Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

Rodrigo Leme, Marketing Director at Right-Hand Security, joins us this week to cover the often ignored topic in cybersecurity of marketing to small and medium-sized businesses, or SMBs. Covering the concepts of business use cases, security awareness training, and post-sales support, Rodrigo explains the ins and outs, the good and the bad, the tips and the tricks of cyber marketing in the SMB world and when we should consider the bottom line (hint: it’s probably more than you think).

Timecoded Guide:

[03:14] Talking to non-technical customers in SMBs about cybersecurity and security awareness training and getting to the root of their problems and pain points

[08:30] Seeing past the term of SMB to understand the people you’re marketing to and what a good culture of cybersecurity can bring to them

[23:39] Advocating against fear, uncertainty, and doubt when marketing to SMBs and the importance of focusing on what’s good for your people, not what’s scariest

[29:09] Understanding the importance of post-sales support, engaging with customer feedback, and recognizing what customers want to see from your services

[35:39] Exploring strange and unusual business use cases and seeing the commonality of empathy for pain points in marketing 

Rodrigo, can you tell us about marketing to the SMB customer?

We don’t always get a chance to dive into SMB marketing with such a knowledgeable source, but Rodrigo invites us to consider the differences between an SMB and a large company customer throughout this episode. First, consider the size of a team you may be working with. Instead of having a CISO or a head of security, a business owner may be working on security themselves, hoping to find guidance from you on how to move forward in a small team. Additionally, Rodrigo warns that many SMB clients may not see the security opportunities beyond their tech goals, such as a restauranter seeking to add WI-FI to their offerings and missing additional security awareness strategies that need to be pointed out to them.

“The SMB customer has problems on the surface that he knows he has, like, ‘I want Wi-Fi in my restaurant for my guests.’ And he has issues that he's not aware of, or he has opportunities he's not aware of, like he may have security issues behind that Wi-Fi access that he doesn't know about.”

Can you tell us how Walmart used cybersecurity for PR?

According to Rodrigo, good cybersecurity is even better for PR. This idea could be held up with a myriad of examples, but one Rodrigo is particularly enamored with is Walmart’s prevention of gift card scams. With the ability to prevent scams and return funds before customers lose their money, Walmart has saved their customers over a million dollars and have been praised for this initiative by major news outlets. Although this is a drop in the bucket within an ocean of an issue, Rodrigo points out that saving any customer any amount of money and preventing them from being scammed in any way leads to massive PR benefits, especially when you can show off how well you understand your customer’s pain points. 

“Let's say that you're protecting those customers from getting into scams that make those people lose their mortgage money, or whatever. You're saving them a million, even if it's only a million, that's good PR. That only happens if you understand the end customer pain points, not the immediate pain points of the organization.”

What are your thoughts on FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) in marketing to these SMBs and in these business use cases? 

We’ve discussed the idea of FUD before on the podcast, and how it’s never a good cyber marketing tactic to exploit someone’s fear, uncertainty, or doubt. Although our examples have ranged from large corporations to individual consumers, we wanted to talk with Rodrigo about his perspective on marketing for SMBs and the danger of FUD. Rodrigo, considering himself a positive person with a lighthearted demeanor, finds using FUD in marketing to SMBs to be manipulative and redundant. Rodrigo argues that not only do small business owners fear for their security, they also come to Right-Hand with a desire to enhance their security already in mind. They don’t need to be scared further if a positive approach could be just as influential.

“I do not like fear, uncertainty, and doubt. I do believe that, since we're in the education business, I do like educating. We do believe in empathy. We listen to our customers, we do ask the ‘why,’ to understand the pain points of the customers.”

What are some best practices around supporting the post-sales process, after you've sold a product? 

Marketing so often focuses on the beginning of the sales cycle. We love to reach out to new customers and encourage those doing their research to check out our products, but we don’t always talk about what happens after a sale takes place. For Rodrigo and his team at Right-Hand, the post-sales process requires its own understanding of your customer and their security goals beyond what they might see for themselves. Following up with customers post-sale not only leads to high-quality feedback for Rodrigo and his team, it also allows for them to see where support is still needed for their customer, including analyzing the results of their security awareness training and setting up further opportunities to reduce human risk.

