Budget deficits, sequestration, program cut-backs—these are scary times for technology companies that view government agencies as a key vertical market. With spending down at all levels of government, many IT decisions have been slowed down or put on hold, especially those lacking the urgency of mission-critical programs. In the first half of the Federal government’s 2013 fiscal year, the IT budget across all agencies was cut by nearly $300 million. Yet, at least one type of government spending, cybersecurity, is going in the opposite direction, increasing year-after-year as cyber threats increase exponentially.
Marketing executives at enterprise companies who target government agencies need to increase their efforts with smart programs that break through the clutter in this increasingly crowded space. As companies recognize that their competitors are also ramping up efforts to go after these mission-critical opportunities, a business-as-usual approach to marketing could leave them behind the curve.
Scarcely a day goes by that doesn’t include news on new threats to government agencies from adversaries. According to US-CERT—the agency that tracks cyber attacks—cyber threats have increased 782 percent since 2006, from 5,500 to nearly 49,000 last year. Attacks jumped 13 percent last year alone. As a result, budgets are on the rise. A recent article in The Washington Post projects increases from $10 billion on cybersecurity contracts in 2012 to over $14 billion in 2017—a growth rate of 7.6 percent. A survey by Deltek of industry and government technology leaders finds that they expect cybersecurity spending to be the fastest growing area of Federal IT investment over the next few years.
IT company executives will find this new landscape a marketing challenge. As one Deltek official has stated, “it’s a chaotic, evolving field that isn’t easy to crack.” Federal buyers will look for industry partners who recognize the difficult budget environment and can offer technologies that combine hardware and software products into more efficient and effective security solutions.
Perhaps most important, companies need to be aware of their reputation within the government. As Deltek’s John Slye wrote in the Post, “Cybersecurity is a nerve-wracking subject for the federal agency leaders who will likely be held accountable for any highly public failures. Enabling the government to secure its technology resources on a tight budget is as much about trust and cultural acceptance as any new piece of hardware or software.”
That’s where effective marketing comes in. Marketing executives need to reinforce not only the technical capabilities of their products, but also the value that they can bring to the agencies. This requires multi-touch campaigns that alert government decision makers to their offerings, educate them on the benefits of their solutions, and that also bring a comfort level that communicates the reputation and trust that comes along with their brand.
This is what we call a smart campaign, and the messaging it contains must be as well thought out as the tactics used to deploy it. To be effective in this market, it must span direct outreach, have engaging and eye-catching digital assets, leverage social media channels, and employ both earned and paid media—all working together to reach decision-makers at each point in their journey from research to purchase.
It’s both an exciting time for companies with cybersecurity solutions and a challenging time for marketing executives. Learn more about cybersecurity marketing.
In the digital age, digital marketers, companies, and thought leaders are constantly introducing new ideas making it almost impossible to keep up. Lingo overload can leave you:
- Out of touch with the latest digital marketing jargon
- Feeling left out of the marketing conversation.
- Paranoid that your boss will catch on.
That’s why Bluetext has put together a complete guide to Digital Marketing Cybersecurity Lingo!
Bluetext, an award winning integrated digital marketing agency, has created a Digital Marketing Lingo e-Book to ensure you’re up to speed on digital marketing’s latest and greatest.
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Are you feeling out of touch with the latest cybersecurity marketing jargon and worried that your boss might catch on? In the digital age, cybersecurity marketers, companies and thought leaders are constantly introducing new ideas, solutions and technologies that can be impossible to keep up with. From the top down, companies need to be familiar with critical concepts like Sandboxing, Phishing, Patching and Malware, not only so they can keep up with the evolving conversation, but so they can adapt to protect themselves and their customers from cyber threats and breaches. To ensure you’re up to speed with latest and greatest in the world of cybersecurity marketing, we’ve put together a comprehensive Cybersecurity Lingo glossary. Don’t get left out of the conversation.
In the crowded and highly-competitive cybersecurity market, how do you differentiate your brand from your competitors?
While you’re thinking about how to stand out from the crowd, download a poster from our Adult Coloring Book that you can bring to life, and let Bluetext solve your bigger marketing challenges.
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Cybersecurity is a crowded space, with fierce competitors all vying for the same clients. Make
sure your lead gen program is working as hard as your competitors’.
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Topics can include:
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In the competitive cybersecurity market, what makes your brand different from your competitors?
Sometimes it takes market research to identify what makes you unique and what’s really important to your target customers. Fill out the form to download Bluetext’s Market Research Primer so you can understand how to:
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PR is not a sinking ship. It’s still an essential element in your marketing mix, especially in the crowded cybersecurity market. But is your PR program delivering the results you need to meet your revenue goals?
Let Bluetext do a free PR assessment to see if:
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My exposure to Israeli technology companies over the past several years has admittedly gravitated towards cyber security, video surveillance and biometric startups like BriefCam, FST21 and others often born out of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) or Israeli Military Intelligence. Whether it has been at ASIS or other security industry conferences, I come away impressed with the sophistication of the technology and potential applications for both commercial and government purposes.
One of the reasons the Showcase of Maryland/Israel Business – which took place on November 18th in Silver Spring, MD – caught my attention is that it extended beyond some of the aforementioned security categories to robotics, e-discovery software, medical equipment, and mobile emergency response solutions. The event was hosted by the Maryland/Israel Development Center, a non-profit organization promoting trade and investment between Maryland and Israeli businesses and research institutions.
In some cases, the companies were Israeli-based and looking to push into the U.S. market more aggressively, while others had Israeli origins but had been operating in Maryland for several years. As someone who has tracked and worked with scores of Maryland technology companies and startups – first as founder of a Maryland Tech PR firm and currently in my role as Partner at Bluetext – it is exciting to see collaboration and efforts by the Maryland Tech community to foster closer ties with Israeli tech firms.
Some of the more provocative demonstrations and companies I spoke with included:
Roboteam – This company designs, develops and manufactures cutting edge, user-oriented, multi-purpose, unmanned platforms and controllers for Defense, Law Enforcement and Public Safety missions. One of its unmanned ground vehicles was on display and operational at the event, where it demonstrated its ability to not only move on flat service but also ascend a podium staircase.
iControl Universal Collaboration Solutions – Collaborative Business Intelligence firm based in Burtonsville, Maryland helping retailers gain unified data insights across its supplier network.
NextNine – Cyber Security firm focused on oil, gas, mining, defense and other critical infrastructure verticals.
RADiFlow – This company provides secure industrial Ethernet solutions for critical infrastructure applications.