why wearable tech, robotics, augmented reality companies need to stay away from technology
DESCRIPTION
Why technology branding for startups is more important than ever and what tech companies are currently doing wrong to convey their USP in a complicated jargon of words that common consumer either doestn understand or have no clue what to do with itTRANSCRIPT
WHY WEARABLE TECH, ROBOTICS, AUGMENTED
REALITY COMPANIES NEED TO STAY AWAY
FROM “TECHNOLOGY”
Kapil KanugoTwitter: @kapilkanugo
Are you or your company working on technologies
like Augmented Reality, Wearable Tech, Robotics etc
?
Do you find it
difficult to penetrate the marketing or brand message to mass user base?
You are not
alone
If you are building a product or have gone to
Kickstarter or Indiegogo and raised moneyThinking you have the early adopters….Let me tell you
These Early adopter
percentages are not enough to guarantee mass market acceptance
Why ?
Let me tell you how world has evolved in the
Technology Industry and how Technology Brands are perceived today
Difference between
Consumer and Technology Companies
Consumer brands come from Houses of BrandsTechnology brands come from Branded Houses
In consumer companies, the master
brand is almost never as important as the individual product brands.
In technology companies it is always
the most important
From a customer perspective, good Technology brands serve three useful
purposes
1. They save time
2. They project the right image
3. They provide an identity
What hi-Tech Startup like
Wearable Tech, Augmented Reality etc Companies are doing wrong?
Too focused on technology or market
change
Tech companies tend to focus on product features (like AR Game engine has features like yadi yada yada….)
WHAT KILLS TECHNOLOGY HYPEHINT: ITS NOT TECHNOLOGY
Confusing jargon of Technical Details, Features of Product, No real use case demonstration in every day life and most importantly Solving a problem that average consumer do or will care about
This causes:
Confusion in market place about how are you different (specially when attention span of people has gone down and marketplace is crowded and competitive)
Not every startup has budget of Millions to spread its Marketing message or differentiation aspects to masses
Why Bother?
Your Tech company has a defacto position and a brand, whether
•you intend to or not• you like it or not•you manage it or not
Technology brands build peace of mind
--“What” and “when” anxiety
Technology brands evolve over time•Consumer brands are timeless•Technology brands are dynamic
Technology is never the differentiator•Customers want a total product•3rd party support is critical
Technology brands are built on•Reputation•Momentum•Vision
Technology used
to be about
creating perceptions
Now Technology are about
encouraging interaction and nurturing relationships
Technology used to target the mass market
Now Technology targets customers
one-to-one
Technology used to transcend the middleman
Now Technology eliminates the middleman, and encourage direct contact between the
company and the customer
Technology Brand activities were
separate and sequential
Now Tech branding activities need to be
simultaneous and tightly integrated
Build a real technology business first.
•Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising•Bad ads can have a devastating--and lasting--effect on brands• If you rely on clever but irrelevant ads, you’re probably doomed
•View the competitive landscape•Have a sound go-to-market plan•Test your business and positioning premises with key influencers
BUILD THE BRAND AROUND YOUR CUSTOMERS
Strong brands are centered around the
customer, not the Technology or product
Own the total customer
experience and Provide a 360-
degree view
BAKE YOUR OWN PIE.
The ideal brand will move you beyond market share and into market creation
Don’t be the next Google, be the first something else
Don’t focus on the business you’re in today, design your solution around where you’ll need to be tomorrow
Don’t sell the world’s best steam engine
Focus, focus, focus!• Brand extension• Brand dilution• Brand extinction
• Two common mistakes
• Brand Soup• Brand Creep
•Technology Branding is about discipline and making hard choices• It’s as much about what you decide not to do as it is what you do
•The most important aspect of a tech brand is its single-mindedness•Although markets may change, the fundamental underpinnings of a technology brand must remain consistent
•The technology brand must be differentiated in a way that is:•Relevant•Meaningful•Believable•Defensible
•And can evolve as the company and its audiences do