Can Engineers do Marketing?

All too often I hear clients say “it’s all about the product”, similar to the “build it and they will come” mindset that has been the demise of many great innovations. Today, many high tech companies enjoy a well deserved reputation for being on the leading edge of product innovation; yet when it comes to marketing, their efforts fall far short of the mark. The end results are product introductions that fail to attract customers, generate the expected market interest and hence yield disappointing product revenues.

Why is this?
Technology companies thrive and grow on the strength of their innovation; that innovation comes from the minds of their highly skilled staff. In many midsized tech companies the marketing and communications activities are also done by those same product development people, who likely view this as a distraction from their ‘real’ work. So the question is “can engineers market their own products? ” Having spent 28 years working in the technology industry many of my best friends are engineers, and rather than offend any of my tech buddies let me ask a different question, “should engineers market their own products? ” For sure they have the knowledge of the product, how it works, why its works, and they definitely have the passion since they conceived and created this marvel of technical innovation.

However, if the innovators are doing the marketing, who is doing the innovating?

Over the years I have met a few exceptional engineering folks who just have that natural ability to translate that techno-speak into a language that mere mortals can understand, they are able to take the technical specifications and turn them into customer benefits, and can imagine the market possibilities for the product. These unique characters are worth their weight in gold, but they are very thin on the ground.

Many companies turn to marketing ‘professionals’ for the answers, only to be frustrated by their lack of understanding of what it takes to successfully market hi-tech products. They end up spending days educating them on their products and the uniqueness of the technology marketplace, all while the meter is running . The results are often worse than if the engineering department had taken a sabbatical from product innovation and figured it out for themselves.

Fortunately there is an alternative- Claymore Marketing in Dallas, TX is staffed by some of those rare engineering minded marketers. We have years of experience working in the technology industry; conducting market research, and building marketing programs specifically designed for these highly technical products and specialized markets. All of which are grounded in a deep understanding of the industry and technology 'consumers'.

Check us out at www.claymoremarketing.com