Zoom exploded. The word zoom, the software zoom and, along with it, the concept of video chat. Even event platforms use Zoom for their livestream feeds! But it wasn’t always like this. Zoom was one of a multitude of video platforms that are in the marketplace. In fact, “Skyping” had already become synonymous with the video chat long before COVID-19.
What happened? Three things:
- Easy adoption in the midst of everything else: COVID-19 hit mid-semester, mid-conference season, it hit in the middle of everything. Zoom was there with an easy, free (40 minutes at least) software/platform agnostic solution for video chatting and conferences. They offered us an easy download (that often worked the first time). You can get down to business with one person on an IOS app, another from their landline and yet another on their desktop without a tech person on standby.
- Audience-Focused Responsive Design: When people started to experience issues with Zoom, Zoom came up with solutions and let us know about these patches. And they think about the details: letting people extend 40 minute meetings with a click of a button. They designed that in a way that didn’t make us feel bad about extending time or like we were going to be ripped off at the end of the call. This showed that they cared about people using their software to connect with people, friends and loved ones more than making $$.
- We knew the other options and they were “all right, I guess”: Although Skype and Google Hangouts/Meet were around, they never really were all that great. We already knew their bugs, and we knew what we didn’t like about them.
Zoom focused on one thing – virtual meetings. There are other features that they have (contact list and daily schedule), but they aren’t aspiring to be a social network or a scheduling platform. They want to make meetings as easy as possible.
For a technology company, how can you be your industry’s version of Zoom during and after COVID-19? Contact us to learn more about our marketing strategy and branding management process. Email maureen@29designstudio.com