Marketing & Selling Cybersecurity in the Digital Era

Marketing & Selling Cybersecurity

Gartner posted an interesting article today on “10 Steps to Getting the Most From Your Marketing Technology ”. It reminded me just how challenging marketing and selling cybersecurity can be.

In the digital era, cybersecurity has become an essential topic for businesses worldwide. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is expected to cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, representing the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history. The risk is omnipresent; as found by the University of Maryland, a hacker attack occurs every 39 seconds, affecting one in three Americans each year. This stark reality, coupled with a projected shortfall of 3.5 million cybersecurity professionals by 2021 as forecasted by Cybersecurity Ventures, makes cybersecurity not just a technical challenge but also a critical area to market effectively.

Marketing and selling cybersecurity can be challenging due to a number of factors:

• Complexity of the Subject: Cybersecurity is a highly technical and complex field. Many people, including business decision-makers, struggle to understand the specifics of different threats and how various security solutions mitigate these risks. Translating these technical aspects into layman's terms without diluting the critical importance can be difficult.
• Perceived Urgency and Relevance: Often, businesses and individuals underestimate the risks they face, believing that cyberattacks are problems that 'happen to other people'. This complacency can make it difficult to convince them of the need for robust cybersecurity measures.
• ROI Demonstration: Unlike other investments, the return on investment (ROI) for cybersecurity is not always tangible or immediate. Cybersecurity is about prevention and mitigation of potential threats, and its value is most noticeable in its absence, i.e., when a breach occurs. Demonstrating this kind of negative ROI convincingly can be challenging.
• Budget Constraints: Particularly for small to medium businesses, budget can be a constraint. Many see cybersecurity as a large expense without immediate or visible return, making it harder to sell these services, especially high-end ones.
• Decision Paralysis: The cybersecurity market is saturated with products and services, each with its own promises and capabilities. This can lead to decision paralysis for potential customers struggling to understand which solutions best meet their needs.
• Rapidly Evolving Threat Landscape: The cyber threat landscape changes rapidly with new types of attacks emerging all the time. Keeping marketing messages up-to-date and relevant requires constant vigilance and adaptability.

To overcome these challenges, it's important for cybersecurity companies to effectively communicate the value and necessity of their offerings, educate their audience, and provide clear, actionable steps for implementation. They need to build a sense of urgency without instilling fear, and show empathy towards the customer's needs and constraints. In the end a clear strategy requires the trifecta: 1) Driving Awareness, 2) Promoting Engagement and 3) Enhancing Conversion.

Driving Awareness

The first hurdle for cybersecurity marketing is driving awareness. This challenge emanates from a couple of key areas: the complex, highly technical nature of cybersecurity products and services, and a lack of understanding or perceived need among potential customers. Organizations often struggle to understand the multifaceted nature of cyber threats, which can range from phishing scams to complex supply chain attacks. It’s the role of the marketer to demystify these threats and make the potential risks real and relatable to their target audience. Moreover, it’s about creating urgency and breaking through the complacency that many businesses and consumers feel around the topic of cybersecurity.

Promoting Engagement

Engagement in cybersecurity marketing is another area that can be particularly challenging. It's not enough to just grab the attention of potential clients; marketers must also make sure they're truly engaged with the content. This often involves striking a balance between conveying the critical nature of cybersecurity and ensuring the information isn't so intimidating or technical that it deters engagement. Offering practical advice, case studies, and easy-to-implement solutions can be effective ways of promoting engagement. In addition, marketers should leverage various channels and media formats - from blog posts and whitepapers to webinars and podcasts - to ensure they reach their audience in an engaging manner.

Enhancing Conversion

Once awareness and engagement have been fostered, the final challenge is conversion. The vast array of cybersecurity solutions available in the market can lead to decision paralysis for potential customers. Therefore, clear and convincing value propositions are crucial. Cybersecurity marketers should focus on demonstrating measurable ROI for their products or services, backed by hard data and proven results. Free trials, demos, or cybersecurity audits can also be powerful tools to convince prospects of the effectiveness of the solution, as well as aligning with their specific needs and concerns.

The Essentiality of Marketing Skills in Cybersecurity

In an era where cyber threats are escalating, effective cybersecurity marketing is more important than ever. It's not just about selling a product or service; it's about educating, informing, and ultimately protecting businesses and consumers from an ever-growing threat landscape. While technical proficiency remains critical in the cybersecurity industry, it must be paired with strong marketing skills. Without the ability to articulate and communicate complex cybersecurity concepts to a non-technical audience, even the most robust cybersecurity solutions may fail to gain traction in the market. Marketers, with their skills in communication, empathy, and persuasion, are thus a vital part of the cybersecurity ecosystem. They serve as the crucial bridge between cybersecurity firms and the businesses and individuals that most need their services.

Stay secure my friends.

@ChrisLCampbell