The consumer electronics industry faces a problem that’s far more extreme than in other industries:

People perceive your products, which are mostly excellent, as commodities. To most consumers, most HDTVs are interchangeable. The picture is great on all of them. So what’s the difference? Brand name doesn’t matter nearly as much as it used to. For example, Sony used to survive on its name. These days, Vizio is outselling Sony.

The same can be said about phones — entry-level ones and smart phones. For example, all those Android phones are a lot like Windows computers — it doesn’t matter if HP makes a PC or Acer. You still get a Windows computer that’s nearly identical (assuming the technical specifications are compatible). Same with phones: Samsung or Motorola? Who cares? Consumers don’t.

This is unique to our industry. This doesn’t happen in the auto industry, where certain people swear by certain car makers, or in the fashion industry, where people have preferred name brands that fit them better than others.

Which means it’s extremely difficult to succeed in consumer electronics. And that your marketing, branding, positioning, platforms, language and techniques must be unequivocally excellent and effective. You must create passionate consumers, who can be commodity killers.

It’s a case for perfecting your marketing. Which is what I’ve been writing about on this blog all year long.

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