{"id":1545,"date":"2015-08-16T18:51:05","date_gmt":"2015-08-16T18:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/?p=1545"},"modified":"2015-10-11T21:09:16","modified_gmt":"2015-10-11T21:09:16","slug":"smart-startups-learn-how-to-create-and-manage-hype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/smart-startups-learn-how-to-create-and-manage-hype\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart Startups Learn How to Create and Manage Hype"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Smart<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Martin<\/a><\/p>\n
MARTIN ZWILLING<\/div>\n
CONTRIBUTOR<\/div>\n
Veteran startup mentor, executive, blogger, author, tech professional, and Angel investor.<\/div>\n
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\"7<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Image credit: Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/div>\n<\/header>\n

Creating a successful startup is all about marketing these days, no matter how compelling your solution. Technologists have long believed that marketing is only required when selling the next pet rock, but in this age of information overload, even the most exciting solutions will be lost from view or assumed to have no value unless they are surrounded by hype.<\/p>\n

According to\u00c2\u00a0Urban Dictionary<\/a>, hype is \u00e2\u0080\u009ca clever marketing strategy where a product is advertised as the thing everyone must have, to the point where people begin to feel they need to consume it.\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/p>\n

Even technology solutions with a large intuitive value, such as a cure for cancer, need hype for visibility, education, side-effect considerations\u00c2\u00a0and to avoid a\u00c2\u00a0scam label.\u00c2\u00a0What most entrepreneurs fail to appreciate is that even the most basic marketing takes time, money\u00c2\u00a0and creativity, and even the best still may not succeed in winning over competitive approaches or the status quo.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00c2\u00a04 Secrets to a Successful Product Launch<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Marketing acceptance, especially for new technologies, actually goes through several predictable stages, called the hype cycle<\/a>, as outlined by Gartner research.\u00c2\u00a0This cycle is actually an evolution to total acceptance of a specific solution or technology, based on the effectiveness of the marketing and hype\u00c2\u00a0and\u00c2\u00a0on the feedback of\u00c2\u00a0early users.<\/p>\n

Progress through these phases is unpredictable in time, often takes many years, and can only be measured by customer surveys and market penetration analyses. Here are the five key phases:<\/p>\n

1. Innovation trigger<\/h2>\n

Every new startup rolling out an innovative solution is the start of a new cycle. Early hype actually should precede the final product, and consists of proof-of-concept stories, media events\u00c2\u00a0and industry exposure. Every entrepreneur in stealth mode who insists on waiting for their product runs the risk of being a non-starter.<\/p>\n

2. Peak of inflated expectations<\/h2>\n

This is the phase where the marketing hype has fully\u00c2\u00a0kicked in, often creating unrealistic expectations which the solution can\u00e2\u0080\u0099t yet deliver. Many startup solutions flame out at this point. According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle Special Report for 2014<\/a>, wearable user interfaces such as Google Glass are now in this stage.<\/p>\n

3. Trough of disillusionment<\/h2>\n

Solutions and startups that stumble under inflated expectations quickly lose their allure, and enter a long period of slow growth\u00c2\u00a0or even a big downturn. Technologies used in these solutions are then seen as red flags by investors. Examples\u00c2\u00a0include\u00c2\u00a0mobile\u00c2\u00a0health monitoring, NFC (near field communication)\u00c2\u00a0and virtual-reality systems.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00c2\u00a06 Steps to a Successful Product Launch<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Slope of enlightenment<\/h2>\n

Over time, with more marketing, and with further enhancements, customers begin to understand and accept the practical benefits of a given solution. This is the phase where strategic partnerships and new markets are key. Investors seek out startups at this point\u00c2\u00a0that are\u00c2\u00a0well\u00c2\u00a0positioned for rapid scaling.<\/p>\n

5. Plateau of productivity<\/h2>\n

This phase more specifically applies to technologies that\u00c2\u00a0have evolved through multiple generations and are widely accepted. Multiple startups can now spawn solutions from the technology, and position themselves for rapid customer growth and early seed-stage support from investors.<\/p>\n

I have intentionally broadened the hype-cycle definitions from their traditional hard-technology application to include soft technologies, such as social networks and entertainment. The rules for technology startups are no longer unique — marketing and hype are now as critical for business-to-business solutions as for business-to-consumer solutions.<\/p>\n

There is evidence that the elapsed time of each phase is getting shorter, which just means that every entrepreneur needs to start earlier, and measure feedback more carefully, or risk failure by working on the wrong problem. As an angel investor, I often hear startups touting inflated expectations, or refusing to pivot in the face of disillusionment for their technologies.<\/p>\n

The days are gone for those who believe that \u00e2\u0080\u009cIf we build it, they will come!\u00e2\u0080\u009d Growing a business in this highly connected and information-intensive world requires a total focus on marketing and evolving customer perceptions. The best startups start early, and put as much focus on the hype as they do on the product. Where is your solution in the hype cycle?<\/p>\n

Related:\u00c2\u00a0A Blueprint for a Killer Product Launch (Infographic)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MARTIN ZWILLING CONTRIBUTOR Veteran startup mentor, executive, blogger, author, tech professional, and Angel investor. Image credit: Shutterstock.com August 14, 2015 Creating a successful startup is all about marketing these days, no matter how compelling your solution. Technologists have long believed that marketing is only required when selling the next pet rock, but in this age … Continue reading Smart Startups Learn How to Create and Manage Hype<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-startups","pmpro-has-access"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4MGMb-oV","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1546,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545\/revisions\/1546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}