“Are we really reducing human risk? If we're not: How can we help them? Can we help them leverage the services? Can we sit down with them and help build stronger content training content? Are they having problems creating content for the training?”

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Links:

Spend some time with our guest Rodrigo Leme on his website and LinkedIn

Learn more about Right-Hand Cybersecurity on LinkedIn and their website

Follow Gianna on LinkedIn

Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

Sherry Lowe, CMO of Exabeam, joins us this week to talk about marketing strategies during the pandemic as well as representing women in the male-dominated industries of tech and cybersecurity. With CMO experience at Druva, Expanse, and Exabeam, Sherry explains how her encounters with sexism in the cyber industry inspired her to pursue high-level management and board opportunities, including her work with FirstBoard.io, and how she’s pivoted to focus on digital marketing during the uncertainty of COVID-19.

Timecoded Guide:

[01:55] Witnessing changes in cybersecurity marketing tactics and practices as the online and digital world continues to influence our audiences

[04:11] Shifting away from events-based marketing budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic and embracing more digital cyber marketing opportunities

[08:29] Changing her strategies and altering her marketing budget when joining Exabeam as the CMO, especially considering the timing for the pandemic

[15:17] Acknowledging progress being made for women in cyber, while also keeping in mind the impact of the pandemic and the economy on mothers working in tech

[20:18] Dealing with sexism and toxicity in the workplace, especially in male-dominated industries, and advocating for more women in marketing and in leadership

How has cybersecurity marketing changed from when you started?

With a storied career both behind and ahead of Sherry, we were excited to ask her about what she’s seen change the most since beginning her career in the cyber industry. Her answer? An increased focus on digital marketing and online content. When Sherry started, websites were not the focus for many cyber companies, versus today where websites are a hugely influential part of the marketing team’s job and generates the best leads for the majority of cyber and tech companies. 

“A really huge shift that I've seen over the years is just how powerful driving prospects to your website is. To interact on the website, not just to land on it and read something, but to actually do something there. Those conversion rates are going to end up being really some of the best leads that you ever see.”

Can you pinpoint any specific changes that happened at Exabeam and in cyber marketing, specifically around the pandemic?

Although cyber marketing has changed in leaps and bounds since Sherry became a part of the industry, the pandemic brought a huge shift in the marketing perspective and the marketing budget for cyber marketing and for Exabeam. Joining Exabeam during the pandemic, Sherry was admittedly horrified to realize that a large majority of their budget, nearly 80%, was focused on marketing at in-person events. With the pandemic making travel restricted and group gatherings nearly impossible, Sherry quickly pivoted their efforts and their budget to digital marketing, striving to engage customers online and continue to innovate their outreach beyond what it would be in an event setting or at large gatherings.

“Cyber security marketing loves the trade show. They love the big box trade show, and it was a forced shift for the cybersecurity industry because COVID changed all of that. If you were not a digital-first marketing organization when COVID hit, you had to do that shift so quickly.”

What's the mission of FirstBoard.io, and what ceilings are you trying to break?

We’ve accomplished so much in the cyber world, continuing to bridge the gap between where men and women are represented in the industry. However, Sherry points out that a large majority of company boards fail to provide strong opportunities for women in cyber and in tech. Hoping to give more women the opportunity to serve on their first boards and get a start in leadership in the industry, Sherry became a founding member of FirstBoard.io.

“Right now, women are just not as represented as men on boards…and there's a tendency to keep using the same women on boards. So, we're trying to expand it, so that opportunities go beyond just the same four or five women.”

Do you have any advice that you could share with people listening today about workplace toxicity and sexism?

There’s thankfully a lot of emphasis around creating safe work environments for any company, but especially in cyber these days. Unfortunately, Sherry has seen the reality of what it’s like to experience unsafe work environments first-hand. After being harassed on more than one occasion by a male coworker, Sherry spoke up and had to cope with the consequences of doing so, losing friends and leaving her job after doing so. As difficult as this situation was, Sherry is thankful for the realization that brought her: she could be a CMO, she could be a leader in cyber, and she could build a safer environment for the women that worked with her.

