Chromebook - Beginning of an Era?

Cloud computing is, according to many, the most probable future direction that technology will follow. For those who never heard of it, it basically allows you to store all your data online, in a cloud, instead of storing it in your computer's hard disk. Dropbox is a good example of such an application. Also Apple already came out with an application that will allow you to store all your music in your online cloud, where you can afterwards access it from any of your apple devices.

One of the leaders in this technology is Google, which has been investing significant resources in aligning its future products with cloud computing. Most recently, Google has just announced the launch of the Chromebook, a small laptop equipped with Google Chrome and where there's no longer a hard disk available; only through internet access you are able to reach your personal data, in a platform linking your files with your email Google account, YouTube, Facebook, etc. In terms of manufacturers, both Acer and Samsung worked together with Google to develop the new device, which you can see below.

Now this is a big breakthrough innovation... And as a consequence, it brings several risks with it! Although the technology itself does not involve any major change compared to what already exists (netbooks, ipads,etc), the product involves a high degree of change in terms of the consumer behavior. More precisely, the challenge is concerned with changing people's routines and habits, and not just adding some extra feature to the product. And even after people understand the actual benefits of the technology (in this case, the advantage of being able to store everything online, making things easier, safer and more practical), they have to start using it. Which means stop using regular laptops together with their hard disk, and get used to placing everything online and access it there.

At the end of the day, those who manage to convince people in changing their behaviors and buying the product shall succeed, regardless of the whether the technology is very good or not. And this is where marketing plays a key role in launching the product into the market. So lets wait and see how Google "shows" their new toy to the market, and if they are able to take the best out of their marketing tools to successfully convince consumers. So far, they did a good work with their website ( http://www.google.com/chromebook/), with a clear value proposition touching on some essential points. Lets take a look...

Chromebooks are built and optimized for the web, where you already spend most of your computing time. So you get a faster, simpler and more secure experience without all the headaches of ordinary computers.

In two sentences tells people what it is and why they should use it - more practical, faster, and better that "ordinary" computers. Additionally, it makes it look easier: "where you already spend most of your computing time".

Nice job so far Google, but the hard part is still to come.

Convince consumers in changing their routines and become the leader of a new technology era. Fail to do it and join the high failure rates pool where many others eventually end up falling in.

Exceeding Customer Expectations - A Hangover Hard to Recover

Marketing is a powerful weapon used by companies to create certain expectations on consumers, who create themselves a perception of a product/service after having been exposed to such things as advertisements or promotions. And which company is the final winner in the marketing race? The one promising everything and giving few, or the one keeping promise and meeting consumer's expectations? Obviously, despite less sales on the beginning, the long-run shall see the second succeed. And this is what many fail to understand: Exceeding your customer's expectations with promises you aren't able to deliver is surely one of the biggest mistakes you can do as a manager.

Here's a recent example... Two weeks ago I went to see the movie "The Hangover - Part 2". Given the success of the first movie, I was expecting a lot from its sequel and actually couldn't wait for the day to come. So I took a look on the trailer to have an idea of what the movie might look like... The scenes showed were extremely funny and the trailer promised a great movie, probably better than the first!

A couple of days later, I finally went to see the movie. Upon my arrival, I found the place covered with posters and lots of references to the film! Uau... an epic sequel was expecting me! Well, at least that's what I thought... After the movie ended I was extremely disappointed, basically because more than half of the funny parts I had already seen on the trailer! Me and obviously many others.

It's OK if your consumers have existing expectations upon your products or services due to previous use. But what it's NOT OK is when you elevate those expectations to a point where you cannot deliver them. What happens then is a feeling of dissatisfaction much worse than if you hadn't placed those expectations on their minds in the first place. And that was exactly what happened with this movie. I was expecting an entertaining and good film, but after watching the trailer, having seen all the ads displayed in the area and all the buzz created around it, my expectations grew even more! In the end, as the product failed to deliver me what I (and, again, many others...) was expecting, I was more dissatisfied than ever with the outcome.

Let us look now to the company side... What are the consequences of such actions? On the first few weeks will certainly provide high sales and maybe a couple of nice reviews. But eventually the end result will be a more negative evaluation of the movie, along with a decrease in customer loyalty and, most probably, a decrease in future purchases.

So manage this trade-off carefully. Take a look of what you have to offer and market it in the best possible way. But do not exaggerate, or you may never fully recover from that hangover.

Die Welle

"Do you think a dictatorship isn't possible anymore?"

"No way. We're way beyond that."

And so it starts. After having being told he was teaching "autocracy" for the school's project week, a popular but unorthodox high school teacher starts an unusual experiment to demonstrate his students what life is under a dictatorship. The students are told to follow the teacher's leadership, create their own set of values and beliefs for the group, and behave according to the rules during that week. The result?

Well, you should watch the movie to see by yourselves the consequences of creating a small but powerful dictatorship, based on core values such as discipline, unity and team spirit. Very interesting to see how everything develops each day and the meaning the whole movement brings to the lives of every student.

A very interesting movie, with a good cast, and with a strong message successfully delivered. Must see.

Marketing on Facebook: Focus and Simplicity

A couple of weeks ago I made a post about the latest trends that brands are using in social media, more specifically on Facebook. Today I would like to share with you Intel's latest tool on Facebook, the Museum of Me.

Many of you already saw this on Facebook, and perhaps even created your own museum. So what is it about this that makes it so special?

First of all, Intel created something based on the core essence of social networking websites: your life. The museum shows in 4 slides a general overview of your life on Facebook, the people you most interact with, the pages you "like" more and photos you have recently uploaded. Basically, the museum triggers some kind of emotional click on your brain and makes you feel a little bit nostalgic, but at the same time proud and happy of what your life is all about.

Secondly, another factor that makes this platform so appealing to consumers is the simplicity involved. For you to have all this, you just have to open the website and click "Connect to Facebook". After a few seconds your museum is done and ready to be shared on Facebook, if you wish. How simple is that? Very simple! And if you take into consideration the current emergence of this kind of applications and platforms offering so many different things to users, simplicity becomes a crucial factor in successfully creating a positive impact of the platform on Facebook users.

Last but not least, by focusing on the consumer experience and giving them something to feel happy about, Intel eventually earns positive recognition for the work developed. Here's what a consumer might think...

"Intel created a platform where I can see my social life displayed in a really nice way. When I look to the photos I remember the value of my friends and family, my life experiences through the photos I upload, and the way all comes together to give my life a meaning"

While people do not directly think "Thank you Intel", unconsciously this thought might be present. And this is where Intel wins where many others keep failing.