Marketing High Tech Without Talking Tech

By Alex on 8/16/2024

Your technology might be complex, but your message doesn’t have to be. As engineers, we want to talk about the things that excite us. But as Google’s famous 12-word pitch shows (“Google organizes the world’s information and makes it universally accessible and useful”), sometimes less is more.

The Problem with Tech-Centric Marketing

Many high-tech products, especially in areas like Web3, AI, or quantum computing, fall into the trap of marketing the technology itself. This approach often:

1. Alienates non-technical audiences
2. Fails to communicate real-world value
3. Gets lost in a sea of similar-sounding pitches (check out how many AI startups are listed on online marketplaces for under $5k)

Principles of Tech-Light Marketing

1. Focus on Benefits, Not Features

• Instead of: “Our blockchain uses a novel consensus algorithm”
• Try: “Secure transactions without the need for intermediaries”

2. Solve a Problem

• Instead of: “We’ve developed a new machine learning model”
• Try: “Predict equipment failures before they happen, saving millions”

3. Use Analogies

• Instead of: “Our quantum algorithm optimizes portfolio risk”
• Try: “It’s like having a financial advisor who can see all possible futures”

4. Emphasize Impact

• Instead of: “We’ve increased processing speed by 200%”
• Try: “Get answers in seconds instead of hours”

5. Tell a Story

• Instead of: “Our API integrates with 50+ platforms”
• Try: “Connect all your tools with a single click”

Examples of Tech-Light, Benefit-Heavy Pitches

Let’s look at some complex technologies and how they could be pitched without diving into technical details:

1. Quantum Computing (IBM Q)

• Tech-heavy pitch: “53-qubit quantum computer using superconducting transmon qubits with coherence times exceeding 100 microseconds.”
• Benefit-focused pitch: “Solve complex problems in hours that would take traditional computers millennia.”

2. CRISPR Gene Editing

• Tech-heavy pitch: “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats with Cas9 endonuclease for targeted genomic modifications.”
• Benefit-focused pitch: “Rewrite the code of life to cure genetic diseases.”

3. Neuralink (Brain-Computer Interface)

• Tech-heavy pitch: “High-bandwidth brain-machine interface using flexible electrode threads and custom-built robotics for minimally invasive implantation.”
• Benefit-focused pitch: “Empower people with paralysis to control devices with their thoughts.”

4. Ethereum (Blockchain Platform)

• Tech-heavy pitch: “Decentralized, open-source blockchain featuring smart contract functionality using a Turing-complete programming language.”
• Benefit-focused pitch: “Create unbreakable digital agreements that execute exactly as written, every time.”

5. TensorFlow (Machine Learning Library)

• Tech-heavy pitch: “Open-source software library for dataflow and differentiable programming across a range of tasks, with flexible architecture allowing easy deployment of computation across various platforms.”
• Benefit-focused pitch: “Easily build and deploy AI models that work on any device.”

6. SpaceX Starlink

• Tech-heavy pitch: “Low Earth orbit satellite constellation operating at 550km altitude using Ku and Ka-band spectrum for high-bandwidth, low-latency internet connectivity.”
• Benefit-focused pitch: “High-speed internet access anywhere on Earth, from the heart of New York to the Sahara Desert.”

7. Boston Dynamics Robots

• Tech-heavy pitch: “Quadruped and bipedal robots utilizing advanced control systems, sensor fusion, and machine learning for dynamic locomotion and task execution in unstructured environments.”
• Benefit-focused pitch: “Robots that navigate the real world as easily as you do, handling dangerous tasks so humans don’t have to.”

8. DeepMind’s AlphaFold

• Tech-heavy pitch: “AI system using a novel deep learning architecture combining attention-based neural networks with structural and evolutionary information for highly accurate protein structure prediction.”
• Benefit-focused pitch: “Unlock the mysteries of life by predicting protein shapes, accelerating drug discovery, and understanding diseases.”

I can’t be an expert in all of the above, so I apologize if I misrepresented an idea in my explanation or simplifcation. But even the most complex technologies have the potential to create an impact for a more general audience. The key is to focus on what the technology enables rather than how it works.

Crafting Your High-Tech Elevator Pitch

1. Identify the Core Problem You’re Solving What fundamental issue does your technology address?

2. Articulate the End Benefit How does solving this problem improve lives or businesses?

3. Find a Universal Hook What aspect of your solution would interest even your grandparents?

4. Distill to Its Essence Can you explain it in one short, jargon-free sentence?

Practical Exercise

Take your current technical pitch and transform it:

1. Write down your current pitch
2. Identify all technical terms and jargon
3. For each term, “Why does this matter to the end user?”
4. Rewrite focusing solely on user benefits
5. Refine until a non-technical person can understand and see the value

Your technology might be complex, but your message doesn’t have to be. By focusing on benefits and real-world impact, you’ll create a message that resonates beyond the tech-savvy crowd, potentially opening up new markets and opportunities for your high-tech innovation.

In the words of Einstein, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

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