Tech Firms are Platforming Themselves Out of the Market…
The word “platform” has become one of the most overused words in B2B tech marketing and is often misleading and sometimes a downright fabrication. The reality is that the term is generally an unhelpful and unwanted dimension for customers. Tech firms everywhere, including startups, have been using the term for years as a point of illusion, hoping it will elevate their status, win new customers and attract partners. This presents two significant issues. First, many of these so-called “platforms” are not platforms at all; they’re tools, applications, integrations, or services masquerading as something more complex. It’s replacing something we used to generically refer to as software, in exchange for vanity over substance. Second, even if a software solution can be described as a platform, it’s not usually helpful to use in your lead messaging, although insecure tech founders and salespeople alike seem to love it – but then tech founders also love their company-branded hoodies, and there is never a good reason to wear one of those either. There are far better ways to resonate with your customers when promoting the latest and greatest tech advancements, but professing the virtues of a platform over all else is not the way to do it, even when it is so.
The Rise of the Platform Mentality
This overuse of what has now become another generic word degrades its meaning and can have negative repercussions for businesses trying to promote their tech. Prospects have increasingly grown tired and resistant to yet another grandiose platform being thrust upon them, and rightly so. The concept of a platform in the tech sector originally referred to infrastructure on which other products, services and applications could be built. Think of industry giants like Salesforce, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud as genuine platforms that provide a foundation for developers, third-party vendors and entire ecosystems to operate upon. In these cases, using a term like platform makes sense because they truly enable something larger than themselves by integrating with multiple external tools and creating room for countless possibilities.
Turning Software into Hypeware
In recent times, tech companies have started applying the term platform to any and every solution, regardless of whether or not they meet any of the criteria. A basic tool for managing customer relationships? Platform. A software application that allows you to automate some internal processes? Platform. Something as simple as a SaaS product that provides an online dashboard – yep, you guessed it: another platform. Why do companies do this? I can only assume because they believe, incorrectly, that calling something a platform makes it sound bigger and more sophisticated than what it usually is – a bit like overcompensating for other shortcomings. The term implies an extensive, robust solution, something essential to a business’s operations rather than a tool to use occasionally. This is nothing more than hype and is unhelpful in pretty much all circumstances.
The Problem With Platforms
Platform is a word that is better reserved to describe a product category for analyst firms like Gartner and Forrester. Where things start to become difficult is when tech companies allow it to penetrate every level of their messaging, especially in headlines. This can have damaging consequences and is an immediate turn-off for many. For one, it risks alienating potential customers who quickly grow sceptical and certainly have no desire to implement another large-scale enterprise platform in their business. It sounds big, complex to use and expensive to maintain. More importantly, it detracts from the problem the solution is trying to fix and the valued outcomes for the customer that the messaging must focus on instead. When everything is marketed as a platform, the word loses its meaning and all its value – it becomes another beige-coloured expression that is challenging to accommodate and poisons marketing campaigns. Worse still, it’s a clear indication that a startup’s messaging is not correctly focused on how the customer will benefit and get value from the solution. In a nutshell, it’s lazy and a bad marketing practice.
Not a Customer Aspiration
As a result of this indulgence, prospects may immediately dismiss your messaging because it is not something for ambitious businesses to aspire to. It sounds like every other product on the market, and the prospect of another high cost of ownership technology has little appeal, whatever the benefits might be. All businesses are sensitive to committing to large IT projects that take a long time to implement, always end up costing more than the sticker price and take forever to return on their investment. The word platform communicates all these negative aspects. Referring to your solution as a platform implies certain capabilities and flexibility that may not exist, so why do it?
Misinformed Credentials
True platforms tend to have an open API, encourage third-party integrations and nurture partner ecosystems. If your product can’t do this, but you’re still calling it a platform, you risk disappointing customers when they realise your product doesn’t live up to its platform promise, if you get that far in the conversation. This could lead to broken trust, damaged brand credibility and an overall poor customer experience. Any form of misrepresentation can be particularly harmful in B2B marketing. It doesn’t take much for a potential buyer to decide that your company is overhyping itself and move on to another, more transparent provider.
Focus on Real Value Over Features
One of the major pitfalls of overusing the word platform is that it represents a shift away from focusing on the value your solution provides to the customer. Instead of talking about how your product solves real problems, improves processes, saves time/money or drives growth, you’re focused on trying to sound impressive. The truth is, customers don’t care if your product is a platform or not; they care about what you can do to help improve their business, make more profit and increase the company valuation. They want to know if it will solve their specific challenges, help them achieve their business goals and make their lives easier. By over emphasising any aspects of your technology with pointless generic verbiage, you risk missing the point and therefore missing the opportunity to clearly communicate your true value.
Building an Ecosystem
Another reason tech companies are obsessed with being perceived as a platform is that they want to create a sense of community and that an ecosystem exists around their solution. The idea is that if you market yourself as a platform, other vendors will want to integrate their tech with yours, creating a network effect that expands your reach and credibility. Unfortunately, creating an ecosystem is no small feat, and one that most startups haven’t had the time or resources to begin. You can’t simply call something a platform and then expect the world to flock to it. Building a true ecosystem takes time, resources and the right kind of product. If your product isn’t designed to support a vast number of integrations and third-party applications, calling it a platform can mislead not only your customers but potential partners and investors. A successful ecosystem isn’t built overnight. It’s carefully curated and requires constant development. Only when you have a genuinely open and flexible product that invites collaboration can you start to entertain the notion of a platform-based solution.
Shift the Focus to Customer Outcomes
Instead of obsessing over whether your product is a platform or not, it’s far more beneficial to zero in on customer outcomes. Why does your solution matter? What will customers be able to do and achieve with your solution? For instance, a project management tool could easily be called a platform by today’s standards, but is it really, and does it even need to be? A much better message might focus on how the tool improves collaboration, reduces project timelines or increases productivity. These are the things customers truly care about. You must speak directly to your customers’ needs by emphasising the outcomes they seek, not aspects of a technology they don’t even understand or know if they would want. It’s never helpful to pretend to be something you’re not. Instead, communicate clearly, simply and with a focus on what really matters to the customer.
Stop Compromising Your Messaging
If every tech company claims to offer a platform, you can rise above the noise and differentiate your offering by speaking the language of the customer. The tech industry is full of jargon, but throwing around impressive-sounding words doesn’t make your product better; delivering real value does. By stopping the overuse of all meaningless and generic terms and refocusing your messaging on delivered value, you’ll not only stand out from the indiscriminate crowd, but you will build stronger and more trusting relationships with your customers. After all, businesses don’t look for platforms; they’re looking for solutions to their problems that make them more successful and their lives easier.
You may want to read: “How to Define Your Target Market.”
