Building digital marketing assets: Truths, Lies and Confusion

What is the biggest lie of all time? There are a lot of jokes about this. But I’ve often wondered whether the big lie might be a statement that’s usually not on the list:

“Build it and they will come.”

It made for a great movie. But in marketing and selling your company’s products, not so much—especially if you fail to emphasize the user benefits within your digital marketing assets.

A little history

Think about it: If making a superior product was all it took to succeed, we probably wouldn’t be driving vehicles with internal combustion engines today.

Now, I can’t say whether those who used other technologies made marketing errors or not. Certainly there were a lot of forces at work. Maybe they were simply ahead of their time. But knowing what we know in 2019, early electric vehicles probably were the ones that deserved to catch on. User benefits? No oil changes, tune-ups, trips to the pump, emissions, etc.

And with a different technology, perhaps a superior technology, the world could also have been a very different—and slightly cooler—place.

The lesson of tech

Those of us who have been around the tech industry for even the shortest time have experienced the same thing. Ask most any early adopter. How many superior products went nowhere? The answer: too many.

Sometimes it’s a matter of timing, or pricing, or some other issue. But in my own years both inside tech companies and at tech-focused advertising and marketing agencies, I’ve seen far too many product creators become entangled “in the weeds” of their products, thrilled at how advanced their technologies were, but missing the messaging that might have resonated better with their customers.

Naturally, you want your product to be the best. But best is not always enough. Effectively communicating the benefits makes the difference.

Finding the message

It may appear that the rise of social media has taken care of a lot of this. It has, indeed, helped. It’s now no harder to tell your customers about your product than it is to show off your vacation photos. So after building their product, no one sits back and simply waits for customers to come. They aggressively promote across social channels.

But it’s not quite as simple as that. Yes, you can get the word out. But which word? And how do you deliver it?

Getting the message out

What effective high-tech marketing needs is a way to loosen the grip of those weeds, a way to present your innovative technology or your cool product while turning the focus to your customers.

You may need a data sheet, to explain “What is this thing and how does it work?” A solution brief, to explain “What is this thing and what can it do for my business?” Or a white paper, to explain “What are the industry and marketplace trends that are creating a need for this thing?” Each serves its own purpose, as do myriad social media and other digital marketing assets.

Getting the right help

At DeLaune, we can deliver the message you need to reach your customers. And we can do it via the presentation that works best for customers and your company alike.

Once again, consider the automobile. These machines are expected to function well (even flawlessly), but they’re as often marketed on their design and sex appeal as they are on their technology—never mind their value in use.

In fact, I saw a beautiful 1938 Cord automobile in an art museum the other day. Cords were wonderful machines, maybe the best of their era. But if we think of them only as technology, we miss a huge audience: those who also love them as art. And just like that ’38 Cord, technology messages can stoke imaginations on multiple fronts, for multiple audiences.

DeLaune can craft a technology message to reach its optimum audience. We can touch both technology and business. Using the right delivery system. With a superior message.

We can help you get results.

 

DeLaune and Associates gets technology marketing. We’re always ready to partner with technology leaders to craft digital marketing assets. Click here to get started!