The Next Big Thing in Technology?

Three technology considerations- for your customers sake don’t get caught up in the hype

As I skim through multiple technology articles of the newly introduced Samsung smartwatch and ongoing drips of information regarding Google “glassholes,” as they are calling the Google Glass owners, I can see the hype tsunami building. Soon, if it hasn’t started yet, here’s a sample of the blog and article titles we will be seeing:

• “Are You Ready for the 4th and 5th Screens?”
• “SmaWa is a Retail Marketer Must!” (of course, a hip sounding abbreviation will be quickly created)
• Or what will be my favorite: “Successful Integration of SmaWa Into SoLoMo”

 

And so on and on. All the articles will be using a guru commissioned by a technology company, digital media outlet or smartwatch manufacturer to hype the “once in a lifetime” marketing opportunity.

Before you get caught up in the upcoming hype, take a deep breath and make these three considerations:

1. Think about your customer. What are the chances they will welcome the new contraptions?

If your target audience does not include the digiratti geekdom, pause before jumping in. Think: When is the last time you saw someone younger than 25 wear a watch? “What time is it?” That’s what their phones are for. For the Rolex, Cartier, status-conscious crowd, is there really space for a “Samsung,” other than while jogging or parading the sports club floor?
Regarding Google Glass (you know I always have to include Google in my writing): In a world in which people pay thousands for laser eye surgery and contact lenses, is a glass contraption compelling enough to negate vanity?

Smartphones and tablets have been great convenient substitutions to items that people were already using; no major behavior modification needed. Before we declare “wearable tech” The Next Big Thing, we need to see those applications that will deem it irreplaceable in our everyday lives, which takes me to point number 2.

2. If you believe your audience is likely to use the contraption, determine how your product can integrate into the experience under normal usage behavior.

Ask where, how and when they might be using it.

• If you are in the healthcare industry, there might be opportunities for health monitoring, for example.
• In the hospitality industry, there could be promotional opportunities, such as breakfast, lunch or dinner alarms with discount coupons to incite a visit.
• Fitness industry—this is an obvious one for workout monitoring.
• Even car insurance could potentially develop special products based on “normal” behavior monitoring, such as no blood alcohol when driving, although now we are treading on thin ice with privacy concerns.

 

Some ideas may be a stretch, but please do not think I am putting down the advancement of technology. I’m just motivating you to think before succumbing to the hype. This takes me to the last point of my recommendation.