By John Allen
Apple’s marketing is so precise and relevant, that the company has cornered the tech industry and boosted its earnings into the billions. If there was ever a company for you to look at and emulate, it’s Apple.
Let’s dive in and look at eight things you can learn from Apple’s marketing strategy.f
Get others to market for you
A counter-intuitive place to start, but you need to understand where the average consumer places their trust.
Research from Nielson found that 92% of people trust recommendations from people they know, and 70% trust the opinions of fellow consumers.
In the past, Apple has pulled all PPC marketing in favor of letting its fans spread the word about products on social media. It knows that people want to share the prestige that comes with owning the latest iPhone. Its fans are its greatest marketers. Chase down your customer reviews, get those five stars, and get people talking about your product. And Digital Spotlight is a company of mathematicians who work to deliver leads and sales at “an incredible cost of acquisition.”
Hit the right emotions
Building on that, Apple products elicit a feeling of awe with their high tech and modern appearance. That awe builds momentum with audiences.
Research by OkDork and BuzzSumo analyzed the emotions elicited by different viral content pieces. They found that awe is the most common emotion causing people to share content.
Hit that (literally) awesome mark and your marketing will start to take care of itself.
Create a customer experience
Apple customers post unboxing videos on YouTube because it is such a prestige event. The experience of getting the product is part of the magic. The way your customers interact with you and your product means a great deal.
Build a customer experience framework. People expect modern experiences. Some companies and retailers still don’t know how to accept credit cards, and their customers feel like they’re purchasing a product from the 80s.
Speak the language of the people
If you’ve ever had a conversation with a lawyer, a doctor, or a rocket scientist, you might have found yourself lost.
If Johnny from NASA starts talking about the decomposition of peroxide bonds in monopropellant rocket fuel, it will go over your head. In the same way, some of your product specifications might confuse your customers.
Most people don’t give a damn about gigahertz or the difference between an SSD and HDD. Apple knows this, and instead uses phrases its customers care about. Look at these phrases plucked from Apple.com.
If you’ve ever had a conversation with a lawyer, a doctor, or a rocket scientist, you might have found yourself lost.
If Johnny from NASA starts talking about the decomposition of peroxide bonds in monopropellant rocket fuel, it will go over your head. In the same way, some of your product specifications might confuse your customers.
Most people don’t give a damn about gigahertz or the difference between an SSD and HDD. Apple knows this, and instead uses phrases its customers care about. Look at these phrases plucked from Apple.com.
What is the age, gender, technology proficiency, and profession of your audience? How complex is their understanding?
If your product is a cloud-based contact center. What is that and what does that mean? Make it clear to your readers immediately.
Keep it relevant to the zeitgeist, too. Not long ago, no one would have thought that many doctors’ appointments would have moved online, but there has been a recent explosion of remote healthcare video conferencing technology.
To speak the language of the people using those products, supporting content regarding ways to set up a telemedicine workspace appeared alongside the products.
Keep it simple, stupid
KISS should be the mantra of anyone working with a product or service, but is often forgotten. Clean, concise, clear messaging is the way to get your product to stick in the mind of your audience.
Feature creep and attempting to market every single angle of a product will leave your customers reeling. A customer asking “What does this thing actually do?” is a fatality for a sale.
Everything about Apple is clean, clear, and simple. Look at the design of the Mac. Clear lines, bold shapes, and a self-contained unit.
Make your web pages simple, clear, and scannable. Create presentations that are explicit.
79% of readers scan a webpage, they don’t read it. Your content needs to be crisp and bold.
People won’t read overzealous product descriptions, let alone buy the product they describe.
Build a community
Apple has hugely dedicated fans. Think about your customers and what you can do to build your fanbase.
You need people to promote your product and come back as guaranteed customers for your next release.
Develop a refined idea of your brand image, personality, and values, and you will soon be able to find like-minded people who align with it.
Engage with them on a personal level. Set up a web chat function or bag yourself a free business VoIP system. Talk to them. Ask questions of them. Respond.
Become part of their daily lives, and find the best time to live stream. There are a million ways to connect, there’s no excuse not to!
Provide them with a quality product or service, and you too can gather some diehard fans.
While you’re at it, make sure your processes function smoothly, and get yourself a good order management system so the buying process is slick and complication-free.
Stick to your pricing guns
Don’t throw yourself into a race to the bottom by cutting prices. Remain true to your pricing and let your unique selling points and quality attract purchases.
Apple has never been ashamed of their high prices. That’s because they don’t make sales through the “low, low cost” mentality.
Find the USP that makes your product better than the rest, and use that to make your killer sales pitch. Justify your price with your incredible product.
Cutting costs and lowering prices can damage the quality image of your product, and cuts earnings while it’s at it.
Imagery
People think in images. Do you remember the early iPod marketing campaigns? (If you do, you might be showing your age; the iPod is old enough to go to college!)
The campaign used powerful, striking, and clear images. Again, their marketing was concise. You knew exactly what the product did just from the images. Incorporate fantastic imagery like this into your marketing campaigns and you’re onto a winner.
Learn from the best
Whether you’re building the next trillion-dollar company or just want to boost your current sales, you can’t go far wrong when learning from the best. Emulate Apple, and you’ll get far.
John Allen, Director, Global SEO at RingCentral, a global UCaaS, VoIP and audio conferencing provider. He has over 14 years of experience and an extensive background in building and optimizing digital marketing programs. He has written for websites such as Charities and Toolbox.
