Opinion The jagged edge of version culture
People enjoy the rapid change that improved technology brings,and benefit from it. But quick,unexpected changes also create hidden,psychological disappointment....
People enjoy the rapid change that improved technology brings,and benefit from it. But quick,unexpected changes also create hidden,psychological disappointment. Developed countries are yet to understand that there is a drawback in using technology advancement as an excuse for frequent product upgrades. Consumers love the new versions technology throws up,but not if they feel victimised. Intermittent upgrades are increasingly being seen as what I call technology pollution.
Product lifespan in a consumers hand has drastically reduced. An automobiles span of life has come down from 15 to 3-5 years; a refrigerators from 40 to 5 years. Technology-driven hardware or software barely lasts 6 to 8 months. The masses accept such quick obsolescence because they just cannot control their temptation to acquire high-tech alternatives.
Manufacturers pretend they have no control over the technology blitz. Hype for the new initially excites consumers; they dont see any gap. Instead they often empathise with technologys creative dimension,and its need to continuously move up. When consumers can no longer afford to keep up with the technology marketing tide,will they feel the jagged edge of becoming a victim? This is an underwater,unstated feeling today.
A low-cost,pirated DVD is technically not inferior to the original,expensive DVD. Is the consumer happy to spend money on form,not content,especially as its not a personal or intimate product? Organisations that unnecessarily release high-priced products instead of giving consumers value for money actually encourage piracy. Instead,a marketing judgement could have been made. Volume sales,when planned at inception,can actually compensate a reduced market price.
A consumer bonds better with an inexpensive pirated DVD that gives the same result as the original. She feels righteous about having beaten the system that was trying to somehow cheat her. On a rational level,consumers dont care about the legal issues of piracy. They just appreciate a logical price. So when authentic DVD and CD labels cry themselves hoarse about being hoodwinked by piracy and appeal for justice,consumers may pay lip service to fair dealing,but it cuts no ice with them.
How long will new technology tempt consumers? You buy a mobile phone for Rs 45,000. After eight months the price reduces to half. A new model with a new gadget emerges. The consumers subconscious resentment is,Why didnt I wait for eight months? Advanced technology is good,but what about the economic jerk you feel in keeping up with it? The shock of sudden price reduction will erase a consumers emotional bond with the product and brand,and she will forever lose its pride of ownership.
As advanced technology is rapidly reducing product cost,a corporate buyback/exchange policy for technology products will encourage higher per capita consumption. It will also make a brand credible. A used technology product can be taken back at a value that depends on its age and condition; simultaneously a new product offered at a lower-than-market price.
Manufacturers of durables should be very careful about abusing peoples confidence. When they do so,a parallel repair or refurbish market can emerge. Those driven by status will always go for new things,but a manufacturer can lose major value and volume market share to almost-new repaired or refurbished products.
Hollywood started the version culture. Once a mega film is successful with the masses,it is used as a formula to reproduce sequels. This generates box office demand. Versions drag entertainment into manifesting itself as mass industrial production. People perceive this as reducing cinematography from being an art form to becoming soap opera driven by newer versions. Subconsciously,people feel distanced from the version culture as it does not have the stamp of originality.
Hollywoods version culture has stormed into different businesses today. It is very visible in the IT domain. The moment any computer software is upgraded,engineers and scientists request for the new version. The current output may be satisfactory,but speed and added features are what the software user is after. His mental makeup is that he will fall short of fashion in the eyes of his peers unless he keeps up with technology advancement. Also,of course,his curriculum vitae may get contaminated without knowledge on the latest version.
Todays techno-savvy generation is losing the value of emotional attachment influenced by frequent technology upgrades. They do not value what they buy because it will soon be discarded.
Such swift technology changes can at best bring incremental improvement. Real renovation needs requisite time for an existing model to stabilise before it is re-launched in the market. Industry should stop taking percentage-increase-in-technology into the market. Product performance should become stable before unsettling consumers with numerous new versions.
If you are a manufacturer or product designer,put yourself in the consumers shoes. You need to experience and understand her unarticulated woes. If you can find,feel and measure the jagged discrepancy in her mind,you will obviously step into the platform of real innovation. You can definitely make the difference by stopping incremental refurbishment with multi-version remakes that perpetuates the version culture.
Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com
Share
