A recent study from the Technical University of Denmark reveals that the collective global attention span is shrinking. Although people spend more time than ever online, they aren’t investing enough conscious effort to research particular trends or topics ― but rather skim through content. Coupled together, these two facts lead us to believe that protective agents and EP organizations need to invest substantially more to grab the narrowing attention of future clients in less time. Therefore, this article will explore effective marketing for security professionals and companies.
Most executive protection specialists and organizations take their online presence for granted. Perhaps they publish a post or two every day on LinkedIn, providing insights into their assignments and procedures. Others only promote their work on websites and social media once in a while. But, for the most part, neither have a sound marketing strategy or publishing plan. In other words, they:
- Lack a clear direction, and try to reach everybody,
- Have little or no marketing expertise, and
- Underestimate the power of online marketing.
In many cases, the cause for the failure of a company is that it chose an inappropriate marketing strategy. Yes, delivering content consistently helps, but it’s only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
What’s more, some established security companies mistakenly believe that word of mouth is all it takes to continue to acquire new clients. Frankly speaking, it isn’t. In fact, the market is as saturated as ever, and new firms are sprouting like mushrooms. They offer a wider range of services and reach out to clients who already have longstanding relationships with the competition.
Thus, it’s necessary to stand out from thousands of professionals offering similar protective benefits ― and stay there. So how do you do that exactly?
The Ever-Growing Importance of Online Presence
First and foremost, a robust online presence comprises your website, social media, and email channels. For example, one Salesforce survey concluded that 85% of customers conduct plenty of research before making an online purchase. But, more importantly, most of them focus on social media and websites to get vital information.
The same applies to clients or their personal assistants who wish to hire a security company or individual protective agents. Potential protectees will do some of several things to find the best fit for their security needs:
- Skim through your online platforms, including your photos, visuals, and articles,
- Examine your posts and interactions with the industry and glimpse at the number of likes and shares (as this constitutes a good benchmark of how successful a company is at interacting with outsiders),
- Verify your track record, who you’ve worked with, and who is on your team (in other words, they will assess if you maintain a trained and certified staff).
Of course, none of this will be effective and beneficial to you in some instances. For example, if your website isn’t user-friendly or your published content is inadequate. How you present your past and current work makes all the difference.
Put simply, it’s about the functionality of your platforms and the stuff you put on there. Both need to address the preferences and demands of potential clients consistently and powerfully.
When Needs Meet Skills: Marketing for Security Professionals
Executive protection pundits and longtime specialists are acutely aware of how many reckless wannabes are trying to enter the industry. With zero training and all glamour, these individuals play catch-all on social media and their websites. But this is a game that yields little to no results. Companies need to be cognizant of their reach and capabilities, not target every person on the internet.
For instance, the security needs of high-net-worth families differ significantly from what a single business executive may require. The former could comprise children or persons with disabilities who need particular care. Conversely, protecting an enterprise leader usually consists of driving from home to the office and “simple” day-to-day work. (Indeed, with all its intricacies.)
Alternatively, suppose a security company or a freelance EPA finds gathering protective intelligence domestically to be their strong suit ― rather than security driving in Africa. In that case, they should go with the former and not the latter, thereby ensuring the best possible provision of service. But also, the satisfaction of clients.
Expectedly, most companies specialize in some areas and not others. So it would be remiss to onboard clients with security needs that are different from what the protection provider can deliver. And that’s precisely where marketing for security professionals comes onto the stage.
Acquiring Regular Clients
The main goal of all businesses is revenue. A carefully devised strategy is how they make this goal a reality. But thirdly, the day-to-day work of reaching out to clients who will generate the income is the intricate part.
Likewise, marketing for security professionals and companies to acquire new clients is anything but a walk in the park. Yet, here we will present some proven methods to attain this objective. In other words, we will help you present your brand as attractive to potential protectees.
Imagine the following scenario:
- Security Company A publishes once or twice per week, produces low-quality blog posts (weak grammar, spelling, and editing, with little value), rarely replies to followers in the commenting sections on social media (contributing to low engagement), markets its content to everyone and not the clientele to whose needs they are capable of catering to, and keeps a flawed content marketing plan that they unsystematically consult and improve upon.
- Security Company B publishes 4-5 times a week on all relevant platforms consistently, follows its heavily researched marketing strategy to the letter, interacts with social media and website users daily, creates high-level relatable content that it markets to potential, targeted clients, and uses the technique of rinse and repeat to improve the experience of future clients on its platforms. (Note: Most security companies don’t have the in-house expertise to do all of this work, so they engage an external digital marketing agency.)
Some studies show that Security Company B would likely acquire many more regular clients. And we all know how crucial it is for a firm in our industry to preserve a stable clientele. Therefore, the key to successful marketing for security professionals and companies is in all the aforementioned elements, not a single one.
Generating Word of Mouth (But Online)
Everything we discussed so far doesn’t imply that recommendations or having people talk about your brand and services is irrelevant. Still, it will get you only so far. If it isn’t coupled with and supported by a solid online presence, the company in question is doing itself a disservice.
These two components ― word of mouth and online marketing for security professionals ― needn’t act independently. Instead, we can look at them as two sides of the same coin. Simply put, you strongly influence what people say about you when you invest in your online presence. In other words, you get the conversation going in the direction you want.
Note: Word of mouth has a limited capacity, as its impact essentially diminishes the moment people stop talking about you. On the other hand, if you generate positive talk online, its effects will multiply fast the more consistently and compellingly you enhance your messaging.
We live in a globalized world, where a potential client from Nigeria could be looking to hire a security company from the US. In this case, word of mouth will not be as advantageous as a client is typing “executive protection in Nigeria” in their search engine. By doing so, they could find your protection company on Google’s first page ― a direct result of a proper marketing strategy and efforts to optimize your platform for search engines.
At any rate, you presumably want to get people talking about you and your security company. In that case, it’s an absolute requirement to be sociable on social media. Additionally, you have to create an online environment that will help people relate to your brand positively. Whether it be a responsive, beautifully designed website with tons of valuable content or some other platform.
The Takeaways
This article explored how online presence can positively (or adversely) influence a company’s and individual’s standing in the executive protection industry. But also how clients regard them.
Proper marketing for security professionals and companies really depends on a well-researched and designed marketing strategy and content calendar that work in sync to deliver the most value to potential clients.
Thereby, these tools increase the likelihood of future protectees (or their personal assistants) reaching out to you or your company to schedule a meeting or arrange collaboration. In that sense, your website and social media channels are the first touchpoints with potential clients. Consequently, you would want them to have the best possible experience, wouldn’t you?
In any case, we hope this article on marketing for security professionals and companies brings home the point on how:
- Marketing strategies help increase your client base and enhance your brand’s potency,
- Compelling content helps grab the attention of future protectees in an environment where everyone’s attention span is shrinking,
- Standing out from the rest is a matter of consistently creating high-value articles, visuals, and campaigns that target a specific audience ― not every person on the internet,
- Seizing momentum and producing favorable talk about your services in advance is far better than merely leaving your public perception up to chance, and
- Being present online and occasionally posting isn’t enough in and of itself. But hiring a proficient marketing team makes for a supremely better solution.
Click here to find out more about how digital marketing services can help you as a security company or protection professional.
