’t. Whatever your personal preference, you can’t deny that smart tech is coming. A recent PwC survey suggests 30% of people are planning to buy a smart home device in the next two years and the trend is set to grow even more. Although the window and door sector has been in the mix, selling smart door locks (albeit not in any great number), installers haven’t yet seen an easy way of making the most of this mass opportunity. Smart Ready® is here to change that. The fenestration industry deserve a slice of this lucrative pie too, because windows and doors are one of the most important parts of the home to be made smart. We already know that up to 33% of burglaries take place when doors or windows are left open (home office statistics) but a recent research paper reveals that over 50% of burglaries in the UK occur when someone is at home. Clearly this is not acceptable and if the figures can be reduced, then we all need to sit up and listen to how. BUILDING CONSUMER CONFIDENCE The Smart Ready® certification standard and brand ensures product consistency and forms the standards on which all smart doors and windows will soon be made. Thanks to HD Ready™, Smart Ready® already has a strong brand feel to many consumers, meaning 42 » SE P 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M it is going to quickly gain momentum as a household name. It works in a very similar way to HD Ready™ and how TVs were sold some years ago. Just as TVs were HD Ready™ before any shows were being streamed in HD, businesses can now sell windows and doors that are Smart Ready® – ready for smart technology to be bought and activated by the homeowner, once they are fitted, or at any point in the future. The Smart Ready® logo is a guarantee and a sign of quality, whilst also telling consumers that their doors and windows have certain upgradable features in that they can be made smart at any point in the future, by a quick scan of a QR Code. Unlike other opportunities seen in the industry, Smart Ready® is free. Smart Ready® allows for the fact there needs to be some sort of transitional period to make it easy to sell and buy smart and Smart Ready® does precisely this. SMART REPORTING IS COMING Sac Hardware and Hug Technology have already developed a new Smart Ready® certified window and door reporting system that will help with the transition. Technology that reports on the security status of doors or windows, without involving any locking or unlocking has consumer appeal, making it a far easier sell for installers. This smart technology can report on a phone that someone has left the back door or bedroom window open as they leave the home. Leaving people in absolute control of closing and locking the doors and windows, while being alerted if the home is at risk through open windows and doors, the moment they leave their houses. But that’s not where the benefits of this system from Sac Hardware and Hug Technology end. Their Smart Ready® certified system also alerts the user when a window or door experiences any level of impact. This moves it into the realm of burglar alarms and makes this a particularly exciting proposition for installers. It’s not only an opportunity to upsell windows and doors now, it’s an easy opportunity to break into the alarm and home security market. SMART IS COMING, READY OR NOT Selling “readiness” is the answer when selling smart windows and doors. The “being ready” marketing phenomenon is firmly stuck in the minds of millions of consumers and like HD Ready™, Smart Ready® is quickly set to become the new Standard for smart. The brand power and marketing psychology exists, so let’s be smart and all benefit. Contact Smart Ready® to learn more. smartready.com