MARKET VIEW 19
Mark Wright
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES OPERATIONS
We address the existing problem of preventing email phishing attacks and data loss using innovative new technology and approaches, which means there’s an element of educating our buyers.
With virtual selling becoming more prevalent, is in-person interaction still important?
Our technology is disruptive within the cybersecurity industry. We address the existing problem of preventing email phishing attacks and data loss using innovative new technology and approaches, which means there’s an element of educating our buyers. This is where that face-to-face interaction is really helpful. In terms of virtual selling, obviously the pandemic made a big shift towards digital and I don't think we’ll ever go back to the way things were, but we still prioritise giving people the choice between doing a virtual meeting, coming to our office or us going to them to give them the in-person interaction we feel is necessary for our business.
I think the key is to give customers a choice in how they go through the sales cycle.
How do you support your customers during the buyer journey?
I think the key is to give customers a choice in how they go through the sales cycle. For example, do they want to interact with you using an email, a phone or a web chat? Based on their choices, you can then adapt and support them accordingly.
Another thing we do is we put customers in contact with each other. The reason being is that testimonials are a powerful tool to educate buyers about how our customers and end-users are using our products, how it's helped them achieve their goals and meet their requirements. This strategy can be anything from putting two customers in contact with each other, who are in the same industry, to creating case studies that we share with our audience.
Additionally, we provide training sessions for our customers where they can engage with us and also get their questions answered.
If you have people who are sharing your content and acting as influencers and are getting other people to come to your events, make sure you incentivise and reward them.
MARK WRIGHT
Director of Marketing and Sales Operations EGRESS SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGIES
What strategies are you using to help your buyers build their social capital?
We aim to make content that is easily shared and commented on to get discussion going–allowing our buyer to present themselves as thought leaders by building on our content. For example I have seen some businesses in our space gamify qualifications, such as doing a quiz online that illustrates yourself as an expert and then posting that to your LinkedIn profile as an achievement. Another important consideration is building a community. If you have people who are sharing your content and acting as influencers and are getting other people to come to your events, make sure you incentivise and reward them.
