Cybersecurity is the new frontier. It’s one of the latest markets in the world, which means it’s full of opportunities. However, if you are involved in it, you know that there is no recipe. No classic marketing technique can fit every cybersecurity product, as marketing has never dealt with this kind of product, necessities, or market before.
The B2B cybersecurity industry has grown immensely over the last few years, and the chances are that it will keep growing with time. You could think this growth has to do with the interconnected devices’ emergence in the IoT (Internet of Things) revolution or just because cybercrime has exploded recently. You could be right. In any case, it’s not so important to understand why it’s growing so much. When you’re surfing, the point is not to understand the fluid and gravitational mechanics that cause a wave. The point is to ride it and enjoy it.
So the demand for computer and cybersecurity is vast but also is the supply. Unfortunately, too many providers offer services and products that look too similar, so it’s hard for potential customers to tell which is the best option. Even worse for the industry, it’s hard for the providers to convey to the public what makes their product or service unique, or at least the better option in a niche. Differential value is the key to success in any market always.
The B2B Market and Cyber Security
Cyber Security Ventures published a Cyber Security Market Report. If you take it seriously, the world’s expenditure for the current year will surpass the one trillion USD barrier. In addition, the Ponemon Institute estimates the average yearly cost of cyberattacks at 9,5 million USD, so it’s no surprise that the business sector is waking up to smell the coffee and buy the security services and products they need.
We surely need efficient security services and products of high quality. But the market is already overcrowded, making it hard for you to reach your target audience.
The market is hugely competitive. It doesn’t make much difference if you are selling a product directly or via distribution channels; you still have to know who you want to reach and how to engage your target market’s attention. That means figuring out the most effective methods of reaching, engaging, and nurturing your prospective clients and furnishing them with the relevant information they need to choose your services.
IBM Security is a B2B cloud security provider and a success story in the industry. Their multi-pronged marketing strategy includes paid webinars and ad campaigns that ensure that their solutions and expertise stand out from the rest.
But you can’t just do what IBM does. First of all, nobody can imitate IBM, in general. But, more importantly, though secondly, IBM is already doing it. The market is already overpopulated; it’s complicated, new players are coming in all the time. So how can you, as a B2B organization in the cyber-space, announce your services to the world in such a compelling way that your brand’s presence becomes strong?
In this article, we suggest six marketing tips tailored towards the cybersecurity industry that are effective and can help you bring new profits in.
1. Create comprehensive and unique content. Make it data-driven. Build your credibility
Suppose you want your content to make a difference. In that case, you must show, with real-life examples, how your solutions are effective and significant for the cybersecurity problems of your potential clients.
There are several points you need to ensure carefully in your content. It must be data-driven to show its relevance. It must also be comprehensive because cybersecurity problems always have many angles. And it has to be unique as well to show the world that nobody else in the industry does business as you do. Credibility is the game’s name when developing the content that will hopefully educate your prospective clients.
The content you develop should clearly show how your product or service deals successfully with a real-life cybersecurity issue. Support your case with independent industry reviews, case studies, and any authoritative source relevant to the problem and the solution you propose. Do not just take the content that’s already out there to redecorate it. Find an original angle to explain the security threats out there and that your solutions can neutralize.
Use several types of content to reach your clients because their journey will go through many stages. Different content types will ensure that you are walking along with them at every step.
- Blog entries are good at any stage in the security buyer’s trajectory. Come up with fresh entries that are relevant in general and relate to your products. That’s how you persuade the world you know what you’re doing. Think about titles like “What is phishing?” or “What are the consequences of DNS encryption?” Remember that your clients are not security experts. If they are going to make an informed choice (hopefully, by choosing your solutions), you must show them the basics first.
- Case studies. CNI hails case studies as among the relevant tactics for B2B firms. When a prospective client already knows his problem and has a vague idea of the solution he wants, case studies will be the final hit that closes the deal for you.
- You’d think that executives have better things to do with their time than watching videos on the web. You’d be wrong. HubSpot reports that three out of every four executives stream work-related videos once a week at least. 59% of them would also choose to learn from video content than from written sources. No, literacy doesn’t make you an executive. Video as a medium allows you to show concise information on cyberattacks, recovery expenses, the value of cybersecurity solutions, enhanced practical examples about those issues. You can also create a sense of urgency and make statistics relevant.
