Do you work in the field of technology?
Either information technology or engineering (the former arguably a
subset of the latter).
As a provider of products or services, or as a consultant.
If yes – READ ON!
You and your organisation may be victims of the Technology Trap.
Apply a critical eye to your web site, your marketing collateral, your proposals, and your internal business cases.
What do they talk about?
What your products and services do, who has used them, your capabilities, your technical and technological excellence, your high levels of innovation, your achievements? If so, you are a victim of the Technology Trap. You have become so fixated on your own technology that you focus on what you do – not on what your audience wants. It is extraordinary how many businesses fall into it.
Beating the Technology Trap
People buy “Benefits” not “Characteristics”. What you and your products and services can do are the things which enable the creation of value for your customers or clients. The Value that they derive from their deployment is the “Benefit” they get.
You may believe that understanding the “Benefits” is self-evident once you have exposed the quality of the “Characteristics” you bring to the table. However, the link may not be clear to your audience. If you don’t do the translation for your audience, they may not make the connection, and you may fail to convince them.
So how can you make sure your communications explain the “Benefits” and thus maximise buy-in to your propositions?
The answer is simple – focus on “Benefits” and the logic of why, or how, the “Characteristics” you bring enable them. This is called the Pyramid Thinking Plus Approach.
Using it will:
• Ensure your audience sees the “Benefits” case – the focus of your communication
• Enable your audience to buy-in to the “Benefits” case – since they can see the logical link between it and the underpinning “Characteristics”
• Help your audience assimilate your proposition since the logic structure is designed to make it easy for the human brain to process by not overtaxing working memory
• Deliver results for you and your organisation. I learned the approach at the turn of the millennium and use it in all important professional communications. It clearly delivers much better buy-in. The success of the approach has led to its adoption by leading consultancies and corporates worldwide
So what should you do to avoid the Technology Trap?
Well step one is Google “Pyramid Thinking Plus” and find out some more about the approach. Once you have done that – learn more about it, use it, and then enjoy the success it will bring you.
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