Make Technology Invisible

Technology has been one of the most important drivers for cultural and societal developments. It has changed both peer-to-peer and professional media, as well as our everyday lives.

Modern customers access the internet multiple times a day with various devices from several places – a behavioral pattern Forrester describes as the “Always Addressable Customer”. At NEXT Berlin 2012 Nate Elliott presented the concept behind and explained how companies can attract this type of customer.

In a post-digital era technology is not sexy anymore. In order to be successful you have to think beyond: Technology has to become invisible. The only thing that matters is offering services and benefits that ease the burden of everyday life and facilitate the tasks your customer has to undertake.

Elliott’s advice is to stop thinking about ‘interactive’, ‘digital’ and ‘technology’. Marketers should just ask themselves which channels offer which benefits and how they can meet the needs of their stakeholders. “The more we can make technology invisible and simply use it to get stuff done, the more likely we are to succeed”, he concludes.