This topic came up in a meeting we had recently (more geared towards the sales reps, but still very relevant to the PM types) and it got me thinking. Of course, there is a lot of talk about the US sliding into a recession and although it may not be quite so bad in Canada, there is concern here as well. Whenever we are talking about a slowdown in the economy, sales get concerned about growth targets and how they are going to get there.
The discussion turned to where the focus can be put, as there are some industries that are considered “recession-proof”. A quick search came up with a great list on Wikipedia as follows:
- Medical Services/ Health Care
- Pharmaceuticals
- Necessities: Food/ Grocery stores/ chains
- Cosmetics
- Education
- Entertainment
- Home & Vehicle Repair/ Maintenance
- Home Renovation/ improvement
- Debt Collection
- Tax Preparation/ Simplification
- Career/ Job Search & Life Coaching
- Energy: Electric, Oil, Gas
- Security/ Alarm Service Companies
- Weapons Industry
- Vices: Tobacco, Liquor, Gambling
With the technology spaces that our division serves the reseller community with, and just using this list above, we (and our customers) should be positioned well through a softer economic time. When I look at our markets, at least one of these industries falls into each one.
Auto ID - Used in manufacturing, warehousing and sales/ field automation so any of the above industries can use this technology. In fact, I feel very strongly that companies that do not adopt a better data collection system will fall behind through this tough period. Companies need to rise above the rest and differentiate themselves in slower times, and those that do, win. We have customers with creative solutions to help.
Point Of Sale - The POS market does not just involve replacing a cash register with a PC any more. Grocery, Entertainment, and any other consumer-facing industry above can benefit from looking at their systems that their customers are seeing and using on a day-to-day basis. POS now entails self-service (checkouts or kiosks) portals, mobile computers (table-side service or line-busting come to mind), loyalty programs, digital signage and more.
Card Technology & Physical Security - This one does not need a lot of explanation on why it should do very well during a slowdown. During a recession, crime tends to climb as people tend to have less to spend. Many (if not all) of the above industries can and would benefit from improved security systems, both in surveillance and access control. Resellers should be getting trained on, and talking to their client base about new security technologies that can help them with the age-old problems of theft, claims, and fraud.
Professional Video & Workflow (HD) - You may wonder why I would put pro video in here, as it really only fits into Entertainment from the above list, and even I wonder how Entertainment can remain recession-proof. With the changes in TV signals alone coming (analog signals are being cut off in the US early in 2009, and in 2011 in Canada), broadcasters (I know, I know…only a small segment of entertainment) have no choice but to invest, and once again, those that do it first, and do it right, will benefit.
So, do I believe every single one of these industry segments are completely recession-proof? Not necessarily, but I do think that list is very complete in describing markets that we, and our customers should be focusing on as they are definitely recession-resistant!
Discussion point…do you feel there are other markets/ industries that fit the category of being recession-proof (or -resistant)?
Tags:
Recession Recession-Proof Industries