Specialist
Former Director at Vivint Inc (Vivint Smart Home)
Agenda
- Update on Vivint's competitive landscape
- Challenges, and hurdles to overcome – threat of DIY home security
- Security incumbents vs new technology players
- 2020 forecast including key trends
Questions
1.
Could you provide an overview of the home security market and the key trends you are monitoring?
2.
How concerned do you think incumbents such as Vivint, ADT and Brinks should be about point solutions and DIY home security, and should they be shifting strategy? Do you think consumer preferences could significantly shift towards point solutions?
3.
Would you describe Vivint as well-positioned to gain customers who start with point solutions or a DIY product, and later escalate to a comprehensive solution? What are your thoughts on Vivint’s home automation portfolio vs competitors?
4.
You mentioned that Vivint was developing a DIY product about 3-4 years ago. Would you say Vivint should have brought it to market? Do you think it would be worthwhile for the company to offer a point solution, considering how saturated the market is at this point?
5.
Do you think Vivint should develop a lighter version of its comprehensive offering to capture lower income households? Would that be a worthwhile investment vs a point solution?
6.
Given that having a monitored home security piece is an industry standard, while you were working at Vivint, did you think of any of the incumbents, such as Vivint, ADT or Brinks as having a competitive edge in home automation technology?
7.
Do you believe new entrants such as Amazon or Google will eventually offer comprehensive solutions and compete directly with Vivint? Would you expect new entrants to start offering professional monitoring?
8.
What are your expectations for the growth rate of professional monitoring?
9.
How do you predict Vivint will grow its top line, if growth rates for professional monitoring are flat or trend downward? Do you think it would lean on pricing increases, and that it has the opportunity to price its product as premium?
10.
Could you highlight areas where Vivint might improve its pricing or subscription structure to attract more customers?
11.
When you worked at Vivint, how open would you say it was to new ideas such as changes in contract structure?
12.
Could you identify any areas where Vivint’s marketing strategy falls short, and do you think the company is extracting value from its marketing dollars? You have mentioned marketing a few times in our discussion as a weakness.
13.
Is there anything else you think we should highlight about Vivint or the home security market?
14.
What is your outlook for smaller players, in the range of a few-hundred-thousand subscribers, in the home security and home automation markets? Are they going to be competitive, and do you think they could be attractive M&A options for better-capitalised players such as Vivint?
15.
What do you think Vivint’s strategic objectives should be in 2020, now it is a publicly traded company?
