Are Tech Brands Generationally Discriminatory?

I’m on Skype with my father explaining how to upload images to his Facebook account – a test of patience and persistence. Whilst I may be labeled an indignant son, it struck me as to why technology brands seem intent on ignoring older generations?

Gen Y/ Digital Natives have traditionally been the focus of technology brands. Technology brands have usually prided themselves as being innovative, intuitive and pioneering – which supposedly translated into their brand values.

However, ironically the majority of technology brands have been quite traditional in their marketing, particularly in their positioning, chosen target audience and communications planning. Much of technology brand marketing is based on the conventional technology adoption curve. Their strategy is reliant on gaining early adopters (usually Gen Y or Digital Natives) and letting them disseminate the relevance of the new technology to other generations/consumer groups. This is reflected in their channel strategy which is focused on the tech-savvy consumer. But is this really an effective use of channels? Why the obsession with capturing coveted Digital Native market?

After visiting countless technology flagship stores, it seems most aim to visually impress tech buffs in a playground of gadgets. In spite of this it seems partially redundant. Digital Natives' most involved encounter with technology products is usually online – e.g. product research, reviews, participating in forums etc. Granted, digital enthusiasts want to play with the ‘real thing’, surely retail could mean more to technology-challenged consumer groups, yes?

It raises the question: "should not retail be used for a different reason with a different audience?" Automobile brands use their showrooms to educate consumers, to experience/test drive their product. Their sales teams are trained across the product portfolio and understand the type of driver suited for each car. In addition, they have a servicing department that maintains the relationship. What if technology brands’ retail channels behaved liked this?

In an era of ‘Apple-challengers’, where many tech brands place much effort upstream in New Product Development, the point of differentiation may well be downstream such as pre/post-sales service, offline education. etc . How about New Service Development? If technology brands spoke directly to older, less tech-savvy generations the rewards may be surprising – e.g brand loyalty (which Baby Boomers are supposedly more predisposed to).It may sound trivial but tech brands should make their innovations inviting not intimidating.

Will there be a trend of complete reversal? If technology brands are seeking growth, it may lie in a different set of tech consumers and rethinking its perspective on retail and offline.