One
of the major challenges faced by PR practitioners is representing technology
clients. This is due to the distinctive character of the technology practice
that requires quick action and fast-changing information. Imagine, only a few
weeks after ran innovative product is launched, another product can come,
offering more complete, sophisticated features and more competitive price!
It
is not necessary to be a gadget addict to successfully serve this industry.
Based on our decades of experience serving the technology industry, the main
requirements our consultants must have include the 'hunger' of challenge and
progress in building very dynamic engagement as well as the courage to think
positively and creatively at all time.
Tech
industry brings tremendous challenge to engage stakeholders and continuously
attract them to be provoked, think, write, read and at the end become our
loyalists and use our products. We need to explain how a cell phone works in
the most attractive way, highlighting all the benefits of our products in the
middle of very tight competition, connecting them to stakeholders' needs and
wants. Expressing technological terms in easily understood terms is the biggest
challenge to achieve this purpose.
The
following are some tips to successfully build a solid and credible
communication team in the technology practice, based on our experience.
1. The passion for new technology
We
believe that success comes from loving our job field. So, having a team that
loves the excitement and dynamic brought by new technology is a priority for
us. Although the job seems demanding, we never feel tired because we do it
every day as a hobby. Technology communication practitioners never give up and
consider technology complicated, because there are a lot of unique, exciting
and interesting things that can be learned out of this complexity. When working
with passionate heart, it is not surprising when success comes easily again and
again. The success of brand development in the industry, among others, is the
fruit of passion of the communication practitioners behind it.
2. Always keep Updated
In
the technology practice, every second can cause major changes that could change
the world. Therefore, technology communication team should feel the hunger to
get the latest tech information updates, as well as the latest insights from
stakeholders that relate to the brands.
Always
understand the psychographics of your stakeholders, listen to their
conversation through social media, their aspirations and frustration at any
given time, and learn how the newest features of the tech brand can answer
their questions. Build the connection that matter with this understanding.
Always be ready for competitors' story, and learn how our stories can be
unique, our offering different, to strengthen our positioning in the market. A
real time online digital listening tool is a crucial tool for this purpose.
This
will be a strong foundation in building technology brands. We have proved this
point ourselves since the beginning, and up to now the results have never been
disappointing.
3. Be disciplined in story telling
This
is important because the news development in the technology industry is very
dynamic, and can be easily outdated so that technology communication
practitioners have to be very agile in managing issues, create fresh stories
and clever in presenting them to the public. In order to that, always understand what your audience
needs and wants at any given time, and understand how your brand can answer
their challenges and aspiration. Tell stories that emotionally engage
stakeholders and add values to their lives. Build the discipline to tell
stories that connect, relate and touch.
4. Be alert and "in-time"
Technology
communication practitioners should always emphasize on the speed in filtering
information that is relevant to the stories of the brand. Build high
sensitivity in capturing the stories considered important for stakeholders.
Engaging the stakeholders by telling the right story, at the right time in the
right way is the key success factor in the very dynamic, rapidly changing tech
market. The "alert attitude" and sensitivity will enable the tech
communication team to build the speed required to stay ahead of competition.
5. Willing to Learn More
To
win in the dynamic tech market, technology communications practitioners should
always learn to be more curious, learn more, ask more questions, and exchange
ideas more often to gain valuable insights and "aha" ideas. To always
be the number one in our stakeholders' hearts and minds, means that we have to
be the number one to understand them, the first to answer their needs and build
the right connection to our brands. It requires the ability to always be the
first one to come up with the unique "aha" ideas when suddenly
competitors appear through various touch points to steal the game we're
playing.
We
believe the five tips above are just a few recipes to build a successful
communication technology team. You must also have some other tips. Let's share
so that we can be successful together! (Rachma
Nadya, Putri Rizky Pramadhani -
Fortune PR)