Understanding B2B Hype: Beyond Good and Bad

The Gartner Hype Cycle has become the lens through which many view technological evolution. By mapping the journey from innovation trigger through to plateau of productivity, it helps us understand how enthusiasm, expectations, and real-world value interact over time. But as I've observed through years in the technology industry, hype isn't simply a wave to be ridden or avoided - it's a sophisticated tool that requires careful management. When wielded thoughtfully, hype serves as both catalyst and compass for technological adoption, particularly in B2B markets where significant investments and multiple stakeholders are involved.

The Nature of Hype

Hype isn't simply excessive promotion - it's a nuanced tool for managing and manipulating expectations. In the technology industry particularly, hype serves as both an organic force and a deliberately engineered process. When I explain hype to people, I often draw a simple diagram showing how hype can be more excessive or more intensive, but it's never binary. There's no simple "hyped" or "not hyped" - instead, we see a spectrum from under-hyped to over-hyped, with an optimal level somewhere in between.

Think of hype like puffery in marketing - there's an acceptable, expected level of exaggeration. Just as the brand "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" doesn't literally expect consumers to be unable to distinguish it from butter, technology hype operates within understood boundaries of expectation management.

The Dual Nature of Hype Creation

Hype is simultaneously organic and deliberately engineered. Initially, it's carefully orchestrated - companies strategically choose outlets for amplification and create categories that are small enough to control but big enough to gain traction. Over time, this engineered hype can shift to become predominantly organic, taking on a life of its own through public speculation, fan communities, and viral social media.

B2B vs B2C Hype

The dynamics of hype differ significantly between business and consumer markets. B2B hype requires endurance and careful calibration - it's more like a storm than lightning. It needs to be substantiated with evidence, analyst validation, and technical documentation. The sales cycles are longer, involving multiple stakeholders and substantial investments.

Consumer hype, in contrast, can be more emotional and immediate, often driven by social status and impulse decisions. It doesn't require B2B's higher technical validation or ROI justification level. The benefit must be immediate and obvious, as the decision-making process is typically shorter, individual and more emotionally driven.

Managing the Hype Cycle

Think of hype management like heating a saucepan - you need enough heat to warm it, but not so much that it evaporates or burns. The key is coordinating multiple elements: timing of information releases, choice of communication channels, framing of messages, and strategic use of influencers.

For instance, in the AI industry, some companies deliberately choose to underplay capabilities rather than oversell them. When discussing automation in telecommunications, instead of suggesting "lights-off" operations are a realistic short-term goal for operators, smart companies are focusing on the practical, achievable benefits of current AI capabilities. This approach builds credibility and manages expectations more effectively.

The Role of Expectations in Technology Adoption

Hype is fundamentally about managing expectations before actual delivery. In B2B especially, you often need to raise expectations enough to motivate change while being prepared to manage them down later. It's like raising the sea level so that even the smallest boat in your flotilla can see the destination on the horizon.

The gap between expectation and realization in B2B can be substantial - sometimes spanning years. This makes expectation management crucial. You need the peak of expectations to be high enough to carry stakeholders through the inevitable trough of disillusionment.

Social Media's Transformation of Hype Management

While B2B hype remains distinct from consumer hype, social media has transformed how we manage both. It's accelerated the tempo of information spread and created new requirements for content transformation - turning complex business reports into multiple formats from videos to tweets. Professional networks like LinkedIn have become crucial thought leadership and hype management channels.

The acceleration of information flow through social media has improved our ability to calibrate hype - we can get real-time feedback and adjust messaging accordingly. However, it also means we need to be more sophisticated in managing and modulating expectations across different platforms and audiences.

The Strategic Value of Controlled Hype

Contrary to the notion that all hype is negative, there's a strategic value to well-managed hype. In the technology industry, particularly for expensive B2B solutions, some level of hype is necessary to drive initial adoption. The key is finding the right balance - enough to motivate change but not so much that it creates unrealistic expectations that lead to disappointment.

The Future of Hype Management

In today's rapidly evolving tech landscape, understanding how to manage hype properly becomes increasingly crucial. Whether it's artificial intelligence, blockchain, or the next breakthrough technology, success often depends not just on the innovation itself, but on how well we manage expectations around it.

The challenge moving forward will be maintaining control over hype in an increasingly connected world where information spreads instantaneously and organic amplification can quickly overtake managed messaging. Understanding the mechanics of hype is more important than ever for technology leaders and marketers.

These thoughts emerged from a fascinating conversation with Matin Cheng , whose doctoral research at the University of Edinburgh Business School is exploring the nature of hype and its role in technology adoption. Our discussion helped crystallize many of these ideas about the nature of hype and its essential role in technology markets. Thank you, Matin, for helping me articulate these ideas more clearly and for pushing me to think more deeply about how we conceptualize and manage hype in the technology industry.

None of this would be possible without Neil Pollock (whose book After Hype is forthcoming from Cambridge University Press & Assessment )and Robin Willians, who supervised both my and Matin's PhD studies.

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