Recently, at the A3 Communications Technology Live! held in London, UK, the presenter of a vendor, which I consider a leader in its market, described that one of its newer technologies is a best kept secret (paraphrased).

In my opinion, whether the description by the presenter was a “slip of the tongue”, an unfortunate choice of words, or, in the worst-case scenario, whether the presenter correctly represented its company, no successful and well-established vendor should have one of its technologies be so poorly represented. Mature vendors have generous marketing budgets. For new technologies, products, and solutions, these vendors should use some of their budget to articulate its proposition clearly and loudly. Otherwise, how can this, or any other, vendor expect its existing, or more importantly, its prospective customers understand and ultimately invest in a technology or an innovation that is a “secret”? This is a clear case of “out of sight, out of mind”.

In today’s over-saturated and extraordinarily competitive market, there is simply little excuse for any vendor, large or small, not to clearly define, message, position, and articulate its solutions as loudly as it possibly can.

I cannot disagree with anyone who believes that I might be making a mountain out of a molehill. Equally, I understand that my position is grossly oversimplified and “black and white”. In reality, there are many shades of grey. Critics of my position will quickly put forward orthogonal and opposing arguments. Nonetheless, the basic proposition that I am asserting is one that all vendors, large and small must take seriously.

For start-ups and emerging vendors, being “out of sight and/or out of mind” poses an even greater challenge.

Lacking the necessary or sufficient marketing budgets, even if the innovation of a start-up is best-in-class or uniquely solves a problem in the market, start-ups get lost in the noise. This challenge is further exacerbated if the vendor is in the AI space. A quick Google search suggests that there are between 30,000 to over 100,000 AI vendors in the market all vying for legitimacy, recognition, and market share.

The AI bubble parallels the Internet bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s, where vendors whose technologies are out of sight or out of mind, end up out of business.

While this may sound somewhat self-serving, I believe that any vendor (whether it is a start-up or an mature vendor) who has even the slightest concerns over whether its products, solutions, or even the vendor itself is insufficiently represented in the market, should seek the advice of either a public relations firm and/or a go-to-market consultancy like Neuralytix or any of our respected competitors.

Neuralytix research shows that start-ups will protest that they need to invest their limited funds in developing and improving their innovation, retaining their existing customers, and doing their best to find new customers. Their protest is valid. But there are a considerable number of nuances. Again, using a generalized analysis, start-ups must recognize that if they can’t earn the trust and business from enough customers, then it doesn’t matter how superior their innovations are, they will simply remain stagnant and ultimately irrelevant.

Our research is clear – for any net-new innovation created by a start-up, market leaders will develop and launch a competitive solution within 9 to 18 months. As such, start-ups have a short window to take advantage of their first-mover advantage to establish a beachhead.

So, our assessment boils down to a simple assertion: if a vendor (of any size) or its technology is out of sight and/or out of mind, that vendor and/or its technology is risking its long-term success or viability in the market. So, take immediate action and balance your investment between technology development and technology recognition.