why wearable tech, robotics, augmented reality companies need to stay away from technology

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