Heather Vaughan: How One Company Generates Leads With A Disruptive Message Inside Educational Content

“Just because someone has ‘VP’ in his or her title doesn’t mean that that person is more or less open to change. Job title has nothing to do with it”

Heather Vaughan, manager of Global Demand Generation at Infoblox, faces a familiar marketing challenge. Her company has a great product, but it does not have the brand recognition some of its competitors do. That means that she needs to attract the attention of decision influencers who look past the brand and deeper into the solution. “Our messaging is different than it would be if we were talking to people in the C-Suite, who look at their company’s entire infrastructure,” Vaughan says. “I target the security buyer and the network buyer—people who actually use the product. I assess their pains and show them how our product can help ease their daily struggles.”

With this narrow audience in mind, Vaughan’s company pursues a strategy that appeals to those in-the-trenches influencers while at the same time establishing the Infoblox brand as synonymous with expertise in the market. “To find new leads, my group partners with the organizations our audience goes to for education. We provide that education through webinars and other educational content.” In other words, Vaughn goes to the places where her customers are most likely to be found. Still, many companies provide a lot of information about network management and security. So, to stand out, Vaughan has published an eBook about an often-overlooked aspect of network security: Domain Name System (DNS) servers. Many companies focus their security efforts on protecting their network perimeter and ensuring regulatory compliance, shortchanging security at their DNS servers. Vaughan points out the very real fact that one of the most common vectors for security breaches is a DNS attack; as it happens, securing DNS servers is Infoblox’s greatest strength. “For us, it’s about DNS security and understanding why that security is important,” Vaughn explains. “The eBook shows that DNS is the core of a company’s security. We position our content on the fact that companies must turn more of their attention on their DNS servers.”

The eBook works as a demand generation tool by revealing the pain of securing DNS servers. It disrupts the status quo idea that other aspects of network security are more important than DNS and that a company’s current solution is probably good enough. The eBook forces potential customers to rethink this aspect of their network security and provides information that helps them better secure their network.

Vaughn points out that to get the most out of this content strategy, you must utilize many promotional channels. “You need a bit of everything. I don’t think you can focus on just one channel and think you’ll succeed,” she says. “We partner with many organizations, including content distribution networks such as NetLine, to get our educational content in front of the audiences that matter to us, but we also use social media—Facebook and LinkedIn—and search is important, too. We are even promoting the eBook through online newspaper advertisements. You have to put yourself in front of the customer,” says Vaughan.

It’s also important to be able to handle and nurture the good leads your demand gen activities generate. “Nurturing is important because people consider many angles before they make a decision,” Vaughn says. “We’re working on email nurture campaigns for both the security buyer and the network buyer. When those leads come to our website, they’re coming to look for information, and we want to give them exactly what they’re looking for.”

This is an excerpt from 9 Experts on Rethinking Demand Generation. The eBook was generously co-sponsored by Mighty Guides and Netline.