As a society we have been
advertising things to each other through value propositions (you need this, you
want this or you desire that) for millennia and have evolved our advertising
media in the last century in ways our forefathers could never have believed. Today’s
audiences are switched on, sophisticated and advertising savvy and consciously
or sub consciously we know what works and what does not when it comes to
purchasing decisions.
In the main we tend not to like
the overt, hard sell but we do enjoy being sold to in soft, subtle ways that
allow us to feel entertained whilst we come to desire items and services and
which allows us to make the final purchase decision based on the information we
have been shown and that which we have gathered of our own volition. One of the
ways we have seen marketing evolve most recently is in the aptly pleasurable
research we perform on detail and price using search engines and the internet
for items we have seen in the shopping mall stores, now known as ‘showrooming’.
You may have noticed that to
date, unless you are IBM are occasionally Microsoft (remember the old strapline ‘where would you
like to go today?’), a phone provider or an internet ISP you will not have seen
tech advertising on the TV which if you think about it is quite incredible. Due
to the lack of engagement between TV advertising and the tech community, the
tech partner companies have largely relied on magazine and trade journals for
advertising together with published documents, articles, whitepapers and their
internet presence. This has had an effect; it means that tech firms have never
learned how to pitch their value propositions in the highly-effective ways that
we see with TV ad products.
Why do TV ads matter? TV ads
demonstrate how to get to the point in a clear, differentiated and concise way.
It is quite incredible how often a tech firm finds it very difficult to explain
their offering to market, their product, their services, as if there is
something innately complex or impossibly obtuse regarding their value
proposition. One could argue that if one tried to describe the relative technical
merits of a BMW then one would find the same issue but car manufacturers long
since discovered that you do not need to describe the mechanics of a 5 litre V10
to establish a value proposition.
In other words tech companies
have long since floundered in translating their technical merits into business value
propositions and it is for this very reason that all tech organisations should
spend some time sitting down and watching a wide range of TV ads and working
out how to describe what they offer in relation to the established techniques
of a TV ad. Our speciality expertise is
in SharePoint strategy and we designed the Salem™ framework to describe a
highly complex technical software platform in terms of simple business value,
quickly. We know it can be done very successfully and that’s why it works.
Consider the following nine traits
of a typical TV advert and then apply them to your own technical value
proposition. If at the end you can create a successful TV ad in your mind for
your own product then you are on the right track.
Most TV ads appear to span no
more than 15 to 30 seconds. People have very short attention spans and these
are getting shorter year on year. TV ads have mastered the art of telling an
engaging story in seconds that gains interest and holds the attention. The most
successful ads engage, inform and inevitably lead to a call to action.
Most tech firms do not have time
limits imposed upon them through the media they generally use to express a pitch. This inhibits any mechanism for being concise and conversely promotes verbosity unnecessarily. Inevitably this means
that most tech partners are unable to describe any meaningful value proposition
in less than 30 seconds, thus potentially risking switching off their audiences. Try describing
your product or service value proposition in a 30 second elevator pitch and
keep tuning it until you have it down to a tee.
Most TV ads have a specific
message, value proposition or point to make. This is relayed with relevancy and
meaning within the short times ace of point 1. TV ads that fail leave the
viewer mystified, confused or uncertain. Successful TV ads make the viewer feel
good, informed, like they have discovered something of value themselves and
clear of the value to be gained.
What TV ads do not do generally
is try and mislead, use smoke and mirrors or fool you as they are typically
covered by strict advertiser codes, ethics and legal requirements.
Most tech firms are not direct
and to the point, particularly when describing services and value propositions.
They instead focus on why they are supposedly the best but without spelling
it out, using generic phrases, oblique statements and confusing descriptions
that are anything but clear and sound like everyone else in the same field. Due
to unlimited amounts of web, webinar, event and publication collateral they are
anything other than contained or to the point.
Most TV ads will include
information on multiple levels, include terms and conditions, small print,
limited discounts and highlight anything and everything that will assist you in
engaging with the service or product quickly. In other words TV ads tend to be
comprehensive. This means that between 15 and 30 seconds you will know the
website to visit, the number to call, the timespan of the sale, the location to
visit, the founder of the company and anything else relevant.
Those longer night-time
infomercials selling gym equipment tend to be repeating the same messages and
information again and again from different angles until you cannot resist.
No, tech companies certainly do
not place everything in one digestible package often simply due to the wealth
and breadth of so many services that it looks like an extensive restaurant menu.