“Everyone always says, ‘If you see something, say something,’ but what they don't tell you is the sentence that comes after that: ‘But prepare for the consequences of saying something.’ That's the sentence they forget to say after that, and you have to weigh that for yourself.” 

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Links:

Spend some time with our guest Sherry Lowe on LinkedIn

Learn more about Exabeam on the Exabeam website and LinkedIn

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

Follow Gianna on LinkedIn

Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter

We invite Jennifer VanAntwerp, Principal at JVAN Consulting, to talk about taking the challenge of cybersecurity marketing by the horns. Her secret weapon? Kindness. Jen shares stories with us about her marketing journey to becoming a consultant, explains her development of the 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers, and reminds us why communities like the Cybersecurity Marketing Society are so important for marketers and for the cybersecurity industry as a whole.

Timecoded Guide:

[02:12] Explaining Jen’s background in automotive marketing and healthcare, as well as connecting those industries to her newer roles in cybersecurity 

[08:36] Breaking down Jen’s 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers and revealing which commandments feel most important for the industry currently

[18:34] Taking the challenge to develop handouts and merchandise beyond cheap plastic pens and unoriginal assets that don’t leave an impact on your audience

[23:40] Avoiding falling into the marketing trap of FUD: fear, uncertainty, and doubt, which is especially common in the cybersecurity industry

[32:08] Wrapping up Jen’s commandments with reading the room, avoiding common lies in marketing, and connecting better with our cyber community

You’ve worked in the automotive industry and in healthcare, what have you seen from those two industries be applicable in cyber?

Jennifer VanAntwerp has a very impressive marketing resume, including work in the automotive industry and the urgent care side of the healthcare industry. We were curious about differences, especially with Jen being relatively new to the cyber marketing world. The biggest difference, which we’ve actually discussed previously on the podcast, is the skepticism of the cybersecurity audience. Cyber professionals are already worried about the online threats we see emerge every day, but they're also skeptical, sometimes, of the tactics marketers use and the buzzword-y, almost meaningless language we can fall victim to. 

“There's always a new element or facet of cybersecurity that you can go into, but I would say the biggest difference between cybersecurity and the two other industries that I worked in, is the audience. Our audience is very, very skeptical. We've almost trained them to be.”

What do you think are the pros and cons of being a generalist in marketing?

With Jen having experience outside of the industry, she considers herself more of a generalist in her cybersecurity marketing tactics. She’s entirely willing to admit that she’s not the most technical marketer of the bunch. Although this presents a well-rounded mindset for the companies she consults with, she acknowledges that there may need to be an extra set of hands to do some technical explaining or a lot of extra time to do her research. There’s always something new to learn in cyber marketing, but it’s important to point out that it can be overwhelming, which is one of the reasons Jen developed her 10 commandments.

“It's a blessing and a curse. It's a good thing, because I can see the big picture, do a lot of the strategy elements, and understand what levers to pull, but with some of the levers, I might need a specialist to assist in that regard.”

Can you tell us about which of your 10 Cyber Marketing Commandments are the most important and why?

With these 10 marketing commandments, Jen shares all the basics of not only being a good marketer, but also being a good human in the cybersecurity industry. One of the most important commandments is the first of the 10, which is to respect your audience’s time. Everyone is busy, with a lot on their plate, and not acknowledging that in your marketing tactics not only can annoy your audience, but it can be a waste of time for you, as well. If your audience doesn’t have the time for your current strategy, you won’t get through to them.

“That's one of the things I love about the Cybersecurity Marketing Society, is that it is a way for us to share ideas and do that coopetition thing. Even though we might be competitors, we can still share ideas within the space, but I feel like it's a good chance for us to have constant reminders of what not to do.” 

What is so special about commandment 10: give back to the community? 

Although all 10 commandments offer lessons to be learned for our fellow cybersecurity marketers, commandment 10 emphasizes community and the importance of giving back. This can be traced all the way back to Jen’s mother, a passionate volunteer always lending help to her community. She’s been incredibly influential on Jen’s opinion of community, and the Cybersecurity Marketing Society has given Jen one of many opportunities to give back. From volunteering to donating, mentoring to offering someone a shoulder to cry on, your community needs your help, and the 10th cyber marketing commandment says just that.

