2. Security Sales: Entering Uncharted Territory
According to SDM magazine’s 2018 Security Industry Forecast Study, total industry revenues increased 8.5% during 2017, to $82.1 billion, compared to 2016’s $75.6 billion. The total included sales, leases, installation, service and monitoring.
Of those firms responding to the study survey, 67% expected increased revenues for 2017, an average 15% greater than The same respondents expect 2018 to be slightly better, with 69% anticipating increased revenues.
SDM is forecasting a rather astounding 40% increase in total industry revenues for 2018, or $114.1 billion, and likely because of dealers and integrators’ great expectations for the residential and non-residential sectors.

3. Crime May Be Down, But It’s Not Out
Although the FBI Uniform Crime Report for revealed that murder and non-negligent manslaughter offenses increased 8.6%, property crimes decreased 1.0%; burglaries, 4.2%; and larceny-thefts, 1.3%.
A mid-2017 report from the Brennan Center for Justice, based on data from the 30 largest cities, forecasted a 1.8% decline in the total crime rate in the US, which would be the second lowest since 1990.
The Brennan Center for Justice report also projected a 0.6% decrease in the violent crime rate, primarily because of a 2.4% decrease in the murder rate in Chicago and 14.7% in Washington, DC, both of which had elevated rates during recent years.

4. A Healthy Financial Picture
According to the January 2018 issue of Security Sales & Integration, those security firms participating in the annual survey expected an 11.3% growth rate from 2016 to 2017, or average gross revenues of $10.6 million and $11.8 million, respectively.
Although not quite as robust, security firms projected a 9.7% growth rate from 2017 to 2018, which would increase the average gross revenues to $12.94 million for the year.
Security dealers averaged 67 access control installations during 2017, compared to 86 during The average number of video surveillance and intrusion installations also decreased, by 6.9% and 15%, respectively, but fire alarm systems increased 13%.

5. No Success Without Obstacles
In Security Sales & Integration’s 2017 Operations & Opportunities Report, 48.4% of dealers responding to the survey said improving the training and efficiency of their technicians would be the #1 method to reduce the cost of doing business.
Dealers voted “sell more to our existing customer base” as the #1 method to increase profits, which moved from the #3 position during “Doing a better job of prospecting new customers” was second, at 37.4%.
According to a panel of security industry experts, finding and training qualified employees/technicians will be a major challenge for security firms during Others include the growth in DIY systems, cybercrime and security and new technologies.

6. It’s Smart to Target Smart Homeowners
More households (56%) with a security system installation during the past 2 years or less had at least one smart home device, compared to 44% of households where security systems were installed during the past 3 to more than 6 years.
Not surprising, the smartphone was the most familiar smart device (80%) among people in all US broadband households during 2017; followed by smart TV, 59%; smart thermostat, 40%; and smart personal speaker with personal assistant, 34%.
The Security Sales & Integration’s 2017 Residential Market Report also revealed that 22% of US broadband households intended to purchase a smart thermostat during 2017; followed by smart smoke or CO detector, 21%; and smart door locks, 20%.

7. Technology Is a Powerful Security Measure
In remarks at the 2017 Total Tech Summit, Vivek Khemka, CTO of DISH, said security is one of four industries IoT and its expansion with the introduction of 5G technology will significantly affect, the others being business and manufacturing, healthcare and retail.
A survey among security industry executives at the November 2017 Honeywell Connect conference revealed 38% expect interconnected devices to have the most impact on the industry during 2018.
A 2017 study found that although 47% of residential customers experience very few power outages, the system most affected was home networks, which is more significant given the large numbers of freelancers and work-at-home employees.

8. Advertising Strategies
TV is an excellent advertising medium for local security firms to brand themselves with high-end existing homeowners, which are many dealers’ top target market for Promote a free security evaluation during the moving period.
Help dealers to craft TV commercials that emphasize a comprehensive security solution for homeowners and business owners instead of just selling products. This approach allows dealers to sell more devices and maintenance and monitoring contracts. 
Security dealers can also use TV to brand themselves with the trends that are more likely to boost their bottom line: customer satisfaction testimonials, introducing their highly trained employees and promoting referral-program incentives and extended service plans.

9. New Media Strategies
Crime statistics, especially local, are excellent topics for blogs and social media. Don’t be afraid to report on the increase in violent crimes (without scaring people), but emphasize why security systems and services are the best protective measures.
Video content continues to attract the most attention on social media, so record and post various topics regularly, including customer testimonials, how a comprehensive security system was planned and implemented and employees explaining their jobs.
For security firms targeting the commercial market, a monthly e-newsletter is an excellent channel to present specific topics and the newest products for commercial-property security.