No confusion, only dismay. I like Evo, I might buy one, after my trusty XSP’s spontaneously combust on impact. Production/engineering/operational issues happen to everyone, even Apple. The issue is communication. My point is/was, there isn’t a formal marketing/communications team at Autel. I can’t blame folks that don’t exist.
There is a difference between a product announcement, and a product launch. One is an alert something is coming at a future date, one is an announcement something is for sale quite soon. Autel handled the announcement OK, generating a lot of buzz at CES in Vegas, but had nobody left to keep it going. The buzz died, people got pissed off at the months of silence (check this forum!). Many folks wrote-off Evo, even wrote off Autel as going bankrupt (check this forum!). When Evo was finally offered for sale almost 7 months later, it was a clumsy, disjointed mess of stock, out of stock, stock, out of stock — even dealers were frustrated. Those who got one found the horizon was tilted. Months later, firmware seems to have fixed it.
Problems, availability, or lack there of, can be successfully communicated if professionals are present. You can declare demand is out-striping supply — which in itself can generate buzz, especially on social media. Autel didn’t say much on FB or their website — we only saw a lot of out-of-stock notes. They obviously didn’t have a crisis communication plan/team, or any real strategy if there’s a bump in the road — and there’s always bumps in the road.
In Autel’s defense, DJI is a monster. Competing with them is very difficult. Parrot just laid off a bunch of folks and lowered the price of the Anafi. Yuneec did it in 2017. Autel in 2018. Commonly, MarComm & HR folks are the first to go. Lately, Autel’s Facebook presence seems to be better than it was at launch, even if there isn’t a central theme or strategy — so maybe they hired a few social media folks (cheaper), but I’m only guessing...
