Subscriber Discussion

Proactive Or Reactive? What Really Drives Security System Purchases?

RW
Rukmini Wilson
Jul 29, 2014

Security systems are more effective when installed before an incident :)

Yet reading more of the ADT training manual/videos, it is taught that the most common driver of SOHO alarm sales is an actual break-in, whether at the buyers property or a neighbors. Is this the case for video surveillience systems also, at least at the SOHO level? And where pre-existing systems are replaced with new ones, is a single negative event also the thing that drives it?

The question would be: Are most cameras systems purchased/replaced as a reaction to a specific negative incident?

Avatar
Brian Rhodes
Jul 29, 2014
IPVMU Certified

I added a poll.

I voted yes. There are countless anecdotes of a business owner installing a system over a cashier's station, backdoor, or in a break area because of an ugly incident.

Avatar
Michael Silva
Jul 29, 2014
Silva Consultants

I have always believed that there are two times when people most often contemplate a security purchase: one is when they are building or remodeling a new facility, and the other is just after a major theft or other security incident. I think that the latter is the more common reason and applies just as much to the purchase of security consulting services as it does to security systems purchases.

I have found that people tend to cool down within a few days or weeks of the event and begin to minimize its importance. ("this type of thing doesn't happen all that often....") This explains why security proposals requested shortly after an event often don't seem like such a priority a few weeks later.

MR
Mike Ridgley
Jul 29, 2014

I think that this is vertical specific. For example, many of the K12 clients I work with are more pro-active with their approach for obvious reasons. Funding is typically the only thing holding them back. My business/office accounts are more event driven – theft in the parking lot prompts consideration for additional exterior coverage or LPR. I think that it also has to do with the structure of the company you are working with. Do they have dedicated security “Directors” as an example or is the security scope handled by the office manager? Almost all hospitals have security directors while the distribution warehouse down the street does not. Folks that are not security conscious are going to be reactive while the security professionals are pro-active.

New discussion

Ask questions and get answers to your physical security questions from IPVM team members and fellow subscribers.

Newest discussions