I can’t think of an industry that’s more prone to — and damaged by — unforced errors than consumer electronics.
This business is hard and fickle enough without you voluntarily erecting hurdles for yourself. How could Verizon not anticipate the backlash to its silly $2 fee last week? At least Verizon stopped the terrible PR within 48 hours by admitting its mistake and reversing its decision. Research in Motion, on the other hand, can’t undo the damage from its Playbook tablet disaster nearly as quickly. That’s a much larger and more defining unforced error.
Other examples of unforced errors in the marketing of consumer electronics:
- Using unnecessarily technical language.
- Not gathering qualitative insights from your customers.
- Not communicating constantly with your market. Every pause in your outbound consumer communication is an unforced error.
- Not including a product manual.
- Over-investing in social media, which pulls resources away from more effective marketing activities.
Try to eliminate unforced errors in 2012. As in tennis, they are damaging, and 100 percent preventable.
About Me
I am a consumer electronics marketing consultant, with clients that include TiVo, Logitech, T-Mobile, Sprint and ZAGG.
My new book, Evangelist Marketing, officially launches tomorrow! It’s 288 pages on topics like this one.
My entire 2012 teleconference education series, monthly from March to December, is free for all readers of this mailing. Just reply to this email and tell me you’d like to participate. (You get the recordings too if you can’t attend live.)
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