New revenue opportunities for the home watcher of the future
What eMerge Americas can teach us about the future of home watching
Lesson #1 of 3: there will be new revenue opportunities for home watchers
In two short years, eMerge Americas, a tech conference held in Miami, has become one of the most important events of its kind in the US and Latin America. This year’s clear message was, “Everything, everything is going to be disrupted by technology.”
That includes the traditional business of home watching. Disruptive technology, for example, could soon place home watchers right in the middle of the distribution channel for heating and air conditioning systems. It will empower them to be decision influencers more than ever before.
This was most apparent during a presentation from the director of Watsco Ventures, Ivan Rapin-Smith. Watsco Ventures is a technology startup accelerator, or enabler, launched by Watsco, the world’s largest distributor of air conditioning and heating products. They will be funding early stage startups that reinvent the distribution of HVAC products.
To summarize Rapin-Smith’s speech into one sentence: “We don’t know what the future of HVAC distribution is going to look like, but we certainly want to be in it.”
One thing all home watchers do during their house visits is to inspect air conditioning and heating systems. So here’s the connection: a home watcher equipped with the right technology can actually become part of that futuristic HVAC distribution system that Watsco envisions. The home watchers will be in the perfect ‘e-position’ to do something as simple as making a referral all the way to requesting a quote from a Watsco-connected reseller.
Home watchers will be able to become a real decision-influencing link in the future chain of HVAC distribution. That applies as well to security systems, lighting systems, etc. If they seize the opportunity, it will become a new revenue stream. I’m sure companies like Watsco will be happy to have them as part of their money making distribution chain.