“I ended it with that one, because I feel like that's the one that's going to keep going on forever. It's like commandment number 10 lives on for the rest of time, because those little acts of service within your community, they spread tenfold.”

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Links:

Spend some time with our guest Jennifer VanAntwerp on LinkedIn. 

Read Jen’s original 10 Commandments of Kindness for Cybersecurity Marketers.

Follow Gianna on LinkedIn.

Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Zereen Ali, Cyberforce Q’s Marketing Coordinator, brings her one-person team to the podcast today. Together, we talk about being new to cybersecurity, finding educational resources for cybersecurity marketers, and growing with Cyberforce Q from regional to national. With a variety of skills under her belt and a work history that includes automotive marketing for a tier-one supplier, Zereen has become a vital part of Cyberforce Q’s success. She hopes to take this company even further with leveraging partnerships and managing data quality. 

Timecoded Guide:

[03:08] Transitioning from an automotive to cybersecurity marketing position

[07:07] Structuring her work calendar around her one-person digital marketing team

[12:40] Approaching Cyberforce Q’s scaling from a marketing perspective and utilizing former automotive marketing strategies

[16:15] Marketing campaigns and techniques that have worked and haven’t worked for Cyberforce Q

[20:19] Joining the cybersecurity industry during the COVID pandemic

What is it like moving from automotive to cybersecurity marketing? 

After leaving the automotive industry during the pandemic, Zereen saw an opportunity in cybersecurity marketing to grow her content strategy skills, as well as learn the technical side of the cybersecurity industry. Leaving behind the more rigid and traditional world of automotive marketing, Zereen joined Cyberforce Q and immediately felt the personal impact that increased security has on their clients.

“In cyber, you can really feel that impact because you’re protecting people…We’re really protecting the end users in a lot of cases, and it feels really fulfilling.”

What marketing educational materials have been the most helpful for you? 

New to cyber, Zereen found herself with a lot to learn about the ins and outs of Cyberforce Q and their competitors’ products and services as well. Focusing on researching and networking, she joined our Cyber Marketing Society and has found an incredible community willing to answer questions and provide feedback for people just like Zereen. New to cyber, or looking for fellow cyber security marketers? Check out the Cyber Marketing Society! 

“[Cybersecurity Marketing Society] is such a wonderful place to start because you get an instant network…you can ask anyone any questions.” 

How does being a one-person team impact your work and your schedule?

From her experience in automotive marketing, Zereen has gotten used to small marketing teams and high accountability. In her role at Cyberforce Q, Zereen is a one-person marketing team. From email campaigns to content marketing to website editing, she has a high volume of work and often collaborates with only an intern or two. To manage this workload, she keeps a tight schedule and a flexible calendar that allows for last minute changes. 

“The brand touches every single piece of your organization. How I interact with clients, how our sales team interacts, and how our technical team interacts all need to have some strain of our vision within it.”

What is the next marketing strategy for Cyberforce Q? 

In the transition from regional to national, Zereen has been focusing Cyberforce Q’s marketing strategy around leveraging strategic partnerships and increasing opportunities for Cyberforce Q to be seen as a subject matter expert. While partnering with other companies and organizations helps potential customers learn about Cyberforce Q, using speaking engagements and other educational opportunities to share knowledge and explain case studies builds trust in their knowledge of cybersecurity.

“[At Cyberforce Q], we are really trying to position ourselves as that subject matter expert.”

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Links:

Spend some time with our guest Zereen Ali on LinkedIn and Facebook, or shoot her an email at [email protected].

Learn more about Cyberforce Q on their website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. 

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Follow Gianna on LinkedIn.

Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.

Lori Cohen, fractional CMO at Chief Outsiders and former VP of Marketing for Percona, joins us this week to talk about the importance of your brand— not just your branding. From popping balloons with Veridium to saying “Mongo Wrongo” with Percona to falling in love with Made In pans, Lori explains how brands earn the right to live in our heads through keeping it personal and not being afraid to have a little fun with longer term strategies.

