Apple is not just a tech company which has revenue in billions but a name which has more relevance than Newton’s Apple in our times….Well, maybe not. Still, no one can deny the incredible flaunt value and charm of this brand. Now definitely Apple has become a synonym of people-expectation in technology sector but does it really deserve that? Or is it just some rather clever marketing tricks which makes such a phenomenon out of a series of products? We all know how Apple customers line up outside an Apple store waiting for hours to get their hands on the first iPhone… Its probably like a deja vu for a lot of them and in a few months they might be back for the same experience again at the launch of another future model. What keeps these people (Apple freaks) constantly engaged and ready to be the part of all the hype is something I might not be able to sum up in one article but I’ll try. Here are some lessons we can learn from Apple launches.
1. Care Less About Critics
When Steve Jobs launched the iPad, the critics seemed unimpressed, throwing every insult that they could. The critics said that the iPad would fail and sink Apple Inc. In contrast, the iPad was a breakthrough. It trashed the already dying PC market further into obscurity and dared the laptop users to try something new. Steve Ballmer of Microsoft once questioned that who would ever want an iPhone and that it would be a passing trend. Instead, what we know today is a totally opposite story. Hence, whatever Apple does, it does for its own reasons and disrupts the market every time. I think that works better than worrying too much about what critics are saying and failing to seek opportunity in originality.
2. Reinvent the Ordinary
It’s almost creepy to see Apple being ahead of the game for so long. It’s one thing to be skilled in bringing out features of a standard gadget but to set completely new trends in the business is something else completely. Much of it is about reinventing or redesigning the user experience. Well what about it? Its just a phone or a computer…right? Wrong! Even the smoothest of device interfaces can be improved. Even curvy (ergonomic) edges in place of sharp edges on a tablet make a lot of difference. The obsession of Apple over design perfection is often imitated but never bettered. As a result, we have a range of products that attract people for their beauty and functionality. That is like drawing something extraordinary out of ordinary and its worth learning from this brand.
3. Justify the Price – Never Sell Cheap
The insane to the point of ridiculous flaunt value of Apple products allow them to price their products like a boss. We live in times when youngsters quote economy to avoid commitment in a relationship. Shrinking revenues force companies promise to provide more for less. Still, Apple counter-intuitively ignores the pricing trends; not because their technology is twice superior than their competitors. Apple does so because they build gorgeous products for the people who love them passionately. They justify their price range with features, benefits and unique design that can’t be matched. No other computer can have a display like 27” iMac, no other smartphone can have a user interface like iOS, no other laptop is as thin as well as powerful like the Macbook Air. Ok! We get it. To achieve that exclusivity in their products, Apple goes to great lengths controlling technology marketplace. They patent, buy, restrict, monopolize and pretty much do everything they can to get their hands on latest innovation first and delay their market release by at-least 3-5 years. An Apple owner always knows that his/her device is ahead of anything else in the market. Some argue that this approach makes the early versions of Apple devices more like prototypes and their early adopters are treated like beta testers. Well if monkeys be so willing then why not do tests on them?
4. Whole Lotta Buzz!
Steve Jobs always gave more priority to quality of product rather than number of products. Take Samsung for instance, in one single year Samsung launched two Galaxy Note, S4, S5 and also some low range devices. So Samsung works on strategy which sounds like – ‘a device every month’. Apple on the other hand works on one-in-one year concept. Apple launches only one product for one category in a year. In that whole year, Apple would just keep leaking news through third party sources which are mostly tech blogs and gadget magazines. YouTube teaser videos would shock people with some futuristic feature but ultimately reveal that it will be in next Apple product. It’s almost like a magic trick with the “pledge and the prestige”. People wait curiously and even start talking about it while Apple cashes all the buzz with more customer interactions. However, there is a catch. Money plays a vital role here as the buzz at this level employs expensive campaign planning and advertising. Also, beware that the shock tactic is a bitch! Ask M Night Shyamalan.
5. Launching of iPhone 6 – Get All Your Chips In
You will not even believe that iPhone 6 has the same configuration as Nexus 2012 but Apple boldly passed it off like its predecessors, leaving customers in anticipation for next year launch of iWatch. Basically Apple focuses more on design rather than using high volume sales which is regarded to represent market share. Same goes for iPhone 6, you can’t compare it with any other product when it comes to design. So, thin and big and more packed with features than a regular user would ever care to use…. Reminds me of Richard Gere’s character from Pretty Woman when he says “…because it’s the best.” This is how Apple indulges its customers through their products and the more you wait the more you find it unbearable to wait. The launch events that align with the long lines outside iStores are just as amazing. The trends that were set by Steve Jobs continue to charm the generation of geeks ready to hand over their money for their share of technological limelight. If you can create such a militant/glam/gorilla marketing appeal for your brand, you will never need to make haste with new products.
Let me know what you think about this article and if there is something you would like to add. Before you go, watch this guy drop his iPhone just after getting it from the store on live TV.