In this blog, Richard Peters, Senior Content Creator at Whiteoaks, explores:
- Why the business case for a cyber security purchase starts before formal procurement
- What buyers need from vendor communications to build internal support
- How evidence-led PR and marketing can help a cyber solution stand up to scrutiny
Cyber security can be a boardroom priority and still fail to win budget. In August 2026, the World Economic Forum reported that 73% of organisations consider cyber security a business priority, while only 59% of boards back that priority with financial resourcing.
Recognising cyber security as important does not automatically translate into investment. Somewhere between identifying the risk and approving the spend, the case for why a particular investment is needed still has to be made.
For in-house PR and marketing teams at cyber security companies, that means the job is not finished when a CISO or security lead understands the proposition. The buyer may still have to explain the investment to finance, procurement, legal and risk teams, or the board, often without the cyber security vendor in the room. By the time formal procurement begins, the internal business case may already be taking shape.
Your message has to survive the retelling
Marketing and communications teams spend a lot of time asking whether a message is clear enough for the buyer. There is another useful test: can that buyer repeat it accurately to someone with less technical knowledge?
Our research of 152 UK-based senior cyber communications professionals found that 38% struggle to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences. This shows how difficult it can be to translate a complex cyber proposition without losing its meaning. And once a buyer understands the solution, they may still need to explain its value to colleagues elsewhere in the business who have very different levels of technical knowledge and different priorities.
A product demo can explain the detail and a salesperson can add context, but once that conversation moves inside the buyer’s organisation, they need language and evidence that make sense without that extra explanation. If a key benefit only makes sense with several caveats, there is more scope for it to become distorted when it is repeated.
Give buyers something they can defend
The challenge becomes greater when a cyber purchase reaches people responsible for budget or wider business risk. An internal champion also has to explain why this particular supplier deserves the investment, rather than simply making the case for spending more on cyber security.
Broad promises are harder to defend in that conversation. A claim such as “100% protection” may sound reassuring, but it leaves an internal champion defending something no cyber security supplier can realistically guarantee. A more useful message is specific about what the solution can improve, how that improvement can be evidenced and where its limits sit.
Buyers appear to be asking for exactly that. 2026 buyer research from NOLA Marketing and the Ponemon Institute, based on 320 enterprise cyber security decision-makers, found that 49% say they need stronger ROI evidence to justify purchases internally. The research also points to a preference for data, benchmarks and independently validated proof over unsupported claims.
For vendor marketing and communications teams, the implication is that evidence has to do more than build credibility with the initial buyer. It also needs to help that buyer justify the investment to others. Customer results, independent testing, recognised certifications and credible partnerships can give buyers material they can use when questions start coming from elsewhere in the business.
PR should make the internal case easier
That evidence should not suddenly appear when procurement starts. PR and marketing can help build the internal case much earlier in the buying journey. For cyber security companies, it means thinking beyond the immediate audience for each piece of content.
A specialist and experienced PR agency can play an important role in that process by helping to translate technical capability into messaging that works for different audiences, while challenging claims that are too broad, too vague or difficult to substantiate. It can also help make sure the same core proposition holds together across media relations, thought leadership, customer stories and wider marketing content.
Each format can then play a different role in helping the buyer make the case internally. A case study can show what changed for a customer facing a comparable problem. Original research can help a buyer frame the issue internally, while expert commentary can place it in a wider market context. Product messaging should then be specific about what the solution does and does not do.
Technical detail still has a place, but the point is to give different audiences enough context to understand why it is commercially relevant, while reducing the risk of the message being oversimplified or misunderstood as it moves through the buying process. There is little value in making every claim bigger when the buyer will eventually have to defend it internally.
Write for the meeting you will not be in
Cyber security companies cannot control every conversation that happens inside a prospect’s business. They can, however, make those conversations easier.
Strong communications give an internal champion language they can repeat and evidence they can defend. That makes the buyer’s job easier long before procurement asks for a formal business case.
Download our research report to explore the communication pressures facing cyber security marketers, from translating technical detail to keeping claims accurate across the buyer journey. And if you want to strengthen the evidence behind your cyber security messaging and make it work harder throughout the buying process, speak to Whiteoaks about your communications approach.
