You have a great tech innovation that you believe can solve a problem, create value, or disrupt the market. But how do you get your potential customers to notice it, trust it, and buy it? In this article, you will learn some tips and strategies to make your tech innovation stand out to customers, based on the context of technological innovation and technology entrepreneurship.
The first step to making your tech innovation stand out is to know who your customer is, what they need, and what they want. You need to conduct market research, customer interviews, surveys, or other methods to validate your problem-solution fit and product-market fit. You also need to segment your customer base and identify your early adopters, who are the most likely to try and buy your innovation. By knowing your customer, you can tailor your value proposition, messaging, and positioning to appeal to their pain points, goals, and preferences.
I helped a friend who founded a financial RoboAdvisor. Talk about inhuman! The idea was simple: Each user is comfortable with only a certain amount of risk. Our robot delivered just enough risk for each, maximizing returns. But we had competition! What made ours great was understanding WHY young investors (our target) wanted to invest. What freaked them out? Calmed them? We talked with a lot of them to learn. We built those insights into the app interface, calmed nerves, empowered investment -- and helped young users earn. The key is understanding more than demographics and external personas. Get to know motivations. Great examples of HOW to to parse motivations are in the Jobs-to-be-Done framework or the Value Proposition design canvas.
The second step to making your tech innovation stand out is to communicate your value clearly, concisely, and compellingly. You need to craft a unique selling proposition (USP) that summarizes how your innovation solves a problem, delivers a benefit, or creates a difference for your customer. You also need to create a memorable brand name, logo, slogan, and story that convey your vision, mission, and personality. You need to use various channels and formats, such as websites, social media, blogs, videos, podcasts, or newsletters, to spread your value proposition and build awareness and interest.
The third step to making your tech innovation stand out is to demonstrate your credibility and trustworthiness. You need to provide evidence and validation that your innovation works, delivers value, and meets customer expectations. You can do this by showcasing testimonials, reviews, ratings, case studies, or endorsements from satisfied customers, influencers, experts, or partners. You can also use certifications, awards, recognitions, or media coverage to highlight your achievements, quality, or impact. You need to be transparent and honest about your features, benefits, limitations, and risks, and address any objections or concerns that your customer may have.
The fourth step to making your tech innovation stand out is to offer your incentives and rewards that motivate your customer to take action. You need to create a compelling value proposition that shows how your innovation is better, faster, cheaper, or more convenient than the alternatives or the status quo. You also need to provide incentives such as discounts, coupons, free trials, samples, or bonuses that lower the barriers to entry, reduce the perceived risk, or increase the perceived value. You need to use urgency and scarcity tactics, such as limited time offers, countdown timers, or stock indicators, to create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) and prompt your customer to act fast.
The fifth step to making your tech innovation stand out is to engage your community and build relationships with your customers. You need to create a feedback loop that allows you to listen to your customers, understand their needs, preferences, and satisfaction, and improve your innovation accordingly. You also need to create a loyalty program that rewards your customers for repeat purchases, referrals, or advocacy, and encourages them to stay with you and spread the word. You need to use social media, forums, blogs, or newsletters to interact with your customers, share valuable content, answer questions, address issues, and solicit ideas.
The sixth and final step to making your tech innovation stand out is to innovate your delivery and create a memorable customer experience. You need to design a user-friendly, intuitive, and accessible interface that makes your innovation easy to use, understand, and enjoy. You also need to optimize your delivery process, such as ordering, shipping, installation, or support, to make it fast, reliable, and convenient. You need to surprise and delight your customers with unexpected features, benefits, or gestures, such as personalization, customization, gamification, or thank-you notes, that make them feel valued and appreciated.
Remember to build your delivery mechanism with customer needs in mind…rather than on what’s easier to code and program. Engineers & developers think very differently than users! Often we assume during beta testing what challenges users will encounter but these observations are skewed by a small user sample size - test, test and retest with real people across tech adoption cohort types!