Socure

With over 550 employees and 1,700 customers with familiar names like Wells Fargo, Capital One, DraftKings and Poshmark among them, Socure became an expert in the Identity Verification market long before they launched into the government space.

Socure was founded in 2012, but just recently launched into the public-sector market in 2022. The company’s mission is to verify 100 percent of good identities in real time and completely eliminate identity fraud on the Internet.

I sat down with Matthew Thompson, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Public Sector at Socure, to talk about how the company launched into government so successfully. "As government agencies had to put a lot of their services online, effectively overnight, they had to figure out how to solve identity verification and fraud prevention. Socure specifically entered the government market to help solve that problem," Thompson said.

Socure's launch into the government market has had a large impact. I spoke with Thompson about how their partnership with e.Republic helped them scale in the state and local government market. "Although selling to the public sector is a more recent focus area for Socure, we have been very successful entering the market, largely because of our partnership with e.Republic."

Socure is a member of e.Republic's Digital States annual program. Digital States is a yearlong, category-exclusive program where only one company from each tech category can join. Socure has secured the Digital Identity category. Through their membership, they have the opportunity to collaborate with Teri Takai, Senior Vice President at e.Republic and former CIO for the states of Michigan and California as well as the U.S. Department of Defense. Teri's respected position within both government and the industry lends valuable insight to Socure's strategic direction. The program has helped Socure identify the right stakeholders to meet with and the right way to show up to those meetings informed with what matters most to those stakeholders.

"In government, you're usually not lucky in getting in front of the right person at the first meeting. With the Digital States program and Teri Takai's guidance, you get to the right people much faster," Thompson noted.

A large aspect of the Digital States program is the exclusive member events. "When you attend larger events, vendors have 30 seconds to make a pitch, and it is pitchy in nature. The government executives attending large industry events are often overwhelmed with the number of vendors coming up to talk to them. The Digital States events create a relaxed environment to have more natural conversations with government decision-makers to build real connections," Thompson said of the events.

To be successful in government, you have to keep up with the news and events happening in the markets that you're focused on. Thompson described Industry Insider as a tool that "keeps you swimming with the current. There's a rush and flood of information and activity that's constantly happening, and you can get washed ashore or you can drown in the information, but Industry Insider keeps you afloat with the current news, events, IT leaders and priorities in the state."

Socure also attends Industry Insider's tailored events that are member-exclusive and provide a chance to meet with various tech leaders across the state. They use the vendor-to-vendor connection to build partnerships to solve government's problems with other tech companies who are a part of the Insider network.

Socure works with e.Republic to build educational marketing materials, which they believe government leaders look for most. One of their most impactful campaigns was the Digital Identity Playbook. The Playbook was a way to show up with something educational in nature, which has had the highest impact and engagement that Socure has seen. Socure works in partnership with e.Republic to create custom materials that are relevant, current and educational.

The feedback they received? Overwhelmingly positive. "And again, the reason it was positive was because of the partnership that we had with e.Republic. So while certainly, we brought the subject matter expertise and some of the industry contacts to participate and engage in the development, e.Republic really showed up with how to best tailor the content for the government audience. They know the specific technology leaders in the state that we were trying to reach, and showed us how to best get this piece to those people. They know that better than really anyone else in the market."

Socure hosts digital advertisements on e.Republic's various channels as a way to obtain more brand awareness. Government Technology and Governing combined have over 8.2 million annual unique visitors, and Socure uses the platforms to get their brand in front of tech leaders.

"The digital advertisements help us have our brand present throughout the year in between events, webinars and other things we do. The ads help you stay top-of-mind for a broader audience of government leaders." Thompson added, "The reason that we have had so much success isn't just that we have the best product. The best product doesn't get you in the market successfully. It's because we have the best product and we have the best marketing partner in e.Republic who helps us get on the radar of people that need a modern digital identity solution."

Screenshot 2023-08-16 at 10.51.39 AM Webinars have been instrumental in helping Socure gain traction in the market. When Socure kept coming across the same problem on the lack of digital identity education that government leaders receive, the e.Republic team helped come up with a solution to produce the Digital Identity Playbook, both through custom content and a webinar. "That is the best and most impactful problem solution that we've come across. That's why I consider our relationship with e.Republic a partnership, because partners can bring problems to each other and work on creative solutions to those problems, which is exactly what e.Republic did for us," Thompson said.

Socure aligns their webinar marketing strategy with their custom content, so they focus on providing an educational piece that will be relevant and useful to government. Thompson noted, "There is a reason that this integrated kind of multipronged strategy is important and works, but one of the things that I would list as the most impactful that we've done is the Digital Identity Playbook and the webinars."

e.Republic delivers high-quality, opted-in leads. When I asked why Socure chooses our opted-in leads, Thompson answered quickly, "It's a night-and-day difference between opted-in and leads and ones that are not. You're almost comparing apples and oranges," he chuckled. "It's generally the same data, if you will, but someone who has opted in has effectively raised their hand and said, 'I want to be a part of this' versus larger lead lists that are scraped or consolidated through other means."

With all the noise in today's market, it's essential to reach people who want the information you are offering. That's the biggest way to be successful in the market. As far as engagement on the different types of leads, Thompson noted, "The proof is in the data, but the data is pretty compelling. One just feels a lot more transparent, and the other one feels a bit less ethical. We've opted to focus on the people who have opted in." No pun intended.

Socure has sponsored a variety of e.Republic events as part of their overall SLED strategy. Thompson said, "I think the best way to build trust in government is to show up in person. The events give you an opportunity to be in front of government decision-makers and leaders. There's a level of respect and appreciation by government leaders when a vendor or technology partner makes the investment of time and money to show up at these events. It's important to invest in these states and support them. e.Republic's events are the best way to do that."

Thompson noted that meeting with government leaders in person accelerates your relationships, ultimately getting a solution to market faster. "This is the third company I've built in government; they're not going to recognize you if you email or call. You have to have an in-person presence and invest the time to listen to their priorities. And these events are all first class. I mean, they are really well organized. The content is thoughtful and relevant and the sponsors are appreciated and treated well by e.Republic."

Socure obviously knows how to sell to government. They are strategic and use e.Republic as a valued partner with one goal in mind: making government better.

Thompson left me with this: "Really think about understanding and leveraging a holistic approach through a partnership with e.Republic. I see a lot of the same kinds of playbooks that are largely outdated. I think e.Republic brings — not just to new entrants, but also more tenured companies supporting government — creative, fresh ideas. e.Republic is everywhere in government and has a more unique perspective on the holistic market than any other organization I've seen in this space."

A Partnership for Success

FEATURED BRANDS:

Introduction

"Although selling to the public sector is a more recent focus area for the company, we have been very successful entering the market, largely because of our partnership with e.Republic."

The Approach

Market Intelligence & Networks

Digital States

Industry Insider

"In government, you're usually not lucky in getting to the right person at the first meeting. With the Digital States program and Teri Takai's guidance, you get to the right people much faster."

Content Studio

Custom Content

Digital Advertising

"e.Republic showed up with how to get our content in front of the right people. They know that better than anyone else in the market."

Demand Generation

Webinars

Lead Generation

"It's a night-and-day difference between opted-in leads and ones that are not. You're almost comparing apples and oranges."

Events

Events

"This is the third company I've built in government; they're not going to recognize you if you email or call. You have to have an in-person presence and invest the time to listen to their priorities."

Parting Words

Let's talk!