Breaking the Security Vendor Echo Chamber: How to Stand Out

The security industry is buzzing with activity, gearing up for GSX in less than a month, quickly followed by ISC East. Booths are being assembled, signage is getting its final touches, and lead-generation strategies are being sharpened. But here’s the catch: once the crowds arrive, most of these booths will likely fade into one indistinguishable mass. “AI-powered,” “next-gen,” “unified end-to-end solutions” – by the time you reach the third aisle, you might wonder if these companies are actually selling security solutions or just competing in buzzword bingo. Sometimes it makes you think, would anyone even notice if we swapped the logos? Probably not. And that’s precisely where the problem lies.

When everybody sounds the same

The physical security and IT sectors are full of brilliant companies doing vital work. Yet, judging by their websites or trade show booths, you’d never know it.

Browse through vendor websites, and you’ll encounter the same phrases repeated endlessly: “digital transformation,” “intelligent edge,” “cloud-ready,” “next-level analytics.” These terms are supposed to highlight innovation, but overuse has drained them of any real meaning. Buyers are left asking the most basic question: What does this company actually do?

This is more than just a marketing nuisance. When your unique selling point is buried under layers of jargon, trust diminishes. If you can’t clearly explain your solution, why should a customer believe you can solve their specific problem?

The AI effect: More words, less meaning

Enter Chat, Claude, and Gemini – the overachievers of corporate jargon. These tools excel at producing polished, grammatically perfect text. The problem? They lack judgment and context. Type in, “write a press release about our new platform,” and AI will gladly deliver 400 flawless words of “innovative, cutting-edge, next-gen, end-to-end” content.

But none of these tools will ask the crucial questions: What makes this different? What problems does it solve? Why should anyone care?

So, while AI chatbots can generate well-written words, they can’t create an authentic voice. And a human voice is exactly what your customers are craving.

Why we fall back on buzzwords

If you’ve ever been guilty of using jargon (and who hasn’t?), you know why it happens:

• The desire to sound smart. We think jargon conveys authority. (Spoiler: it doesn’t.)
• The pressure to conform. If everyone else is talking about “digital transformation,” how can we not?
• Fear of simplicity. Some believe plain language makes them seem less professional, when it actually boosts their credibility.
• It feels safe. Everyone else is saying “AI-driven,” so we do too.
• It avoids specifics. When you’re not ready to commit to measurable claims, “future-proof” sounds easier than “reduced false alarms by 40%.”

But the unintended consequence can hurt your bottom line: when everyone says the same thing, customers tune out.

OK, but what about SEO?

Using the “right keywords” used to be essential for SEO. But here’s the truth: people don’t search the way they used to. SEO is for Google, and Google is no longer where most of us begin. Increasingly, buyers and researchers are turning to large language models like ChatGPT.

These models don’t rank sites based on keyword density. They thrive on authentic, human-generated content that has been published and cited in trusted third-party sources: news sites, trade publications, analyst reports, podcasts, reviews. This means your PR presence, not keyword stuffing, determines whether your company appears in LLM-generated answers.

In short: consistent mentions in reputable publications keep brands visible and relevant as traditional search declines.

How to stand out (without inventing a new acronym)

So how can security and IT vendors break through the noise? Not by doubling down on buzzwords, but by doing something harder: speaking in a way that’s clear, relatable, and meaningful.

1. Cultivate a voice with a pulse

A sentence like “we reduced false alarms by 40%” will always win over “we leveraged AI-driven anomaly detection to drive operational efficiency at scale.” One is measurable, relatable, and credible. The other sounds like it came straight from a Silicon Valley pitch deck.

2. Tell stories, not specs

Most buyers don’t wake up craving “edge-processing cameras with embedded analytics.” They care about outcomes. Did your solution help a school respond faster during an emergency? Did it simplify compliance audits for a bank? Did it save a city millions in operating costs? That’s what truly matters.

3. Publish thought leadership consistently

And no, “thought leadership” isn’t code for product brochures disguised as blog posts. Share something valuable: explain new privacy laws, explore the realities of hybrid cloud, or break down what AI can (and can’t) do in investigations. If your content makes your audience smarter, they’ll keep coming back for more.

4. Get outside perspective

Every company lives in its own bubble. Sometimes it takes an outside partner, a skilled PR agency, an editor, or even a brutally honest colleague to point out that your “integrated, scalable, best-of-breed” message doesn’t actually say anything.

5. Embrace imperfection

Not every message needs to be flawlessly polished. Sometimes the most memorable content is conversational, personal, and anecdotal. It feels human.

A simple test for credibility

Here’s my personal rule of thumb:

• If you can measure it (“reduced incident response time by 30%”), it’s credible.
• If you can tie it to compliance or standards (“meets NDAA requirements”), it’s useful.
• If it sounds like a buzzword salad (“next-gen, future-proof, best-in-class”), cut it.

This is especially important in the security industry, where buyers must justify every expense. If your value proposition can’t pass the CFO’s scrutiny, you’re in trouble.

Why this matters now

The security industry is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in decades. Cloud deployments, the ethics of AI, stricter data privacy regulations, and growing cybersecurity threats are changing how organizations view physical security. These are serious, high-stakes conversations. They demand clarity, not clichés.

The companies that will stand out are those that explain, educate, and engage with authenticity. They’re willing to admit when things are complicated and offer real guidance instead of polished slogans.

Those that don’t? They’ll fade into the background, one “best-of-breed, end-to-end solution” at a time.

Veronique Froment is Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Bubble Agency.