Communication

Communicate – key activity for high tech companies

2021-05-03

There is a need to work with several different processes in parallel in order to commercialize an innovation. To reach market impact, it is not enough to focus only on the technical development.

– If no one knows of  your technical innovation and the problem it solves, it will never be of use, hence having no impact. Therefore, a key ingredient to reach market impact is strategic communication, says Ulrika Wahlström, marketing and sales manager at IMCG.

One person who really is aware of the importance of communication is Jan Koppe, MOL Katalysatortechnik GmbH. In the EU-project InspireWater, IMCG had the opportunity to support Jan Koppe and his company to strengthen their communication skills, so that their water treatment solution could be communicated through the right channels to the right audience. IMCG emphasized the importance to connect to all the project partners – potential customers within the steel and chemical process industry – not only in real life, but also on LinkedIn. This communication support also prepared MOL better for Covid-19.

-Covid-19 has been a major game changer. With no possibility to meet our customers, we had to start using our social media channels more, says Jan Koppe, MOL Katalysatortechnik GmbH.

Nobody can meet with customers physically the way they use to.  This means that a small company with quite limited sales force now competes on equal basis with a larger established company that has a huge sales department. This provides a great potential for a small company to use social media to reach potential customers more efficiently.

During the InspireWater project, MOL started using social media and blog posts more. This work was intensified when Covid-19 hit. According to Jan Koppe, his company’s LinkedIn page has nearly doubled number of followers since finalizing the EU-funded project.

Key takeaways regarding communication on social media

  1. Identify your target group and the problem that you solve. You might have a revolutionary technical solution that can change the world, but you have to identify what problem you solve and for whom in order to understand how to communicate your solution.
  2. Make sure you are connected with potential customers on LinkedIn. If you collaborate with companies in a project or meet up with potential companies through online meetings – always connect with them on LinkedIn.
  3. Post updates and publish articles to show your expertise and what you sell. Using your website as a hub, you can use social media channels like LinkedIn to reach out to your target audience. Jan Koppe, MOL, combines the LinkedIn feature publish article with posting regular updates.
  4. Re-use good content. Maybe you have “old” good content? Use it again! Share it on LinkedIn. It will be an effective way of communicating with as little effort as possible. During InspireWater, IMCG made short movie clips to promote the benefits of MOL’s solution. MOL still uses it to introduce his solution on global conferences etc.