Why thought leadership is key to building trust with regulated buyers

The situation

A public cybersecurity company had launched a bot-management product into a category most buyers didn't yet understand. They couldn't tell basic bot blocking from the more advanced approach we offered, so they compared us on price.

What we did

• We published original research on how bots exploit businesses, from human-like bots committing fraud to bots spreading misinformation during COVID-19.
• We built the category story around intent-based behaviour analysis: understanding what a bot is trying to do, not just whether it's a bot.
• We took that point of view to industry analysts and the press.
• We created a glossary of security terms, so buyers searching for answers found us first.

• The research was cited by BBC, Forbes, TechRadar and an industry guide from CSDE and USTelecom.
• Forrester made intent-based analysis a requirement in its Bot Management Wave and named the product a Leader.
• Revenue across the bot and API security products grew 55% year on year.
• The company still publishes its annual report using the same framework.

Advertising tells buyers what to think. Thought leadership helps them think for themselves, and for regulated buyers, that is where trust begins.