Technology businesses are springing up all over the place, as more of life becomes inextricably linked with computing and communication systems. With so many companies all competing for customers, you need to stand out from the crowd if you want to get people’s attention. Are you doing everything you can to convince the people who need your services that they should go to you rather than your competitors? Do you believe that customers who need you will find you because you have such a specialist niche? For any business, it’s a mistake to make assumptions about your market and your offer, and you should be continually striving to improve your knowledge of the former and the appeal of the latter. For tech businesses, the bar is set that much higher, simply because if you are a technology-based company, it will be expected that you will have a technological presence that reflects your expertise.
What makes you stand out?
Efficient preparation is essential to your ability to create an effective marketing strategy. You need to have a detailed description of what your business does and exactly what you offer that will be desirable to your customers. What is it about your product or service that will answer a need or solve a problem for someone? You know your business could save people time, money or both, but how you can accomplish this needs to be communicated to prospective buyers in a way that makes them feel they can’t possibly do without you. When deciding on these factors, think about your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). That could well be a concept you’re familiar with; finding the element of your offer that sets it apart. It could be that you’re the only company offering this product or service, or at least the only one in your area. That’s fine as a starting point, but don’t rely on this remaining unique to you. In the world of tech, inventions and developments swiftly spread and are replicated in alternative forms. Then you will find you’re not the only supplier, just one of many, and being the original won’t be enough to make people choose you.
Who is your customer?
To get to the nitty-gritty of who is going to buy from your business, you need to have your offer clearly delineated and be confident you know what sets you apart. You can then proceed to the development of your customer profile. Building a picture of your customer can be achieved by creating an avatar – a model person who has all the attributes of someone likely to need your service. Say you have a business that sells a gadget that can give head massages. You’re excited about the product, you’ve used it yourself and know how amazing it feels, and you’ve had very positive feedback from your focus groups. You believe everyone could benefit from buying your massager, but before you get carried away with visions of sales in the millions, have a good hard look at who is most likely to want to buy one. Your avatar’s first attribute will be disposable income. A head massager is not an essential product, so those on a tight budget are less likely to buy one. Those on high incomes will be more likely to go and have a professional masseuse treat them, so you can narrow down the income bracket to one which contains the greatest number of possible buyers. You then work through every aspect of your avatar, refining and pinpointing the key qualities they need to possess until you have an outline of the person most likely to buy a head massager. You could end up with a woman aged forty who is in a middle-income bracket, has children and enjoys visiting the spa. This is your (very simplified) avatar, so you can then do some research and find the most appropriate publications, websites and other platforms for your advertising. By creating this customer avatar, you have been able to focus your marketing efforts on the places they are most likely to frequent, both online, in print and life.
Getting your website right
If you’re in tech, a website is a no-brainer. You will also need social media accounts, and all your online pages need to be at the cutting edge of what is possible. The reason for this is that as you are in tech, the assumption will be that you are accomplished at anything vaguely technical, not that you just have a clever gadget. If you’re selling an online service, your website is more than just a window into your business, in effect, it is your business. No-one is going to be convinced by your claims that your company can provide the best value remote home security systems if your website is clunky, hard to use and lacks information. There might not be a direct relationship between the expertise of website construction and the technology of your system, but as far as prospective customers are concerned, if your business is tech-related, you should be proficient in anything computer-related. You don’t have to build a site from scratch, there are expert website building and hosting companies like TipTopWebsite that can take the strain out of designing the structure. You just need to make sure the site contains everything it should, is well laid out and is stylish as well as functional. Using top quality photography on your website is vital for a tech business, so unless you’re a dab hand at taking pictures yourself, find or employ someone who is. Using stock photos is a real turn off for tech customers, who expect the photos on your site to be original, relevant and crystal clear.
By venturing into the world of business with a tech start-up, you are becoming a part of an industry that is flourishing. Technological advancement is inevitable, and if you have the skills and knowledge to run a tech business, you have every chance of success. Just remember that to potential customers, you are a tech expert, and every aspect of your business needs to reflect this if you are to gain the reputation you seek.