Selling "safe"

Back in April, I wrote a piece for this blog on a topic I referred to as, “Irregulation.” The story cited the perceived failure of regulatory agencies to effectively scrutinize their industries (resulting in unsafe airplanes that were still in the air, recalls of previously approved drugs, tainted products entering the food supply, etc.).

I was reminded of the article recently, when I heard a news story about a local retailer who was selling household safes in record numbers.

Think about that.

The economy is utterly unstable right now, people are worried about their jobs and paychecks, and consumers are cutting back in virtually every retail category. But they’re buying “safes” like they’re going out of style.

Implications: I’m left with a lot of questions on this one. Are people nervous about having all their money in a bank or credit union, despite assurances about how their money is protected from the FDIC or NCUA?

Are people giving “second thoughts” to the jewelry they have in the house, with the recent increase in value of gold and other precious metals? Do people expect an increase in crime, as is often a by-product of an economic downturn? I’d love to be able to say for sure. But as I often say, the best researchers or trend watchers are not always those people who have all the right answers, but rather, they are the people who ask all the right questions.

Even if you do not sell lock-boxes or other security devices… what do you sell, that is, “safe?” Do you have customers that can vouch for your quality, value or reliability? (Don’t be surprised if customers trust the word of other customers more than the stamp of approval offered by some regulatory source.) Do you help your customers network with each other via your web site or a social network? Which regulatory bodies do you depend on for approvals or opinions… which some of your customers may no longer assume to be trustworthy? What alternate forms of assurance can you provide, for customers whose confidence might be shaken?

Mike Anderson