Things Apple Can Teach You as a Brand
Things Apple Can Teach You as a Brand
While other companies fight for attention, Apple seems to effortlessly dominate the media–not to mention the hearts and minds of customers–with its new product launches. That is because with Apple, every product is a story, not a list of features. With 43 per cent rise in value in 2015 according to leading authority, Apple is famously disciplined (some might say secretive) in every aspect of what it does. Below are some of the things Apple can teach you as a brand.
- Suspense and anticipation
Take a page from Apple. Apple is a master of the teaser marketing campaign, dragging on the suspense for as long as possible. For weeks if not months before the release of every iPhone, the media conversation builds to deafening levels. Start building relationships with the media and bloggers–the influencers who cover your industry. Nurture and expand them over time. Remember, the Internet is word of mouth on steroids. Marketers have always known that the best way to promote your product is to get others to do it for you.
- Less supply, more demand
Scarcity not only increases the value of a product, it propels the procrastinators and all us who want to be part of the trendy crowd to step up and buy. Apple has found its own ways to hype the sense of faux scarcity. Just one hour after the iPhone 5 went on sale for preorders on September 14, 2012, the Apple website reported that heavy demand had necessitated delayed delivery. The tactic worked. Like Apple, consider intentionally restricting production of a product to create scarcity and fuel demand for your product. Other tactics you can explore are making the offer only available for a limited time or until a certain number have been sold. Or you can report on your website or customer sales calls that only a small number of certain items are left in stock–but only if that’s really the case.
- Customer First
Think outside-in as smart branders do. Begin with your customer first (outside), then figure out how you can improve your product or service to meet that customer need (inside). Ask yourself, “What would make your product easier to use for customers?” and “How can you make the customer experience special and different–at every touch point?” Think of the customer experience holistically. Apple products have always been designed to be different, delightful and friendly. Its history of innovative, “friendly” gadgets creates anticipation about what they will do next to advance the consumer experience. Make sure that the customer benefits your product offers are crisp and clear in all your marketing.
- Brand personality
Make sure every touch point where customers come into contact with your company and its products conveys your company’s brand personality with a unified visual identity, a distinct look and feel that sets you apart from others. Not only does Apple have a history of product innovations, they package their products brilliantly. Many customers are so wowed by Apple’s beautiful, “open me first” packaging that they don’t throw it away, which is called “unboxing.”
- Humane website
Add copywriting to the long list of things Apple does well. Click on Apple’s website and you’ll find page after page of great marketing copy. Pick any topic there and you’ll find good writing. It’s easy to read. Sentences are kept as short as possible, and crafted to flow rhythmically. It has genuine, authentic personality. When you read anything from Apple, it sounds like someone is speaking to you in person. It’s humble. Even when promoting a new breakthrough, the copy is never about how great Apple is; it’s about how much you’re going to enjoy using all those new breakthroughs in your daily life. Nor does their copy ever try to impress the reader with how smart it is. Apple’s writers don’t write for themselves; they write for their audience. And they avoid self-indulgent attempts at cleverness.
That’s how your website should be. Warm and conversational. No one wants to be talked at and no one likes patronizing and condescending people (in this case, write ups). Try and implement some of these things in your website and the result will be… people actually reading them.
Recent Comments