When you are developing content to establish your credibility remember to follow the following points:
- Do your research. Find relevant facts, statistics, expert opinions, and case studies.
- Write an authoritative white paper for each solution.
- Ask your previous clients for testimonials and show them.
- Forget jargon. Use plain English.
- Ensure your content is informative. Blogs, downloadable files, webinars, video tutorials.
- Use flyers and brochures to give to your clients at the appropriate events.
2. Use an effective email marketing tactic to stay in touch with your clients
No client is going to buy your products before he becomes aware of them through education. That takes time; you’re not selling shoes.
So you need to give prospective clients a lead to follow so you can nurture their knowledge of their problems and your solutions. You need to create a crumble trail they can follow until they hit the “buy” button. Emails can do that.
But your email content has to be worth the client’s time; otherwise, they will just delete it along with all the unwanted messages they get all the time in their inbox.
Monitor your email campaigns closely. Analyze your results and figure out what type of content is most effective in getting your prospective client’s attention.
Whatever you do, don’t flood your client with emails. That will only ensure that they will quickly learn to ignore you.
When you’re planning and executing your email campaign, keep these points in mind:
- Develop and include downloadable case studies, e-books, reports, and other content. Give your readers in-depth content that will develop their understanding of the industry.
- Include links to your newer or more relevant blog posts.
3. Once they’re at the funnel’s bottom, lead them with interactive sessions
Cyber events, webinars, are excellent tools for cybersecurity marketers to link with bottom-of-the-funnel leads. The interactive element is crucial. Include an AMA (or Q&A) session at the end.
Questions users ask after a webinar will tell you the topics you should address in your content (blog entries, videos, etc.).
People who are attending your webinar are already willing to spend time listening to you. They are already interested in the topic; they probably did some preliminary research. They are very likely to be attracted to the topics you want to present. Use those facts to your advantage.
In your webinars, you can encourage demo sign-ups and advertise other contents you’ve developed. Even if it’s not live, you can still allow questions from the viewers and answer them in follow-ups.
These are some excellent practices in webinars:
- If your webinar is live, record it. Make it available online once the event is finished so that more people, who could not see it live, can see it at their leisure.
- If a webinar seems well-received, you will know that the topic in question needs more content developed.
4. Complement your content strategies with paid campaigns
Paid campaigns for B2B will help you in achieving two goals:
- Amplification of content marketing endeavours.
- Getting prospects to arrive at your landing page.
Let’s start with content marketing amplification. There are those in the cybersecurity marketing industry who think that non-organic (the paid ones) campaigns and inbound marketing don’t mix. In truth, both things complement each other very well. They empower each other when you combine them appropriately.
Getting your prospect to request a demo is one of the cybersecurity marketer’s primary goals. It takes time, work, and nurturing the opportunity all the way. Paid campaigns can remove some of the friction in the process and get them ready to decide.
There is one good reason to avoid paid campaigns, though. The field is too competitive, so if you are not sure you know exactly what you’re doing, it’s better to stay away until you are ready to do everything correctly.
5. Target the decision-makers
Know your audience. This is critical to your marketing craft, and it should always be your first step in cybersecurity marketing.
The secretary who answers all your calls may be an excellent contact to have in the organization you are targeting. Still, she’s not going to decide whether your services are the solution the company needs. It would be best if you located the persons who do choose and focus on them. That’s vertical marketing.
Vertical marketing is standard because it works. But many smaller security firms prefer to avoid them as they could alienate a probable prospect that doesn’t have the “right” profile. Their alternative is to focus on the key points their solution touches across sectors. Verticals are an afterthought, then. This is not enough for you to shine in the B2B cybersecurity game.
Consider that most of your prospective clients are dealing with the same pain points. So every vendor is addressing them somehow and pitching the prospects with solutions that are very hard to tell from each other. You want to show your uniqueness from the start.
Remember these points:
- Focus on the topics that your prospects care about most. A hospital, for instance, will care about Health Insurance Portability and Accountability.
- It’s the prospect’s cybersecurity that matters, so discuss your solutions from their perspective in their language.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is not what it used to be. We’re not nostalgic about it.
Over the next five years, the demand for the cybersecurity industry’s products and services will be at 167.7 USD billion, according to Dublin Markets analysts alone. So this is the time to re-engineer your cybersecurity marketing strategy.