In 1943, American psychologist Abraham Maslow published his paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” in the journal Psychological Review. The paper outlined his now-famous hierarchy of needs that ranked factors influencing human motivation, using a pyramid to visualize how each level builds upon the one before it. The pyramid’s foundation is formed by physiological needs, like air, water, food and shelter. Right on top of that base are our safety needs, including our need for personal security.

Eighty years later, Maslow’s pyramid still feels prescient.

However, the domain has undoubtedly expanded, incorporating both physical and cybersecurity. The physical security market is growing by more than 10.5% annually, with household penetration exceeding 50% by 2027.

Businesses are also doubling down on security, as 88% of companies say they are experiencing increased physical security threats, prompting investments in physical security technologies and security guards.

This same dynamic is playing out in the digital realm as well. Actually, 40% of business leaders say cybersecurity is their “number one business risk,” prompting 86% of companies to plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets by at least 10% in the next year.

This is particularly noteworthy because companies are tightening budgets, reducing headcounts and conserving cash, anticipating an economic downturn that’s been just around the corner for more than a year.

The rationale is simple and calculated: Even in uncertain economic conditions, safety is a fundamental human need and an ever-present business priority, creating an opportunity for security providers to continue driving product growth in any market conditions.

Here’s how you can best position your products and services in today’s economic environment to capitalize on the ever-present need for security, reaching people with products and services that help keep them safe.

Establish Trust

Brand trust is invaluable, often differentiating highly competitive companies from their less reputable competitors.

For instance, according to one survey, 80% of buyers consider trust “a deciding factor” when making a purchase decision.

Trust is hard-earned and easily lost. It’s also in short supply. Just 34% of buyers said they trust the brands they use, meaning they will likely look for alternatives when a compelling product or service offering becomes available.

That’s why your security brand needs to be synonymous with reliability. To achieve this:

● Invest in Transparent Communication: Whether it’s acknowledging a mistake, providing insights into operations or simply keeping consumers informed about products and services, clear communication fosters trust.
● Uphold the Highest Standards of Integrity: Engage third-party organizations to validate your solutions, allowing them to be put to the highest level of rigorous testing. This enhances brand reputation and ensures long-term loyalty from consumers who value moral and ethical considerations in their purchasing decisions.
● Ensure Your Offerings Consistently Deliver on Their Promises: No matter how compelling a brand’s narrative is, it needs to be backed by consistent delivery of its promises. Test, test and test again – by customers and those third parties. For security brands, this means ensuring their products and services offer the protection and assurance they claim.

Whether protecting physical spaces or digital environments, security providers can’t afford to be unreliable. This is not a weight-loss pill or a wrinkle-removing cream. It’s security.

Emphasize Timeliness

Bad actors don’t wait for an ideal economy to strike. Crime and the economy tend to have an inverse relationship. As the economy declines, crime rises.

As CNN reported in May 2023, “Need and opportunity become forceful catalysts for driving up incidents of crime.”

Similarly, cybercrime tends to increase when the economy worsens. Analyzing FBI data captured since the Great Recession, VentureBeat reported that cybercrime increased by more than 22% annually between 2008 and 2009.

While security companies should avoid fear-mongering or needlessly activating people’s fears and concerns, there is a clear connection between worsening economic conditions and physical or digital security instances, allowing companies to effectively market their products and services to a consumer base that desperately needs the support.

Continually Innovate

Security is not a stagnant industry. Threat actors continuously innovate their tactics to evade the latest defenses, creating a perpetual cat-and-mouse game that requires security providers to continually innovate to stay ahead.

Often, this means integrating the latest technologies to maximize results at scale.

In 2023, this often means integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to heighten security outcomes for physical and digital security scenarios to provide security at scale with a proactive and preemptive approach.

For example, AI and ML solutions allow physical security providers to gather data from various sensors, like visual inputs and gateway scans, and categorize them based on specific user goals. Specialized AI algorithms can discern meaningful patterns and irregularities within this data, deriving crucial, actionable insights that can be immediately communicated to security personnel.

At the same time, AI and ML systems are helping cybersecurity providers better detect malware, spot phishing scams and detect anomalous data movement.

Regardless of the approach or technology, security companies must always be at the forefront of innovation, and they need to market themselves accordingly while ensuring that their messaging aligns with their technological capabilities.

Security Supersedes Economic Conditions

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs underscores the importance of security as a foundational human necessity. In our rapidly digitizing world, security extends from the physical to the digital, with a pervasive need felt across households and businesses alike. Today, despite looming economic uncertainties, there is an evident surge in security investments.

For businesses in the security domain, there are clear takeaways: Trust remains paramount. Establishing and maintaining it is more than a goal; it’s an imperative. Moreover, the timeliness of security solutions cannot be overemphasized, especially as crime rates and security breaches correlate with economic downturns. Lastly, in a field rife with ever-evolving threats, innovation is the key to remaining a step ahead of potential breaches.

Simply put, economic landscapes will shift and evolve, but the demand for security, both physical and digital, remains constant, offering security providers an unparalleled opportunity to offer indispensable solutions, safeguarding our world one product or service at a time.