Apple has done it again. They released a much-anticipated product that sold 300,000 units…on Day 1! Some fanatics pre-ordered theirs on-line. Others stood in line in the wee hours of the morning for the privilege of being one of the first few lucky owners. And what did they get? A crossover product. A hybrid. Something that bridges the gap between laptop, eReader and iPhone. It’s portable, lightweight and app-driven.
Apple has earned a reputation for creating products that are useful, simple and sleek. Visual appeal and sound clarity set their products apart from the rest. First, it was the iPod. With it came iTunes (even my 67 year old father uses it). Then came the iPhone. Now, the iPad. And with each new product, there’s a newer version waiting in the wings to keep the momentum building. We have seen it time and again from Apple – iPod classic, iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3Gs. The next hot version of the iPad WiFi version that was just released – the iPad 3G. The brand loyal innovators and early adopters get these products moving off the shelves. The late majority (this is where I fit in), who are willing to wait for the bigger, better version with all the bugs worked out, keep them moving.
How did Apple do it? Like they always do. They created a buzz, started by a demonstration from Steve Jobs. They rolled out a few press releases, a couple of TV commercials, did some on-line advertising and used iTunes as another channel. But the bulk of their advertising was done virally. Pre-release, everywhere I looked there were articles and reviews by more “experts”. Some loved it and some didn’t get it. But chat rooms and tweets were full of people trying to determine if it was a must buy.
Apple listens to its customers – then develops. They know the demographics of their audience. They cross-sell that audience into products that move them to the next most logical product. We’ve all heard the saying, “the devil is in the details”. Without question, the details are in the demographics. Apple doesn’t try to push products that people don’t want. It doesn’t work. Look at the Palm Pre. It’s about to drag Palm into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Apple dominates the marketplace.
Do you know WHO your customers are? Are you giving your customers WHAT they want? Do you know WHEN and WHERE they want it? Do you know WHY they want it? WHICH channels of communication should you use to reach them? HOW do you know? Reflex Blu can take you through the 7-question process to unveil the answers.
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