Michael D. Moberly August 19, 2016 ‘A blog intersecting intangible assets and business.’
Through my lens, it is quite clear, if security initiatives – systems are not designed to safeguard or advance an environment’s key – relevant IA’s (intangible assets), those with the fiduciary responsibility for their purchase, deployment, and support, are obliged to recognize substantial value – competitive advantage will go unnoticed.
An often overlooked, under-appreciated, and perhaps even wholly unrecognized, but, never-the-less, essential aspect to marketing, selling, and assessing outcomes of security (loss prevention, asset protection, monitoring) products and/or systems, is recognizing the economic fact that 80+% of most company’s value, sources of revenue, and ‘building blocks’ for growth, profitability, and sustainability lie in – evolve directly from intangible (non-physical) assets, i.e., know how, relationship, and structural capital, brand, and reputation, etc., not tangible (physical) assets, i.e., property, equipment, inventory, buildings, etc.
When security related products are effectively deployed and integrated into an environment and aligned with supportive policies, practices, and organizational – business unit culture, their contributory value and competitive advantage to an enterprise can be substantial, even more so when the party recognizes what and how to measure the deliverables, i.e. effects on users and outcomes. For example, when applied…
• to the lodging – hospitality sector, security products/systems can measurably enhance existing and/or produce new IA’s (intangible assets) in the form of users’ sense – feeling of being (more) safe, secure, and productive, which in turn favorably affects the hotel’s (company) reputation, image, and guest goodwill, etc., by
Perhaps this is self-evident. On the one hand, my experience clearly notes this example, among countless others…
• serves as an important starting point for framing promotional pitches related to security products because most buyers seek – desire these outcomes, i.e., represent what’s needed – necessary, however…
• are unfamiliar (un-schooled) in the measuring – assessing the contributory values and/or functionality of security products, systems, or services and mitigating risks with their own sector – environment.
It is essential, in my view, to incorporate the correct descriptor in ‘the pitch’, i.e.,
• elevate awareness of the assortment of IA’s that are commonly embedded in every environment and industry sector.
• ensure the functionality – deliverables of security products are distinguished relative to the environment they are deployed and how they enhance relevant IA’s.
For example, when users of a lodging/hospitality environment sense that environment respects their patronage or productivity by introducing sector specific security measures to make it as safe, secure, productive, and efficient as possible, they will be inclined to return that respect by
• being a repeat guest, as well as,
• elevate employee retention, loyalty, and productivity.
Security product developers, producers, and vendors would be well served by adapting and incorporating variants of this language, sector specific, of course, in their marketing/promotional materials and/or sales pitches. Again, the rationale for incorporating this language is that today’s business environment is global, increasingly competitive, predatorial, and aggressive, and dominated by knowledge-intangible asset intensive firms regardless of sector.
Professionally then, it seems obligatory for security products, i.e., how they are marketed, promoted, and ‘pitched’ reflect that irreversible and paradigm shifting economic fact – business-consumer reality, particularly as management teams, c-suites, and boards become more attuned to IA’s in fiduciary contexts and as fiduciary responsibilities.
Lodging sector management teams should be engaging their environment’s IA’s as integral to enterprise risk management practices. Real and sustainable value and competitive advantages can be embedded with lodging sector guests by training personnel to identify, unravel, and sustain control, use, ownership, and monitor (asset) value, materiality, and risks. This can be achieved by respectfully guiding them to recognize the IA’s relevance to a guests’ (lodging) experience.
On the other hand, most conventional security product presentations-pitches over dramatize the need for mitigating fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) which a percentage of lodging guests will be inclined to dismiss as a matter of personal practice, the outcomes will likely be less than fully favorable.
However, when security product (system, service) vendors replace the conventional with a strong narrative (methodology) rooted in ‘forward looking’ focus of safeguarding the value and sources of revenue present in a prospective client’s lodging environment, i.e., their IA’s, the probability of experiencing a series of consistent successes increases substantially.
