Hacking Growth: How Today's Fastest-Growing Companies Drive Breakout Success

by Sean Ellis

One of the best examples of an enormously compelling product description is the language Steve Jobs used to introduce the original iPod. When the product was unveiled in 2001, the market was full of MP3 players, and it would have been tempting for Jobs to fall back on messaging explaining why his version was different and better. Instead, he brilliantly chose not to resort to any of the language being used to describe MP3 players and their utility whatsoever. Instead he completely reframed how people thought about the appeal of portable music players with the simple and captivating phrase “1,000 Songs in Your Pocket.” Rather than spend his time trying to differentiate his product from others on price or features, in other words, Jobs understood that the core value, the magical aha experience, was carrying your entire music library around with you anywhere, all the time, totally hassle free. Of course we’re not all such brilliant marketing minds as Steve Jobs—but with the right testing strategies in place, we can come close!