Despite assumptions that AI and LLMs are the de-facto go-to when it comes to new product research, vendor discovery and technology decision making, some traditional content marketing methods are holding up quite well, thank you very much, at least when it comes to buyers of business cybersecurity solutions.
Global B2B marketing firm the Hoffman Agency just released the results of a survey examining the impact AI cyberattacks have had on the cybersecurity buying landscape and what now influences vendor selection. Conducted by Coleman Parkes Research, the survey of 500 cybersecurity decision makers found that 67% of organizations have plans to increase cybersecurity investment in the next 12 months, while 62% are looking either for a new provider or to switch their current provider. The top three solutions for new investment are AI security, security operations (SOC) and identity access management (IAM), while network security, endpoint security and security analytics are the services most likely to experience vendor churn.
When it comes to the security buying journey, buyers certainly are relying on LLMs for both initial research and final selection, as these AI tools already have leapfrogged some longstanding pillars of B2B marketing, such as webinars and banner advertisements. But the top four sources of information for initial awareness are familiar channels and largely unchanged from years past. Following the tried-and-true top method, direct peers (35%), were industry analysts (32%), industry events (28%) and trade media (26%).
When it comes to final selection of vendors, the top sources of information were similar. Industry analysts (23%), industry events (23%) and direct peers (22%) made up the top three, with LLMs selected by 20%, followed closely by trade media (18%).
Getting more granular, the study looked at the specific content types that have the biggest influence on the selection of a cybersecurity vendor. Again, LLMs are featured here again, ranking higher than popular marketing techniques such as email marketing but below the more personal, face-to-face reality of a session or panel presentation at an industry trade show. Currently, just 8% of buyers say that they use LLMs “all the time.”
Arguably, the biggest takeaway was that there is no marketing “silver bullet,” as even the least influential content type listed, vendor blog posts, is seen by 13% of buyers as having an effect on their final buying decisions.
“A mix of different approaches and content types is the only guaranteed way to reach everyone,” argued the study, “especially as LLMs become more important and pull in information from all different sources.”
