Keep the door open

Don't just close a deal and move on - keep the door open to your users.

Leadership Moment: Product-Led Growth

Via SwiftonSecurity (who else), we’re reminded of Bloomberg’s fascinating “get fired” perk: paying customers who lose their job can request a free Bloomberg terminal to bridge them over and maintain currency in the trading network while they seek a new job. In addition to the brilliance of this move (ensuring brand loyalty for the buyer), there’s a fascinating lesson for companies today as enterprises move to more and more consumer software services: how can you build a relationship with the consumer, so that they continue to use their software as they move across their career?

In some cases, enterprises are helping out, by purchasing standalone versions of the service, often held by the employee, rather than integrated, enterprise versions of the service. But this is a leadership opportunity for vendors – to build models for consuming services that bridge the consumer/enterprise divide.

One Minute Pro Tip: Don’t Sell Past the Users

A lot of companies design their software, their product strategy, and their marketing aimed entirely at the buyer of their product, and often ignore the most powerful (dis)advocate they’ll have: the actual user of the product. This attitude scales up and down through the business. Leadership programs are “sold” to the CPO and CEO, and then rejected by managers. Process changes are pitched in the boardroom and then stall out on implementation.

Consider who the users – especially the power-users – will be for any change you’re selling, and make sure you’re also selling at that community. Even if they aren’t the ultimate approver or buyer, how they perceive you is going to be the difference between success and failure, and being able to approach others with a good reference.

Appearances

Recent

June 4, CISO Series Podcast: I’m Rewarding Your Successful Use of the Security Budget by Giving You Less of It

June 11, CISO Series Podcast: Who You Gonna Call? LEGAL COUNSEL!

June 13, ebook: Cycode’s Code Resilience in the Age of ASPM

Upcoming

June 18: Vulcan Cyber Risk Summit

June 25, 1330 IL: Cyberweek Tel Aviv Main Plenary: The Immeasurable Challenges of Risk Measurement

July 16, NYC: CISO Dinner with Valence and AIM Security

Aug 5-8: (tentative) Black Hat

September 24: HOU.SEC.CON

Introducing: The Duha Leadership Discord

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