After watching “Jobs,” I was instantly motivated to share all the life lessons of the late tech guru – most importantly his marketing tactics. At the beginning of the movie, I felt the tremendous struggle Jobs experienced in communicating the concept of the personal computer to potential investors. Just imagine living in an era where you were not hyper-connected to the Internet, scary I know! However, with time, he was able to create and market a booming new industry. So, how did a college dropout do it?
Every detail is important; when gluing together their first order of Apple I computer kits, Jobs emphasized to his first group of employees that even the aesthetics of the hardware needed to be a first priority. Essentially, the most microscopic elements need to be taken into consideration because it represents the company as a whole.
Think about it – when you receive horrible service from a server in a diner, you end up adding the place to your blacklist because in your mind, one member of the crew represents the entire location. Speaking to all business owners and marketing managers, all assets (products, services, and employees) of your company need to express a consistent image and message to the client. Be sure to spread your marketing goals throughout your organization to have all employees up-to-date.
Build a brand experience; As Jobs perfectly stated, “people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” The concept of marketing is to communicate the value of a product or service to customers for the purpose of promoting or selling it. Sure, Jobs and his team created an innovative product, but what keeps the consumers loyal is the experience they have when using an Apple device. This includes interacting with the brand – such as the enticing retail storefronts and anticipating new product releases.
Find out what your consumers are looking for when seeking your company; is it the design, simplicity, brand recognition or outstanding customer service? Once you have an idea of your company’s strength, build a marketing campaign around it and incorporate it into your day-to-day operations. With the World Wide Web at our fingertips, we can purchase anything and everything under the sun, but creating a recognizable, unique experience is what maintains repeated sales.
Steve expressed to his team, “the greatest artists like Dylan, Picasso and Newton risked failure. And if we want to be great, we’ve got to risk it too.” Why should it be any different for your marketing approach? Don’t be afraid to ask your customers for their opinions about your business’ strengths and weakness; they may even give you a suggestion on how to improve.
In memory of Steve Jobs, “stay hungry, stay foolish.”
