Tech organizations that specialize in products, services, business solutions, or consulting, face a continuous demand to deliver value. Clients expect them to deliver projects on time, on budget, use the latest technology and tools, and be someone who understands their business well.

Organizations, therefore, need to train and equip their employees to carry out these tasks remarkably. Technology changes the way businesses operate, enabling the creation of solutions that can transform how they’re run. Technology has a critical role to play in increasing a business’ profits.

When it comes to applying technology, however, tech organizations face a number of challenges, which is no trivial matter. It sometimes becomes a protracted process and can cause major headaches.

Here’re the top mistakes organizations make in applying technology:

 

Not Knowing the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

One of the key requirements for a tech company is to know what their “Minimum Viable Product” (MVP) is. It’s a known fact that every technology product released to the market is susceptible to negative feedback, criticism and performance issues. This is expected and paves the way for better versions in the future. However, knowing your MVP and getting it right is critical for tech companies (the term was coined and defined by Frank Robinson, and popularized by Steve Blank, and Eric Ries, involves carrying out market analysis beforehand)

Results from an MVP test aim to indicate if the product should be built to begin with. Testing will evaluate if the initial problem or goal has been solved in a manner which makes sense to move forward.

For example, in spite of many successful products from Amazon, its Fire smartphone was a failure. The Dynamic Perspective Feature (which altered the on-screen content depending on your gaze) was greatly advertised and sold as a differentiator for Fire, which at the end of the day was a novelty. Similarly, the price of the Fire was too high (essentially same as iPhone) for buyers to consider this as an expensive smartphone. Clearly, the product was not viable and consequently Amazon stopped selling Fire.

Not Knowing Competition

When tech organizations don’t expend enough time and effort in analyzing their competitors—their products and services, pricing, marketing, and campaigns—they run the risk of being left behind or losing business to them. Not knowing and analyzing competitor data will hinder organizations abilities to make their own offering stand out, set competitive prices, and respond to campaigns with their initiatives.

The tech world is full of ideas and quick connections. Analysing competitor information is as important as it is for organizations to focus on understanding market trends, customer business, up-skilling employees, and delivering value.

For example, when the gaming company Nintendo came up with Wii U console, gamers clearly did not receive it well because Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony Play Station platforms were already way ahead in the business. There were many missteps and half-baked ideas which put Wii U console way behind its immediate competition.

By acting on the information they gain, organizations can be realistic about how successful they are and define the road ahead.

Not Knowing the Customer

A tech organization that doesn’t completely understand a customer’s business, their requirements, end-users, and long-term goals will find it difficult to persuade the customer into buying their products and services. After all, an organization’s products are as good as the customer believes they are. If a tech organization is unable to convince potential customers that they need a specific product, the customer won’t buy it.

Successful organizations spend time in understanding a customer’s needs, their business model, whether they sell directly to individuals or other businesses, their current vendors, challenges, and so on. Only when they’re adequately armed with information can a tech organization emphasize how the potential and existing customers will benefit from signing a deal with them.

Not Knowing When to Time the Market

Many times tech companies release products that hit the market too early. For example, Tablet PCs by Microsoft was way ahead of its time. The product didn’t take off as expected because even though Tablet PC was a great product, the infrastructure that a Tablet PC required—such as wireless technology and high-speed downloads—weren’t commonly available. Timing was a key reason why Tablet PC wasn’t a great market success. Alternatively, Apple timed its release of the iPad much better, and with more developments in wireless technologies and high-speed downloads, the device became more and more popular.

Ignoring Branding and Marketing

Branding is quintessential for any company. That said, tech companies often focus on developing feature sets and tend to ignore branding and marketing. At the very least, brands should have a comprehensive, interactive website that talks about their product, incorporate a social strategy, and when possible, videos that give product insights. A great example of how a tech company can showcase their products on the web is Paxta.com.

To conclude, tech organizations may get caught up in thinking that technology is the solution, but it’s only a vehicle to facilitate the achievement of objectives.