5 Lessons from Apple
If I’ll ask you to name a company that it’s marketing and branding are the BEST and that you wished you knew how they do it, what name would be the first one that would come up in your mind?
If your answer was Apple – BINGO!
Apple is probably the most revered and most successful company today in the world. Their own customers are doing their marketing, and their branding is so strong that you don’t need to see their logo in order to recognize that it is an Apple product.
Wouldn’t you want something similar happening to your products and services?
When you realize this, there is only one question that needs to come up in your mind, which is… HOW DO THEY DO IT?
I’ve always believed that success leaves clues and if one person, one company managed to do something, all you need to do is find out HOW they did it and create your own success.
So when I came across an interview with Allison Johnson (an amazing woman), former Apple VP of Worldwide Marketing Communication, I listened to every single word she said with full attention.
To my surprise I found out that the two words that the genius behind Apple (Steve Jobs) hated the most were… Branding and Marketing!
However, when I listened even closer I was cheering, as the reasons for him to hate those words were principles I’ve been saying about business for years.
So here are a few lessons we can learn about business from the Apple:
1. Business is all about human psychology.
If you want to be successful in business you need to understand human psychology and what triggers people.
How much do you invest in getting to know what your target audience thinks, feels and struggles with?
2. Advertisement and commercials are dead.
In the old economy, advertisements were the key for success. However in the New Economy advertisements and commercials are associated with “fake” “artificial” and even “fraud”.
In the New Economy people want to see authenticity and real human connection not over-the-top, hype promises.
Do you allow your audience to see YOU as a person or are you hiding behind the “professional” look?
3. People associate Branding with Advertisement.
People associated brands with television advertising and commercials and artificial things. The most important thing today is people’s relationship to the product.
Therefore if you focus on the branding, you are neglecting the important element. Focus on the relationship of the client with your product and service.
4. Marketing = Adding Value
Most companies treat marketing as a way to pre-sell their clients on their products and services. Most business owners do not know the difference between selling and marketing.
Marketing is only good when you add VALUE to your market. Any time that you are not adding value to your target audience you are selling them on something, which in human psychology (see point 1) is an act that most people resent.
Adding value means that you are EDUCATING your audience about your product and/or services. It means helping them to get the maximum out of it so they could be more successful or happier. If you are not doing that – you are selling to them and not marketing to them.
Have a look at what you are doing – are you adding value to your clients?
STOP… just a second… that doesn’t make sense Vered… isn’t marketing what Apple does best? How can you say that you shouldn’t do marketing when they are the BEST in it?
5. Marketing Campaigns = Education
If you read carefully the above principle the focus is on EDUCATION. When you want to roll out a new product or service you first need to look at it as a campaign not a promotion.
Campaign means: “series of promotions leading to a desired outcome”. The desired outcome should be educating your audience, not selling to them.
Your whole focus in your campaigns needs to be how can you communicate effectively to your audience and educate them on how great their experience will be when they use the new product or service.
You need to know what is the motivation behind this new service or product, how would it serve best your audience and what added value would it add to them that they have not had yet.
You need to find a way to WOW them in your communication and educate them on the results that they would get when they use this product or service.
Have a look at your marketing communication; are you working in campaigns or in just promotions? Do you educate them or do you just give information?
Now I’m curious….
What lessons from the above can you implement in your business?
Share it with us in the comment box below - your tips, advice and experience on what worked for you when it comes to marketing
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Have a magical week! Vered