Timecoded Summary:

[03:27] Navigating brand identity and metrics in a high pressure environment

[07:48] Effective guerrilla marketing through thought interruption

[15:39] Showing up beyond the gimmick to create an impactful convention experience

[25:01] Getting in the heads of your audience and earning brand recognition

[33:36] Personalized communication and its impact on audience connection

Be sure to check out the photos and videos of the Mongo campaign, referenced by Lori, here!

How do you navigate that brand when you're in one of these venture-backed, high pressure, high performance environments?

When talking about branding goals, Lori is quick to explain her distaste for short-term goal measurement and how much focus certain brands spend on MQLs. Although short-term metrics can seem extremely successful, longer term projects with larger goals often lead to higher chances of profitability. Although it might take some convincing, Lori advises her fellow marketers to ask for the resources for longer term projects over the MQL-focused short-term.

“No one likes to talk about it. Nobody likes to put money towards it, and everybody confuses brand with branding. So, those are even some places that we can start.”

Can you explain how you go about sourcing these creative things instead of just sorting by cheapest?

As Lori explains her adventures in brand marketing, one question we kept asking ourselves was: How can we do that? It’s easy to fall for cheap marketing materials, like coffee cups and

pens, but those items rarely connect to our brand’s message. In Lori’s experience, the best way to source these creative ideas is long-term planning, similar to other marketing strategies she endorses. When we make our swag a part of our brand message, we avoid the gimmicks.

“It wasn't just a gimmick for gimmick sake. We got to translate that message into the pain that we know everybody feels and then demonstrate our technology.”

Tell us why you prefer that consumer brand over others. What is it that they do that's really good in brand building?

For an example of a brand that speaks to her heart, Lori tells us about her love of Made In. Made In makes pots, pans, and assorted cookware for people just like Lori, who are passionate about high quality tools to make high quality meals. Made In speaks to Lori and inspires her loyalty not only through living up to their high quality purpose, but for their consistent messaging and their focus on the right audience.

“They want to speak to me. They don't want to speak to my friend Robin, who we may look alike in terms of our demographics, but she has never cooked in our life. They would be wasting a fortune to go after her. They're really going after people like me.”

How would you feel if our brand disappeared?

Brands make their way into our heads and have the permission to stay there through connecting with us on a personal level. Lori is quick to remind us that, no matter how our customers and potential clients are connecting to us, there needs to be a personal approach to what we do and how we speak to them. From making sure our emails aren’t just automated by no-reply accounts to reaching out with fun messages and memes, we only can succeed with inspiring brand loyalty when we make ourselves worthy of that loyalty.

“I'm not saying it's easy, but the ones that do that well, I think they actually get invited into your home and begin feeling about your brand in a different way. And then your emails seem less spammy, and maybe more welcome in their inbox.”

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Spend some time with our guest Lori Cohen on LinkedIn, Twitter, the  Chief Outsiders website 

Additional resources mentioned in this podcast:

Follow Gianna on LinkedIn

Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

We’re joined by Karen Walsh, Founder and CEO of Allegro Solutions, on the podcast today to talk about the good, bad, and ugly of cybersecurity content marketing. As a compliance expert, former professor, lawyer, and kickass cybersecurity auditor, Karen shares her formula for content marketing success, educates us on educating our audience, and even gives us a quick peek at one of her many talents outside of the cybersecurity space. 

Timecoded Summary:

Sponsor:

Thank you to our sponsors and producers Hacker Valley Media! Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings run an amazing studio, which produces not only the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast, but a bunch of other shows that you're going to want to listen to as well. You can check these all out at HackerValley.com. 

Do we really need to explain this again? 

When explaining the essentials of educating your audience, Karen encounters more than her fair share of clients who think they don’t have to explain or educate as much as they do. Education cannot be made with assumptions or without proper research into your audience. Although many of your potential clients may understand the terms you’re using, explaining and educating instead of assuming will avoid making an “*ss” out of anyone. 

“Have high standards of educating those who are coming into your website. They need to know things and they're not going to take that next step to convert if they don't understand and if you haven't educated them.”

How do you mix in SEO in order to be telling a good story to your buying audience, but also try and rank for terms for when people are searching?

