The ipad hit the UK last Friday, with a tsunami of media coverage (There were more than 10 articles on The Guardian website on Friday alone). Whether it's left you feeling envious or apathetic, it poses a really interesting question for business owners: What's your brand promise?
With Apple you know exactly what you'll get: Customer Focus. Their entire business is focused on communicating that message. They promise a customer focused experience, and most importantly, they deliver it. So when people look at your business, what do they see? What's your brand promise?
If you look at Apple, their brand promise has always been clear. From the early days in the 80's with their user-friendly operating system and interface, to the products we see today, Apple have consistently focused on their customers, and what they want. (It's important to recognise the difference between want and need. Customers didn't need an ipod or an ipad, but now they've created them, customers want them).
As a manufacturer, the product is fundamental to this customer focus, and this is where Apple really excel, from the early days of the Mac OS and it's friendly icons, to the simplicity of the iphone and ipad touch screens, their products are the heroes of the brand.
And they take every opportunity to reinforce that. They take each of the brand touch points (your product/service; your people; your communications; your working environment), and they exploit every one, to deliver that brand promise. As we've said, the product epitomises this; beautifully designed with a user-friendly interface. (For a great insight into the innovation of the ipad, take a look at this post from Scott Gould). The people in the Apple Stores know the products, and help you to get to know them. And at the Apple Store in Exeter on Friday they were on hand to help you get to know the ipad, with the minimum of fuss. Their communication strategy takes the product and puts it into the hands of the customer. And that's almost all you see!
Whether it's the poster campaign on the London Underground, or their TV slots, the product is the hero - in the hands of the customer. (And to maximise the customer focus, the viewer's perspective is often the user's perspective - looking down on the product, as if you were holding it).
Then there's the working environment - the Apple Stores (physical or online). These are palaces to the brand heroes (Look at the current home page!). There's virtually nothing else in the Stores apart from the products. But not just a few display items. Oh no. This where you meet the heroes. lots of them. Face to face. A real hands on experience. What better way to encourage someone to buy than put the thing in their hands?
So what have we learnt? That one of the world's great brands has a very polished sales and marketing strategy? We knew that already (how many people do you know with an iphone?). What we can learn from Apple is this:
• Define your brand promise (e.g. Customer focus)
• Focus your entire brand on delivering that promise (e.g. Use every touch point possible)
It doesn't matter what you sell, or who you sell it to. Whether you have a budget of millions or hundreds. If you want to get the best return on your investment in your brand, follow Apple's example. What's your brand promise? How will that add value to your business? What opportunities do you have to deliver that promise?
If you'd like to have a chat about your brand, and how it can add value to your business, call us on 01392 248107, or email: jonathan@alderandalder.co.uk. It would be great to hear from you.
