Market Your Tech Correctly: Part 1

Who can honestly say they’ve not taken part in a video conference call recently? Not many, if any, I’m willing to bet. The way we live and work has changed dramatically in the last year and at a faster pace than ever before. These changes are now driving a digital revolution.

In March 2020, in the early pandemic months, video conferencing apps saw a record 62 million downloads as businesses quickly made the transition to remote working.

Even in a non-business environment video calls have increased. On New Year’s Eve, WhatsApp recorded more than 1.4 billion voice and video calls as families across the world tried to stay connected to their nearest and dearest.

Of course, this technological revolution is certainly not limited to consumer-facing solutions such as video conferencing tools. Over recent years there has been a steady undercurrent of advancement in the B2B sectors, with new technologies being developed and brought to market to solve often complex challenges in industries from oil and gas, to manufacturing, retail and much more.

The technology sector is now at the forefront of everything. They are pushing businesses in various other sectors to up their game and the way they compete, and this is something they are having to do themselves. These leading businesses are developing a number of technologically advanced products and services, which aim to enhance our lives.

These range from the development of groundbreaking magnetic gear technology to support clearer transport and wind farm operations thought to the creation of intelligent advanced communications solutions that enhance how businesses manage documents and process customer data, amongst others.

For all businesses, the adoption of new technologies is a must to keep pace with existing and emerging competitors. The B2B market, in particular, has seen a huge growth in the number of innovative digital and green technologies, which are extremely beneficial to a variety of sectors including manufacturing, energy, logistics and lighting (to name a few).

In the last year technology investment in the UK has soared by 44 per cent to over £10 billion – more than France and Germany put together. This combined with the UK government promising £1bn worth of support for start-ups struggling to cope amid the coronavirus pandemic, bowing to the pressure of the local tech community, means the UK tech sector now has even greater growth potential.

To strengthen their prospects even further, tech companies across all sectors need to maximise opportunities presented to them by proactively marketing their wares.

How can we communicate and market better?

A good starting point is often to ask yourself, or key people within your business the following questions.

• Where do we ultimately want to be?

Maybe you have a company target to hit £10m turnover within 3 years or be the industry leader in your particular field? Whatever your targets, it helps to clarify them as this is the basis for your marketing strategy.

• How can we get there?

By understanding where you are right now and where you want to be can help fill in the gaps. This is where analysis of product sales, product performance and even competitor analysis comes into play.

• Who are our customers?

If you truly understand your customers you will know what they want from a product that will help meet customer expectations. It is critical for today’s businesses to gain an in-depth understanding not only of who their customers are, but also their distinctive customer journeys, channel preferences and unique behaviours, and tailor marketing communications strategies accordingly. Companies that are known for providing quality and tailored customer experiences are ones that maintain customer loyalty.

• What do our customers know about us?

Once you know this you can identify ways to get them to know more about your business, products, brands and communicate to them how you can benefit them.

Once you’ve got answers to these you can start putting together a marketing plan. There is no one size fits all when it comes to marketing strategies, and they can often evolve constantly as the business or marketplace changes. Nonetheless, with nearly 20 years’ experience in the B2B marketing landscape, we have developed a strong knowledge and understanding of the key tools that transform your strategy and deliver results for your business.

Keep a look out for part two of our Market Your Tech Correctlyarticle where we focus on the strategies and marketing tools helping organisations to achieve their goals and maximise ROI.