7 Fatal Mistakes Technology Companies Make In Marketing

So… you’ve created a fantastic, innovative product, and now it’s time to start the marketing journey and draw as many customers to your product as possible. But just how do you do that?

It can be quite tricky when it comes to marketing a technology company, and especially so when it comes to a new technological product. This is because the customer base is often sceptical of new tech products and wants to stick to brands that they trust and are familiar with.

If you’re bringing a new, technological product to the market, you’ll want to avoid these seven fatal mistakes if you want to enjoy a successful marketing campaign.

Mixed Messages

Let’s get to the point!

When you are launching a new product, and especially a product related to technology, your marketing message needs to be exceptionally clear. All marketing material for this technological product should clearly answer the following questions:

·      What is the product?

·      What are the main problems that the product solves?

·      Why should the customer buy this product?

·      What makes this product different/ better than other products on the market?

Each advert, blog post, social media post and piece of marketing material should feel cohesive and in line with your main message. There should be absolutely no confusion as to what the product does, how it will enhance the life of the customer, and who the product is aimed at.

If your product has a wide range of different uses and benefits, that’s great! But there is such a thing as over-marketing. Providing too much information at once can be overstimulating for the target audience and they may soon forget what the ultimate reason for buying your product is.

Don’t confuse your audience. Confusion creates wariness. Keep things simple by focusing on one overall message in your marketing strategy, while providing additional information about your product on your website.

This overall message should be clear and appear across all marketing material.

Providing Content Without The Customer In Mind

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes.

This may sound obvious, and you may have heard it a million times, but think about your target audience! Decide exactly who your ideal client is before you even begin your marketing journey.

The customer should have been thought of in the design and creation of your product too.

When marketing towards a specific target audience, these are the questions you should be asking:

• What is the age group of your target market?
• Are they male, or female, or both?
•  What is their monthly income?
• Where do they live?
• Which social media platforms are they most likely to be on?
• What language do they use, and what language and imagery resonates with them?

If you are unsure of any of the answers to the above questions, it’s highly suggested that you do some market research so you don’t end up marketing to the wrong audience!

Knowing as much about your target audience is so important, as social media marketing campaigns allow you to target incredibly specific groups of people, so why be unsure when you could be sure?

Spending Too Little/Spending Too Much

Your marketing budget is precious and it should be used wisely! But just how much should you be spending?

This is very company-specific and will depend on how many products you aim to sell in what timeframe, and how much you can realistically afford to spend.

You’ll want to avoid spending too little on marketing, especially if you have already spent a fair amount of the production of the product. Very few people will notice one advert, and no one is going to know about this amazing product of yours if you don’t spend enough on marketing your product.

On the other hand, you can easily go over budget unnecessarily by spending money on huge marketing campaigns. You don’t want to go into debt before you’ve even sold any of your products!

Don’t be stingy, but also don’t go overboard. The trick is to get the balance right. Find out how to target your ideal audience, and what sort of marketing campaigns have been successful for similar products, and then pursue those avenues head-on.

Not Enough Substantial Information

While your digital adverts and social media posts regarding your new tech product should not be overloaded with information, you should ensure that enough substantial information is still available for customers who are interested.

The place you will want to provide this information is on your website, and ensure that it’s easy to find.

Tech products are often complex, and as we’ve mentioned before, customers are usually sceptical when it comes to trying a new tech product. To avoid looking like a scam, you’ll want to provide as much info about your new product as possible on your site.

As to not overload your site completely, it’s a good idea to provide links to your Whitepaper and detailed slideshows etc.

You’ll also want to think about making a series of videos explaining how to use your product, how your product differs from competitors etc. This information can also be used as marketing content.

Focusing on Sales Rather Than Marketing

Good marketing leads to great sales. These two departments need to be working hand in hand.

Tech companies get a bad rep for having too much of a sales focus rather than a marketing focus, with some companies having as many as 20 employees in their sales division and just one person working in marketing.

Remember that without efficient marketing there may not be any sales!

Even if you don’t have a big marketing budget, you may want to bring on a freelancer just for the duration of your product launch to ensure that everything goes smoothly and there are extra hands to share the load.

Ever heard the saying that two heads are better than one? This rings especially true when it comes to marketing, as the more people you have on the team, the more ideas you have to choose from and the more potential problems are foreseen and dealt with.

Understand that a product launch is a stressful time for your marketing team, and that outsourcing a little help may be a good idea.

Being Inauthentic and Unrelatable

Remember that you don’t need to pretend to be anything you’re not when marketing your brand and your product. Often technology companies get so caught up in appearing professional that they become inauthentic.

Look towards leading technology companies for inspiration. Some have been open with their audience and have shared their humble roots, background and story, and people love it. People feel connected to a brand that feels ‘real’ and are more likely to support it.

You needn’t incorporate your entire backstory into your advertising material, but ensure that this information is easily accessible on your website so that potential customers can get an idea about the people and inspiration behind your brand. Profiling some of your team members, with links to their LinkedIn is also a great way to boost authenticity.

Just because your product is a tech product, doesn’t mean your marketing material can’t be a little humorous or tongue-in-cheek. Play around with ideas and come up with messages that really speak the language of your customer and connect your customer to your brand.

Not Making Use of Social Media and Analytical Tools

Social media marketing is an absolutely incredible tool for launching a new product and the success of social media marketing has skyrocketed over recent years. For the most part, social media marketing is not very costly, and many tech companies don’t use social media effectively enough.

Some tips for making the most of social media marketing include:

• Use the right platforms. Find out which platforms your target market are active on.
•  Create a hype on social media before the product is launched instead of just launching it out of the blue.
• Collaborate with influencers and content creators in order to broaden your reach.
• Use social media campaigns to create a professional, marketing campaign.
• Stay on top of social media trends.
• Use the right hashtags.
• Create a competition to win one of the products, and create hype and gain more followers.
• Increase engagement by posting regularly and replying to all comments.

Also, don’t forget to make use of analytics! There is no real point in creating a social media marketing campaign if you’re not going to track how your posts are doing and how many click-throughs to your website you’re receiving.

There are many free and effective analytical tools to help you assess where to keep investing time and energy, and where to cut your losses, when it comes to advertising your tech product on social media. 

Need assistance in marketing a new product effectively, as well as how to create a stand-out brand and get more technology service clients? Schedule a quick 15 min call to see if there’s a good fit for working together.