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Do we really
need that new PC? |
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By Patrick Moorhead |
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But I believe that
conclusion misses a more fundamental reason. What if the rate of home and
business technology innovation is outpacing its relevance to many consumers,
leaving them to wonder if they even need the latest in technology? At that
point, are the "evident" benefits of computing really so evident? I recently met with the
Global Consumer Advisory Board, a highly respected group of consumer and
small-business advocates from Asia, Canada, Europe, Japan, Latin America,
Mexico and the United States, to explore this disconnect between technology
innovation and adoption. We drew a conclusion: A "technology gap"
indeed exists on a global level. Here's why:  |
COMMENTARY--Considering all the
"evident" benefits offered by personal computing devices, you might
naturally assume that more people would want to enrich their lives with new
technologies. Therefore, I'm surprised by the slowdown in technology adoption
that many pundits are now blaming on the economy. The average person using
technology often faces an unfamiliar vocabulary of acronyms and abstract
high-tech terms that he or she doesn't understand.
When purchasing, setting
up and even using technology devices, this lack of understanding only serves
to confuse, paralyze and frustrate. Even worse, as technology continues to
innovate, the technology vocabulary constantly increases.
If people want to take
full advantage of these newer technologies, they are often required to
surrender personal information. That automatically raises concerns about
privacy and security in this personal data "trade-off." These
doubts only hold back the more widespread adoption of new products and
services, such as certain portals, media players, wireless computing devices
and e-commerce, which require the exchange of personal information.
According to IDC's 2001
consumer devices survey report, 41 percent of respondents said they do not
own a PC because they have no need for one. This precisely
characterizes the third issue causing the technology gap--the inability on
the part of the industry to properly convey the values and benefits of new
digital products or services.
The industry must realize
that the values and relevancies of technologies are different for different
people. Educational, cultural and geographic differences among consumers
obviously exist. Yet when designing, marketing and supporting a product, the
industry seems to take a one-size-fits-all approach.
Some may argue--and I
would agree--that the need for trust, simplicity and relevance in marketing
technology products is quite obvious. Yet so much of today's technology is
sold on the features and not the benefits.
One line item in a
typical Sunday ad circular about a PC and the information presented read as
follows: "1.6 GHz, 256KB L2 cache, 64MB DDR SDRAM." Do we really
expect regular folks to buy a PC based on such gobbledygook?
Another good example is
that to understand wireless home networking, consumers need to know the
difference between Bluetooth, IEEE, 802.11a and 802.11b. The industry has
been talking to the same group of sophisticated consumers for 20 years. If
you are a mainstream user of technology, it is very difficult to catch up and
you have to be really motivated to invest the time and money.
So where do we go from
here? How can we put the technology consumer back at the center of the
technology discussion? How about starting by communicating in terms that
explain the real benefits that people will receive from their technology
investment. Let's motivate people with a reason to buy targeted to solve their
unique needs rather than with some cool technology feature.
Consumers represent the
most important factor in the technology food chain. After all, they are the
ones who will ultimately decide the market success or failure of a
technology.
Patrick Moorhead is vice president of
customer advocacy at Advanced Micro Devices. 