Meeting Customers Where They Are: A Critical Factor in Product Success
In today’s fast-moving tech landscape, the allure of creating disruptive products often drives innovation. However, one of the most common mistakes companies make is marketing and selling futuristic products to customers who are not yet ready to adopt them. The key to success isn’t just building groundbreaking technology—it’s meeting customers where they are in their buying journey and addressing their current needs, not anticipating a future they may not be ready for. The stories of Microsoft HoloLens and Google Glass provide powerful examples of why this principle is essential.
The Allure of Disruption: HoloLens and Google Glass
Both Microsoft HoloLens and Google Glass aimed to revolutionize how people interact with the world by shifting the primary mode of communication from handheld devices to wearable technology.
• Microsoft HoloLens debuted in 2016 with a vision of mixed reality—allowing users to engage with holograms in their real-world environments. It was a leap forward in technology, promising to bring gaming, work, and communication to a whole new level of immersion.
• Google Glass, launched in 2013, was designed to be a lightweight, hands-free device offering users real-time data through a small screen integrated into a pair of glasses. It was marketed as a futuristic alternative to constantly checking smartphones.
Both products were impressive feats of engineering and innovation, but neither reached mass market success, despite significant hype. Why? Because they failed to meet customers where they were in their adoption journey.
Customers Weren’t Ready to Abandon Their Phones
At the time of their launch, both Google Glass and HoloLens aimed to disrupt an already mature mobile phone market. However, neither product addressed a pressing need that was felt by everyday consumers. Mobile phones were deeply integrated into daily life, offering convenience, familiarity, and a level of functionality that users were not yet willing to trade for wearable glasses.
In the case of Google Glass, early adopters and tech enthusiasts were intrigued by the idea of wearable technology, but mainstream consumers found the product unnecessary, expensive, and in some cases, socially awkward. It attempted to shift behavior from using phones to using glasses, but the demand simply wasn’t there. People still preferred the utility, privacy, and portability of their smartphones.
Similarly, Microsoft HoloLens, while an incredible leap in mixed reality technology, was more suited to niche applications like industrial use, gaming, or education rather than mass consumer adoption. The price point and the bulky design made it inaccessible for everyday users, who still found their smartphones to be the most practical solution for communication and interaction with digital content.
Timing and Market Readiness
Both products launched before consumers were fully ready to embrace a future without phones, and that was the critical misstep. Instead of offering incremental improvements on existing user behavior, they asked users to make a significant leap—a leap that most consumers were not prepared to take. As a consultant to fast-growing tech companies, my caution to their product teams is this: Disruption only works when customers recognize a pain point that the new technology solves better than existing solutions.
The mobile phone market is an example of a “red ocean”—a saturated market where competition is fierce. Displacing such an entrenched device requires more than innovation; it requires a compelling reason for users to switch. Both HoloLens and Google Glass assumed that users would embrace wearable technology before the infrastructure and consumer mindset were ready. This is a lesson in why understanding the timing and readiness of the market is crucial.
Why Meeting Customers Where They Are Matters
Successful companies often thrive by meeting customers where they are, solving current problems, and gradually guiding them toward the future. This approach acknowledges that even if your product is revolutionary, if it doesn’t address what people need today, it’s unlikely to succeed.
Instead of attempting to disrupt entire markets, companies should focus on incremental changes that resonate with consumers at the moment. For example, Apple didn’t jump straight to augmented reality glasses, but gradually introduced AR features on iPhones and iPads, giving users a chance to familiarize themselves with the technology before being asked to adopt it on a larger scale.
Lessons Learned
1. Understand Market Readiness: Launching futuristic products without clear customer demand often leads to failure. Both HoloLens and Google Glass were ahead of their time, expecting consumers to be ready for a shift away from mobile devices before they actually were.
2. Solve Immediate Problems: Products need to address pain points that customers are experiencing today. Even the most advanced technology will struggle if it doesn’t fulfill an immediate need that resonates with users.
3. Adoption Happens in Steps: Successful innovations often come in increments, allowing consumers to adopt new technologies gradually rather than forcing an all-or-nothing choice. This slow build-up is key to introducing radical new solutions.
4. Refine the Target Audience: Google Glass might have found success sooner if it had focused on niche markets like healthcare or industrial applications first, where there was a clearer immediate benefit, instead of marketing it as a consumer device too early in its development.
Conclusion
Meeting customers where they are in their buying journey is crucial for any product’s success. While innovation is critical, it must align with the current needs and habits of the target market. Companies that understand their audience’s readiness for change, like Apple’s gradual integration of AR into mobile devices, are more likely to succeed in shifting consumer behavior over time. The stories of Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens highlight the risks of trying to disrupt the market too soon, serving as a reminder that timing and understanding customer behavior are just as important as innovation itself.
