Articles
Cybersecurity Marketing Challenges
by James Mac B2B Expert1. STAND OUT FROM THE PACKAGE, BUT BE CREDIBLE.
Security professionals know that nothing is 100% secure ... so you better not make outlandish claims, because you will lose all credibility ... and in the security industry especially, this is huge. Hackers love to be challenged, so making claims that their software can't be beat puts a target on your back and asks you to feel embarrassed. Your company and product positioning must be strong enough to stand out, but it must be maintained. Too many providers use F.U.D. (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) and all the latest buzzwords, like APT's, cloud, DDoS, etc., to get the customer's attention, but what ends up happening is that if you walk through the RSA showroom, Black Hat or a security event information many of these providers look and sound the same. Don't be afraid to get specific with what you do and show value to a company beyond "best security" ... which brings us to the next challenge and advice.
2. YOU CANNOT BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE
The biggest mistake is trying to be everything to everyone. It sounds simple enough, but I've seen too many companies make this mistake. I once heard a customer say, "We can sell to everyone." Big no, no. Understanding your buyer is important for any industry, but in the information security space (which is crowded and where messaging is so watered down that many vendors look the same), this cannot be overstated. Make sure you clearly define your security sector (s) (i.e. endpoint, network, cloud, data protection, data center, etc.) and understand which roles are the main buyers, influencers, etc. Are there regulations or industry standards? which are relevant? All of these attributes can help you position your solution's features, benefits, and differentiators for the right people in the right organizations.
3. NOTHING SELLS BETTER THAN LISTENING TO A CUSTOMER
A client program should be part of your sales and marketing process. Customer case studies are the best way to sell a solution, which is better than a company saying how it uses its product, the results, etc. The challenge (and the reality) is that very few companies are willing to go on the record. There are a few ways to meet the challenge of customer referrals. When negotiating the contract price, as part of obtaining a better price, have the customer agree to provide a public reference (and have it signed by someone in management). The optimal approach for both you and your client is to make a video testimonial or written case study, so you can edit it and have it in a controlled environment. This gives you something that doesn't have a shelf life and gives the client some control (rather than conducting an interview with a reporter, etc.). In this way, you and the client can agree in advance on the specific questions and how they would be answered.
4. THE CONTENT IS THE KING (IF YOU DO IT RIGHT)
In the marketing world, there is the saying "content is king". This is true, but it's not about having a lot of content ... it's about having content that is highly relevant and educational to your buyer as they start researching, evaluating, and purchasing cybersecurity solutions. This is more general advice, but in the Cybersecurity space, people want to learn best practices and get practical guidance, such as "How to implement XYZ on your network" or "5 tips to protect your data." This is content that provides explicit steps and recommendations that may be helpful. Providing content that is more consultative can open the door for customers to ask questions and evaluate your product. Technical content can be very effective if a subject matter expert is available to interview internally at your company to generate educational (non-promotional) content. For example, discuss the specific ins and outs of how to protect yourself or detect, respond to, and remediate phishing attempts, ransomware, or other attack vectors.
5. DON'T FORGET TO INFLUENCE THE INFLUENCERS
Start following security professionals on social media platforms, such as Twitter, to understand what security keywords, topics, and trends CISOs, CIOs, CIOs, CIOs, SOC administrators, and security analysts are talking about. Start wide and then match it more specifically to your area of interest. This will not only connect you to current events you may be holding onto (latest threat, data breach, PCI-DSS update, etc.), but it can also identify influencers in the security community. Aside from getting a customer to sign up, there are many security influencers (analysts, professionals, bloggers, etc.) that you can interact with to help spread the word about your particular security solution.
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About James Mac 
B2B Expert
36 connections, 1 recommendations, 144 honor points.Joined APSense since, May 20th, 2021, From arizona, United States.
Created on Nov 24th 2021 06:02. Viewed 265 times.
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