Consultancy is separate from the product which is separate to delivery which in
turn is entirely separate to maintenance, support and upgrades. The situation
is only exacerbated by the absolute insistence by so many delivery partners to
use T&M pricing models which are to be fair in many client circumstances,
completely unmanageable. No wonder the
client audience is confused.
Do you want white shirts, do you
need a new sofa, do you have problems washing your car; do you need to clean
the boat fast? That’s the point with TV ads, because they are expensive and
time limited so they get to the point then explain the problem and why they resolve
it. It is extremely important for any TV ad to set out the issue they are
solving and this is why they are so clear and concise and therefore
understandable. If you understand the issue, the resolution and the value
proposition then the only thing that would stop you buying is the need and the
price. By establishing the problem TV ads are often offering solutions to
issues that you will personally encounter therefore they will establish the
need.
Tech firms are frequently guilty
of describing neither the problem not the solution, they will simply ask the
question “what do you want?” and then they will build it in response. This
market approach is starting to die with the advent of both the pre-built cloud
environment, Software as a Service and the commoditized app market but many
solution integrators remain trying to cling to this model whilst it starts to
sink.
TV ads are often not single
adverts in isolation and are frequently form part of an evolving campaign where
each advert builds upon the others. Some ads follow a theme whilst reinforcing
brand identity (actor, music, style, colour etc.) whilst others follow a story and
build upon it whilst educating the viewer through elements of visual entertainment.
By reinforcing and building the campaign and storyline so the viewer may take
on other value elements of a larger proposition. For example a phone company
may be selling the value propositions of a combined package of fast internet,
home phone and TV channels, each being reinforced within a different version of
the same advertising campaign.
Tech firms in comparison have
rarely if ever built a complete, consistent cohesive campaign and therefore messaging
tends to be distinct, isolated and rather random. This is why so few tech firms
build strong brands and so easily distracted in their marketing by the best and
latest new thing – one only needs to consider Office 365 or ‘social’ to find
clear evidence of this.
Another thing that haunts the
tech industry is its repeated tripping up over historical value messages. For
example, Microsoft SharePoint SPS 2003 was absolutely the very best thing ever,
and then MOSS 2007 blew 2003 out of the water but hang on, 2010 made 2007 look
like a beginners toy whilst oh yes SharePoint 2013 really is the real deal. Can
you see why those who bought into 2003 or 2007 would have long since felt
somewhat cheated?! Partner messaging failed to build on the value proposition
but simply all too often shocked, shamed or scared clients to move to the next
version. Try getting that value proposition over in a 30 second TV ad!
If TV ads were boring, people
would not watch and may turn over but a great deal of time and effort is taken
to equate the ad with entertainment. Some of our greatest TV viewing moments
are often listed as amusing or engaging TV ads and a few live with us for years
as if they are part of our historical viewing psyche. Many TV brand advertisers
whether washing powder manufacturers or household product retailers have been
advertising to us for decades and continue to find new ways to engage with us
to sell new versions of old products. Whilst I fully understand the value
proposition of a washing detergent I will still find new versions with the
latest scent to entice my money from my pocket.
Most tech company ads are really
not dynamic or entertaining, they are static and lifeless and look like
everyone else’s all too often and that is if you can find them outside of the
tech company websites. The tech industry is typically poor at advertising
across channels and tends to keep things very contained. Similarly tech firms
have found it hard to translate their value proposition into graphical terms
which is why the best you may find is a YouTube video or a colourful stand at a
tradeshow. Of course these are generalisations and occasionally one does
encounter creative thinking or indeed marketing risk taking, but these
instances are very much in the minority.
TV ads don’t only appear once
they may appear five or ten times every day or in every other commercial break
for the primary weeks that they run. This is to ensure that the message is repeated
enough times that everyone gets to see the ad and to ensure that the message is
driven home. It is the reinforcing of a message until it is accepted that is
critical.
Tech firms do repeat their messaging
but the issue is that it sounds too often like everyone else’s messaging and therefore
remains without distinct identity. Due to the lack of overt advertising there
are very few firms that clearly repeat their messaging to a wider audience to
make the point as to who they are and what they offer. The few that do tend to
sit alone with a unique or highly distinct offering to market.
Most TV ads do not presume that
you understand what they are talking about and spell out the message and entire
value proposition using common language that most people can comprehend. This
is extremely important because it is amazing the wide range of misinterpretation
within any message and therefore the repetition in point 7 goes hand in hand
with the lack of presumption you know what they are talking about here. It is
for this reason that many TV ads appear to be speaking some kind of marketing
baby language, but it works and you do not need to think hard.
