Battle of the Brands: Zoom v Skype
When ‘work from home’ became the norm in March 2020, our office had been working with clients via video conferencing for years. (We have a few clients that we have worked with remotely for 2, 3, 4 years and never met face to face.) With all of the different ways for people to ‘meet’ remotely, I thought that GotoMeeting, Hangouts, Skype, Teams, Webex, or even FaceTime would become the standard. We have accounts with all of them and our clients’ comfort level dictates which platform we use.
I was surprised that Zoom somehow managed to become the standard. Seemingly overnight it was the #1 choice for online meetings. Then, very quickly it achieved that ubiquitous status that so few accomplish…it became a verb. “I’ll zoom you.”
How and why did Zoom grab the crown over the other options?
Because it was easy.
Zoom made it so easy to use, that even if the most technologically challenged person was invited to participate in a zoom meeting, they could do it.
Because it was reliable.
Zoom doesn’t crash or glitch or drop calls. It just works, and that is what we all hope to get from our technology.
Because it was well marketed.
The free account with 40-minute meetings made it safe for people to test it out and realize how well it worked. Their billboard campaign with this marketing message was clear – “Video conferencing that doesn’t suck.”
Ultimately, all of those touchpoints combined to build their brand. Their focus on the customer experience ensured that people would feel comfortable using their product. The freemium option ensured that people would sell themselves and upgrade to the pay options the more they use the product.
Was it worth it? From March 2, 2020, to April 10, 2020, first-time installations for Zoom’s mobile app skyrocketed 728%.
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RUSSO is a strategic branding agency that uses consumer insight to change the conversation; forming emotional connections with the target audience. To learn more, click HERE to learn more about our process, RAZOR BRANDING.
