Marketing “Home Automation”

Control 4 manufactures a complete line of affordable wired and wireless home automation products. In just six short years, Control 4 has become the leader in ‘affordable’ home automation.

 

I had the pleasure of speaking briefly with co-founder, Eric Smith. When I asked him what makes Control 4 different from similar companies, he said “We’re more affordable and much easier to install.” Smith went on to say, “Most home automation products that are currently on the market require extensive wiring. Because our components communicate with each other wirelessly, they are much easier to install in existing homes.”

 

With dealers in over 33 countries distributing their products and a 45% growth rate last year, Control 4 is definitely doing something right.

 

The three keys to their success are:

 

1. Creating a product that is superior (and already has a built-in differentiator).
2. Knowing how to introduce that product to the marketplace and communicate its strengths.
3. Innovating to keep up with trends and stay ahead of the market.

Control 4 focuses its marketing efforts on appealing to resellers. This includes industry tradeshows and advertising in targeted trade publications. They also have a heavy focus on PR and have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Wired Magazine and on Oprah.

 

In the coming years, Eric indicated that the company plans to begin marketing its products directly to the end consumer and “do-it-yourself” homeowners. They also have designed several modules that control a home to be more energy efficient. The trend to conserve energy and improve the environment is an expanding market that will give them even more of an edge over the competition.

 

To learn more about Control 4, visit their website at www.control4.com

These days, social networking sites, blogs, review sites, and similar forums are a double edged sword for businesses.  On the one hand, new products can be launched in record time.  It used to take months or years to spread the word about a new product or service.  Now it takes a few days.  Both positive and negative public relations now travel at the speed of light.

 

What starts out as a comment or an aside on facebook, twitter, or a relevant blog can and does spread like wildfire.  Lately, companies like Taco Bell and Burger King have both experienced the power of P R at the speed of light.  Issues that might have never surfaced at all just a few years ago now take on a life on their own.

 

Taco Bell is in a running battle with rapper 50 cent over the use of his name and image in Taco Bell ads.  All of the details of this issue are all over the net. 

 

Burger King has created controversy around its Whopper Virgins campaign.  Anyone with an axe to grind and an internet connection can now make trouble for any company, practically overnight.

 

Although Russ Klein, President of Burger King’s global marketing, has stated that “We know we can’t be pleasing 100% of the people 100% of the time”, it’s a real dilemma for businesses that would prefer to be doing just that (if possible.)

 

 

Think Like a Political Advance Team

 

Pete Blackshaw, Executive Vice President at Web researcher Nielson Online, says “Marketers need to think more like political advance people.  Political advance people are always scoping out what could go wrong ….and in an age of viral communication and consumer control, you really need to up the ante on advance work.”  (USA Today, December 8th.)

 

Advance teams think through how their campaigns and branding messages could be perceived, and develop spin control and instant reaction messages as contingency plans.

 

For most small to medium size businesses, this might seem like overkill, but your brand is at risk.  If you think in terms of how you will respond to negative P R of any kind in advance, it will keep your company out of crisis mode.  You can act, instead of react.

 

The key to all of this is speed.  Don’t let misperceptions fester unanswered for days… think in terms of hours.  You or your PR agency will want to get your message out fast, so your positive P R can travel at the same speed that the negative PR will.