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What a Modern, Buyer-Centric Approach to Software Market Intelligence Looks Like
Early in my career as a tech marketer, I was told that securing a top-right position in an analyst report was the way to gain credibility. It didn’t take long before I started questioning the whole system. Here's why.
Dani Woolf
06 Feb • Read Time: 8 minutes
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Early in my cybersecurity marketing career, and like many before me, I was told that securing a top-right position in an analyst report was the way to gain credibility.
Vendors poured millions into engaging with firms like Gartner and Forrester, desperate to be included in their rankings.
It didn’t take long before I started questioning the whole system.
The disconnect was glaring.
While these firms positioned themselves as the ultimate arbiters of cybersecurity solutions, the practitioners I spoke with - the people actually using these products - saw things very differently.
CISOs and security teams weren’t making decisions based on analyst reports alone; they were talking to their peers, relying on community-driven insights, and validating solutions through hands-on experience.
So, when I sat down with Dr. Chase Cunningham, VP of Security Market Research at G2, and Co-Founder of Demo-Force, I knew we had to go deep into the problems with the traditional analyst model - and more importantly, what a better alternative looks like.
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Insights and Key Takeaways
The Legacy Analyst Model: A Pay-to-Play System
Chase has spent years on both sides of the equation—first as an analyst at Forrester, and now at G2, where he’s working to disrupt the model entirely.
He doesn’t hold back.
“I had a vendor that worked with me [at Forrester] whose budget to keep me happy was half a million dollars a year.”
Let that sink in.
A vendor’s analyst relations budget was $500K—just to stay on an analyst’s good side.
That money wasn’t necessarily going toward better research, deeper customer insights, or improving their product.
It was about influence.
Big analyst firms claim to be independent, but the reality is that vendors with deeper pockets often get more coverage and better positioning.
Meanwhile, innovative startups that lack the budget for hefty analyst fees struggle to gain visibility, regardless of how strong their solutions are.
“You’ve got this ‘render unto Caesar’ sort of thing going on and the truth is, if the same companies keep getting that spot year after year, despite little innovation, you have to ask—why?”
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The Buyer’s Reality: Peer Reviews Over Analyst Reports
While vendors are throwing money at analyst firms, the buyers they’re trying to reach are doing something completely different.
CISOs, security engineers, and IT decision-makers aren’t blindly trusting a report written by an analyst who’s never actually used the software.
They’re turning to their peers, reading real-world reviews, and seeking unfiltered feedback in private Slack groups, LinkedIn discussions, and industry meetups.
“If I want to find good pizza, I don’t go read an MQ on pizza. I go to Yelp and see what my peers are saying.”
That’s exactly what’s happening in cybersecurity buying decisions.
Buyers are looking for signals from trusted sources - other security practitioners who have actually used the tools.
And that’s why G2’s approach is so different. Instead of relying on closed-door evaluations, G2 aggregates real-world reviews, creating a more dynamic, community-driven source of truth.
The Data Vendors Are Ignoring—And Why It Matters
One of the biggest revelations in my conversation with Chase was just how much critical buying data vendors are ignoring.
At G2, they’re seeing patterns that traditional analyst firms simply can’t track.
“Pricing blows my mind. In a click, I can tell a vendor exactly what the average contract length should be, how much of a discount customers expect, and which vendors buyers are switching from and to.”
Many cybersecurity vendors are still offering rigid, multi-year contracts, even though data shows that buyers prefer shorter, more flexible agreements.
Vendors are also slashing prices inconsistently - some offering 15% discounts, others going as high as 70% - with no clear understanding of what actually drives conversions.
And perhaps the biggest misstep?
Vendors are still targeting the wrong people.
“Most vendors go straight for the CISO.”
“But the real decision-makers? The people actually evaluating and using the software? They’re two levels down.”
This was a major theme at CyberMarketingCon last year—marketers need to stop chasing CISOs and start engaging the operational buyers who actually influence purchasing decisions.
What a Modern, Buyer-Centric Approach to Software Market Intelligence Looks Like
A modern approach to market intelligence doesn’t rely on outdated pay-to-play rankings.
It focuses on real buyer signals, dynamic market insights, and actionable data.
Here’s what it looks like:
Crowdsourced Buyer Insights – Instead of relying on analysts who may have never used the software, leverage platforms like G2, which collect real-world reviews from buyers who have hands-on experience.
Data-Driven Decision-Making – Rather than guessing about pricing strategies or contract lengths, use market intelligence tools to analyze what buyers expect and adjust accordingly.
Engaging the Right Personas – Move beyond surface-level CISO targeting. The real influence happens when you directly engage with security practitioners and middle managers making the day-to-day decisions.
Continuous, Real-Time Insights – Unlike traditional analyst reports, which are often outdated by the time they’re published, modern intelligence tools provide continuous, evolving insights that reflect real-time market changes.
Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Research – The best decisions come from balancing numbers with human insights. Use qualitative customer interviews to dig deep into the "why" behind the numbers.
“At the end of the day, your customer is the real source of truth. If you’re getting feedback from them, that’s what matters most.”
A Final Thought—And a Challenge
This conversation reinforced what I’ve believed for years:
The cybersecurity industry is long overdue for a change in how we approach research, market intelligence, and buyer engagement.
The traditional analyst model isn’t designed to serve buyers.
It’s designed to serve the firms profiting from it.
I challenge every cybersecurity vendor reading this to take a hard look at where their marketing dollars are going.
If a huge portion of your budget is allocated to legacy analyst firms while buyer research and direct engagement are an afterthought, you’re working against yourself.
And if you’re a buyer - push back.
Don’t let vendor hype dictate your decisions.
Seek out real-world insights from practitioners who have been in your shoes.
Cybersecurity buying experiences aren’t hidden behind paywalls or dictated by analyst influence.
It’s driven by data, community, and trust.
Let’s start acting like it.
Until next time,
Dani
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