In 2010, Apple made headlines when they surpassed Exxon Mobile as the world’s most valuable company, released the iPad, which revolutionized the globe, and were named the most profitable retailer in the entire United States.
So the question on everyone’s mind is:
How did they do it?
What was Steve Jobs’ “magic” that seemed to make everything he touch turn to gold?
While there’s many secrets that made Apple’s marketing methods so successful, here are just a few:
The Key To Steve Jobs’ Insanely Great Marketing
Apple’s marketing strategy can be summed up in one word:
Empathy.
The ability to understand another person, connect at a core, gut level with their innermost emotional wants and desires, and give them a product so useful they can’t live with out it (think about the feeling you get once you use an iPhone, iPad, or iPod), and refuse to accept any other product or substitute as an option because the product is so simple, clean, and easy-to-use.
That what separated Apple from every other business on the planet, and what made Apple’s marketing strategies so phenomenally successful…
And this is where Apple’s marketing strategy begins…
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, they were on the edge of bankruptcy, Apple had a loss of $1 billion dollars from the previous year, and was 90 days from bankruptcy.
Then, in 1997, the year Steve came back, and applied his marketing strategies, Apple recorded a profit of $5.9 billion, then, over the next 10 years, he took Apple’s stock market cap from $3 billion, to $702 billion dollars (Microsoft has $226 billion, and Google has $218 billion)… so how did he do it?
Well, it starts with a great mindset—here was Steve’s:
“If we want to see Apple healthy again, we have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose (Competing).
We need to embrace a notion that for Apple to win, Apple has to do a really good job; it’s about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry (Creating Value).”
The next year, Apple created the first computer that made it easy for consumers to get onto the internet (most computers took over an hour of complicated set-up, while the iMac had you surfing the web in less than 10 minutes).
Steve Jobs knew that if he focused on SERVING THE CUSTOMER, and if he built exactly what customers wanted, they would continue to open their wallets.
Because Apple was more focused on meeting the customer’s needs than anything else, so they didn’t need to compete on price, and could set their own prices, because they were delivering something much more powerful—VALUE.
The “Magic” Marketing Strategy That Drove Apple To The Top
What made Steve different from other marketers, is he understood that his job as a marketer was NOT to focus on making money or sales, and, unlike other marketers, it showed in the way he presented his products:
Here are some of the quotes that reflect Steve’s focus in business:
- If it could save a person’s life, could you find a way to save ten seconds off the boot time?
- You‘ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward—not the other way around.
- Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful; that’s what matters to me.
Steve made the marketing process simple; if you give people what they want, educate them on why they need it, show them how it will improve their lives, and why no competitor’s products can compete with the convenience and ease of use of yours, customers will open their wallets.
Who Are Your Products Designed For?
Apple’s marketing strategy relies on creating products THEY are going to be using themselves (the iPhone was built because Apple employees were unsatisfied with their mobile phones, so they built the phone they’d want to use).
Apple built the iPad thinking about how to build a product that made it effortless, easy, and fun to browse the internet, watch movies, and read books from anywhere, they started by creating a product the customer would want, then offering them that product.
Microsoft starts with making money, and they’re more focused on competing with Apple than they creating a great customer experience (which determines if people buy their products or not, and how much money they make).
Apple simply gives people what they want, and doesn’t waste time turning it into a game like all other companies.
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