Disrupting Tech Marketing Strategies by ‘The Differentiator’: Technologent’s Heather Gonzalez

Disruption Interruption podcast host and veteran communications disruptor, Karla Jo Helms, interviews Heather Gonzalez, Vice President of Global Communications and Strategic Alliances at Technologent—and uncovers what she has learned over her 20 years of leading technology companies about the need to NOT talk to clients in tech’s “language.”

A Nextiva report showed that 33 percent of businesses lost a customer in 2020 due to a communications issue, up from 25 percent of businesses in 2016. (1,2) When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the marketing and communications worlds radically disrupted—many B2B companies were forced to make an immediate change to digital marketing to survive. But with so many moving over to digital, those channels would become quickly saturated, and switching over was not an instantaneous proposition. So how did a half-a-billion-dollar tech company pivot all its conferences and in-person tradeshows to online comms and boost their success during COVID, higher than it had in the 20-plus year history of the company?

Enter Differentiator Heather Gonzalez, Vice President of Global Communications and Strategic Alliances for Technologent—who elaborates to Karla Jo Helms, host of the Disruption Interruption podcast—that by speaking the “language” of your tech clients along powerful public opinion channels, rather than “speeds and feeds” on advertising channels, tech companies can overcome the marketing fallout from COVID-19.

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After working with organizations that would only talk to customers in terms of product features and benefits, Heather said THAT’S IT—I’M DONE WITH THE STATUS QUO—and transformed her company’s communication strategy. She implemented the communication formula: situation, impact, and resolution – and gave her team the means to show clients the value realization in their services.

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Heather Gonzalez explains how:

1. Technology and communication are not synonyms. Technology serves as the means of communications. Communication is the successful transmission or sharing of ideas or emotions.
2. Organizations have lost the notion that communication works in two directions. They no longer ask what keeps clients awake at night (e.g., product rollouts, offerings, and solutions).
3. The best communication uses the formula of situation, impact, and resolution. Impact played an important part but is often disregarded.
4. Not all clients should be expected to be familiar with all technical terms. When working with clients explain concepts in a basic way that they can understand – and they will then have the value realization.
5. PR ignites the fire and marketing stokes the flames.
6. When tech companies communicate with their employees, they will often forget the human element; making a connection as a person is particularly important and should not be neglected.

Disruption Interruption is the podcast where you’ll hear from today’s biggest Industry Disruptors. Learn what motivated them to bring about change and how they overcome opposition to adoption.

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