For all too many tech firms,
presumption is widespread with jargon in overdrive, the latest and greatest
phrases sprinkled across marketing materials like fairy dust and an assumption
that jargon makes the firm appear current. Usually it doesn’t. The problem with
the technology industry is that it presumes far too much and the buyer is
almost left to make a purchase out of shame or stupidity as if they should have
known but they clearly don’t so we better help put them out of their abject
misery. Again, can you spot the problem?
What is wrong with vocalising technology using
business language from a business perspective in a way that anyone can
understand? Trying to be exclusive using exclusive, exclusionary language is perhaps
part of the reason why the tech industry lacks respect from its wiser, more
mature and rather more engaging business cousin.
It is rare, though not entirely
unknown, for TV ads to criticize competition because in the short screen time
available, they prefer to focus on the positive benefits of their own products.
This is beneficial because no one likes or appreciates an attack on another vendor,
manufacturer or product without specific reason as it is making an assumption
on your behalf without reasonably informing you. In other words people like to
make their own minds up and be the selector. Political parties tend to sell
their own manifestos by criticizing the competition but this does not translate
well into other markets.
Criticism in the tech industry is
unfortunately rife. There are very few products that are so similar that they
need to go head to head and yet the advertising line all too often appears to
be a direct feature comparison chart, a service comparison chart and a pricing comparison
chart. Services however are a completely different matter with general solution
integrator services being so similar that it is all too often the case that the
client audience has nothing but price, location and availability on which to
select the partner. What criticism does do is it makes the tech industry look
petty, unprofessional and unattractive to outsiders and it is those outsiders
who own the budget.
The inevitability is that rather
than selecting a service from a squabbling mass of undistinguishable partner organisations,
I’d rather buy an app and download it myself and try a few until I like one and
without ever talking to anyone.
One of the reasons why the mobile
apps market is becoming largely successful is because it fulfils elements of a
product sale that occur in the frame of a TV ad. For example when considering a
downloadable app the process tends to be fast, informative and relatively risk
free whilst the value proposition is concise and to the point. I could try ten
new apps in an hour in a way that the tech market has never offered me before.
The purpose of this article is of
course to seek to redress the issue that many tech companies and partners have
today when marketing their own activities, services and products and that is
that they are failing to engage with new clients in terms of value proposition, unclear
of their messages, using tired outmoded sales techniques, slogans and value
statements that disenfranchise the audience they aim to sell to and leaving their
markets to dry up.
It matters because when we are inter-dependent
on a global partner ecosystem to sell the underlying value proposition of a
small number of critical software platforms on top of which many other services
and peripheral products sit, then the future of such platforms relies on an unequivocal
message to market. Where the message does not get through or is sufficiently
diluted, clouded or based on the wrong value propositions then everyone suffers
including the buying audience.
As we are a specialist SharePoint
strategy organisation I cannot leave the article without asking that the
SharePoint-literate reader applies the nine points above to the SharePoint
platform itself and you will quickly see why we have a problem and why TV ads
can assist. Can you explain what SharePoint is in less than 30 seconds? Can you
explain yourr entire value proposition concisely using a narrative that makes
sense to a wide audience using language that is business orientated, dynamic,
engaging and empathetic? If you can’t do
so then watch a few TV soap ads to see how it is done.
Looking at Microsoft SharePoint
and the SharePoint industry, Microsoft has never advertised it in a major way
or indeed found a way of describing it to business audiences and this issue
continues with Office 365. People find it extremely difficult to describe the concise
and ubiquitous value proposition of SharePoint and what it is used for whilst
the SharePoint service industry is in disagreement as to how the product/platform
should be approached and the benefits proposition is so fragmented than the
general audience is left utterly bewildered. This is largely why those who seek
to sell products on top of the SharePoint platform have such a tough time
summarizing their own value propositions because the product itself first needs
a TV ad to establish the baseline.
It is more essential than ever
for the future that the tech industry learns lessons from decades of TV
advertisers and understands how to turn technology propositions into business
value propositions that are conveyed simply, succinctly, clearly, timely,
learnedly, engagingly, repetitively and without presumption or criticism of
competitive products. There is also a lot to be said for software houses trying
to work together and complimenting each other’s propositions rather than spending
the next few decades trying to take each other’s market. If the noise from our
own TV ad industry is disjointed, argumentative misleading and confused, don’t
blame the viewer for switching over, or worse still, switching off.