Karen believes that SEO and content marketing is a formula, and bases a lot of her work around the essentials of that formula. These are three challenges that X industry has when trying to do Y security functions. Through explaining the challenges faced and the methods that could be used to solve them, you’re training yourself to not only educate, but to take up essential website real estate with impactful on-page SEO.

“I mean, it's formulaic. You set out a business problem that you're looking to solve, right? You define what that business problem is, and when you're defining what that business problem is, you focus on certain terms.”

What are your top marketing buzzwords to avoid on content?

Karen loves many things about content marketing, but there are some words that she cannot stand, including frictionless and actionable. For Karen, these words are vague and unhelpful in your marketing, leaving more questions than answers for potential clients. Get specific and explain why or how what you can provide separates your company from the pack. Don’t fall victim to meaningless marketing words when specificity can help so much more. 

“And I think part of the problem with a lot of these terms is people haven't really thought about what they mean by the term and so, it makes them meaningless.” 

How do you earn respect in cybersecurity as a woman and a marketer who knows her shit?

There are already huge barriers for women in cybersecurity, especially when coupled with non-technical roles, such as marketing and writing—  both of which are Karen’s specialties. Karen explains that, for her, there’s also the third layer of being a freelancer. Oftentimes, cybersecurity companies are playing into their own internal biases without realizing it and hurting freelancers by assuming negative things about their skills and quality of work. 

“I know I'm a good writer. It's what I like doing. I don't want to code, but I have to make sure people don't treat me like I'm stupid because I don't do the technical job, which goes along with the marketing because they think marketing is fluff.”

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Spend some time with our guest Karen Walsh on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and the Allegro Solutions website 

Additional resources mentioned in this podcast: Karen Walsh on Rate My Professor, Dark  Reading, Security Mag, Feedly’s cybersecurity feed, Help Net, Votiro, TryHackMe, Black Girls in Cyber, Tricia Kicks SaaS, Everest Shoulder Rest, Lindsey Stirling

Follow Gianna on LinkedIn

Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

This week, we interview David Leichner, the CMO of Cybellum, currently residing in Tel Aviv, Israel. We talk to David about his move from America to Israel, his admiration for Israel’s focus on cyber startups, his decades of experience in sales and marketing, and his dedication to relationship building -- no matter what he’s marketing!

Timecoded Guide:

[01:17] David’s personal and professional journey to Cybellum

[05:03] Israel’s transformation into a cybersecurity startup mecca

[08:44] Creation and mission of the Cyber Elite

[18:32] Tying together marketing and sales in the cyber world

[31:27] Passions David has outside of being a CMO

How did you get to where you are today to be the CMO of Cybellum?

From his start on Wall Street to his current position in Tel Aviv, David has worn many hats. After taking advice from a VP of Engineering in Israel who advised him that marketing may be a better place for him, he realized his unique perspective and experience working hands-on in cybersecurity and software gave him a leg up and made him a very well-rounded marketer.

“One of the things I realized was that most marketeers at the time didn't really understand technology. I had an advantage that I understood technology on one side, and then I also understood marketing and then, later on, sales.”

How has Israel evolved into a place known for very successful cybersecurity vendors?

As a kid, David dreamed of living in a country like Israel, and his dream became a reality when he moved to Tel Aviv to work for the Bezeq. He quickly learned about how much energy Israel focuses on hands-on cybersecurity and tech training, especially in the army. With many resources available for this education, it's clear how Israel has risen to the top of this industry.

“Israel is cultivating, not just in cyber, also in data analytics, also in a lot of biomed technology. There are all kinds of technologies that have come from military bases, and then are commercialized for use in industry.”

Can you give us some of your secrets to making a relationship between marketing and sales successful?

With experience in marketing and sales, David is our expert in where those roles need to intersect to be successful. Throughout our discussion, David explains that marketing is a creative role, but the credit to closing deals and making profits can be equally divided between sales and marketing for them to thrive together.

“I mean, we have a fun profession here in marketing, we get to try new things, we get to innovate, we get to be creative, we get to go out to conferences, and to meet people all over the world. It's a great profession.”

What are some other things that marketing can learn from sales?

