5 Marketing/PR Practices B2C Tech Companies Should Avoid

Given the rapid adoption of technology into our daily lives, tech companies are now tempted to believe that they can sell any gadget to anyone. However, choosing the wrong tactics can not only mean wasted money, but also a reduced brand credibility. In other words, you may gain some awareness, but not from people who matter (i.e. who are actually willing to spend money on your products); instead, you might even lose them for good.

Without further ado, here’s what marketing tactics you should forget about:

1. No segmentation. The worst thing you can do is assume things like “youngsters want my products, so let’s target them all”, “Millennials – let’s go for them”, or “young executives is the way to go”. These may be excellent starting points, but your buyer persona should be much more detailed. Remember that everyone is fighting to get Millennials’ attention (and money!) and by assuming they are a heterogeneous group that responds to the same stimuli you won’t be doing anyone a favor. Try to segment your target audience by gender, lifestyle and other preferences aside from the taste in gadgets. Go as deep as possible without fearing that you will lose too much of your target audience – it’s better to have fewer right people than a lot of the wrong ones to consume your marketing efforts and budget on.
2. TV or newspaper ads. Let’s face it, your tech product is the enemy of such medias; what you create brought them even closer to death. Plus, your audience isn’t there anymore. They’re on their mobile, surfing social networks and Snapchatting with their friends (you did get the allusion here, right?).
3. Mismanagement of channels. Much like the first point, most mistakes in this direction stem from a desire to get your product to as many people as possible. Yet, it is worth to remember that any reseller has a certain power over you – the bigger they are the more conditions they may impose. So, before celebrating that you managed to get on the shelves of the biggest reseller in the country, assess whether it was worth it in terms of price, promotion they offer you and any exclusivity clauses they usually impose. Wouldn’t you be better off with small retailers that truly believe in your product and do their best to promote it to the right target audience?
4. Focusing solely on price to drive market share growth. Of course, the price of your product is a key factor in the selling process, but it’s not the only one. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a client that you should lose – it’s that client that costs you more than he brings in. People who haunt promotions will dump your brand when your competitor will have a better price, even for a limited period of time. So, next time you offer a discount, make sure you target the right people – those who will stick by you because they love your product, because they identify with the brand and not just because it’s cheaper now.
5. A vast product range. I’m not saying you should only sell one product, but don’t turn your brand into a bazaar. The tech market is evolving at a faster pace than any other market and it’s only natural that you want to keep up with it by offering new products and new features in existing ones. But make sure you don’t compromise quality when doing so. Sure, Samsung can sell anything from mobile phones to TVs and household appliances, but do you have their R&D and testing capabilities? Make sure that the few products you sell are worth their money instead of constantly improving an average product portfolio.

Got more questions about successful marketing for tech products? We’d be happy to offer guidance. Just drop us a line & let us know what you need.