David’s tips and tricks don’t stop with sales and marketing collaboration, they extend also to the relationships cultivated between you and your clients. David has realized that through being genuinely interested in learning about his clients and their problems, he forms an authentic connection and a real sales relationship beyond a quick pitch.

“I think, whether you're doing email sequences, or you're doing events, or you're doing podcasts, whatever it is, you should always have in mind that you have to build the relationship. You're not selling features, you're selling benefits, you're selling value.”

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Spend some time with our guest David Leichner on LinkedIn and on the Cybellum website

Follow Gianna on LinkedIn

Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

“Marketing is too often sidelined from the bad news about the product and from the good news about the competitors. What we do is cool, but we don't do everything and that is okay!”- Allan Alford 

No one knows how to get product marketing in front of a CISO better than, well, a CISO! In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Allan Alford, CISO and CTO at TrustMAPP, to talk about his biggest takeaways from his time spent as a CMO. Allan shares his tips on bringing more personality into cybersecurity marketing, why building your personal brand is just as important as building the company’s, and the best ways to position your marketing to the CISO community. Lastly, Allan shares his philosophy on meeting customers where their challenges are and acknowledging your competition. 

If you enjoyed our guest as much as we did, be sure to check out his show, The Cyber Ranch Podcast

Guest Bio:

With 20+ years in information security, Allan Alford has served as CISO four times in three industries. Alford parlayed an IT career into a product security career and then ultimately fused the two disciplines. Alford gives back to the security community via The Cyber Ranch Podcast and by authoring articles and speaking at conferences.

Links

Follow Allan Alford on LinkedIn and Twitter

Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn 

Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website

Check out  Hacker Valley Media and the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast

“If you want to do something that no one has ever done before, you have to be different.” Nathan Burke

In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Nathan Burke, Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius, to talk about how Axonius approaches innovation and creativity – from company culture to marketing practices. Nathan explores his desire to shake things up in cybersecurity marketing and ways to position both your brand and message in a way that is both unique and effective. He announces his biggest project yet!! – working with CrossFit champion and kickboxer, Amy Bream and US Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles. He shares how the campaign emerged, from ideation to conception, and his intentions for the future. 

Stop by the Axonius booth, #943, during RSA Conference in San Francisco from June 6-9, 2022, where both Biles and Bream will be making an appearance!

Guest Bio:

Nathan Burke is the Chief Marketing Officer at Axonius. Passionate about bringing new technologies to market to solve real problems, he has held marketing leadership roles at Hexadite (acquired by Microsoft), Intralinks, MineralTree, CloudLock (acquired by Cisco), and is a frequent speaker and contributing author on topics related to the intersection of collaboration and security. 

Links:

Check out Amy Bream’s promo video, Axonius’s video submission to Simone Biles, Simone Biles’s promo video, and Dinner With The Biles

Follow Amy Bream and Simone Biles on Instagram

Stay in touch with Nathan Burke on LinkedIn and Twitter, and read more about this campaign on the Axonius blog.

Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn 

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn 

Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website

Hear more episodes from Hacker Valley Media and the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast

In this episode, Gianna and Maria are joined by Liam Barnes, Head of Demand Generation & Programs at Bionic, to talk about his transition from SEO to Demand Gen and why he thinks SEO is a ‘confused industry.’ Liam explores the need for more intentional and strategic SEO practices, shares his tips for capturing buyers that are lower in the funnel, and why he chooses not to invest in paid search/PPC. Lastly, he shares his key marketing tools as well as his favorite BBQ restaurants in Texas…plus much more!

Guest Bio:

Liam Barnes is the Head of Demand Generation and Programs at Bionic, an Application Security startup. He has previously worked at Harness and consulted for companies like Sumo Logic.

Links:

Check out Liam’s key tools Metadata and Clearbit, as well as Canva, LinkedIn, Zapier, and Slack

Get your ‘Liam approved’ Texas BBQ fix at Terry Black’s, Roady’s truck stops, and Snow’s 

Stay in touch with Liam Barnes on LinkedIn and Twitter, and listen to his podcast

Connect with Gianna on LinkedIn 

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn 

Follow the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on Twitter or learn more at the Cybersecurity Marketing Society website

Hear more episodes from Hacker Valley Media and the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing Podcast