Let me tell you the story to make it more meaningful. The story is all about the brand - Apple & the secret sauce behind it's success.
Most of us love or admire the brand ‘Apple’. Over a while, the brand has created an army of loyal fans who buy absolutely everything that Apple produces, no matter what the cost. The brand not only stands for ‘Innovation’ but they also make their consumers feel good about themselves, i.e. the convenience that they give, the trust that has created over a while, the way they make your life easy, so on & so forth. Starting from your buying experience, to usability of the product, to service experience — everywhere they have surpassed their user experience, exceeded your expectation, again & again. In short, they make your life much more comfortable than any peer group in their category. When you buy an Apple product, you’re not buying their technology or innovations; you’re buying a total experience. And people don’t mind to shell out a little extra amount for that great experience.
But what makes them so unique? Let’s look a little deeper.
Simple but uniform experience across all consumer touch-points
Be it Apple Storefront or Website or AppStore or Service Centre or even the full front-page advertisements; everywhere they smartly showcase their simplicity for which they are well recognized across the world. Check out how they use colour schemes & minimalist approach to showcase their brand philosophy. Except for iPhone 5C which was specially created for the young generation with vibrant colours, across every product be it iPhone or iWatch or MacBook everywhere they have kept their products as minimalist and with neutral colours. Their sleek & uncluttered design allows them to showcase their technology while maintaining a modern look. And it goes beyond that. Their simplicity spans across all platforms, from the website content to newspaper advertisement to the product photos, packaging & even the tone of voice by their professional sales team at the storefront. Everywhere there is a conscious representation of the brand ethos, be it offline or online.
Benefits of the products, not technical products specs
Apple understands consumers very well, probably better than any brand does. Did you notice that they never speak about their product features & only talk about the benefits that the products will give to make your life hassle-free? We, human, are selfish & we always look for what benefits us? When we explore any new product or service, we try to understand the key message — what is there for me? And Apple uses this to their advantage by creating and avidly marketing the benefits of their products. All of their advertising communication uses simple, jargon-free sentences that always stress how the device can both benefit and entertain their customers. They might not be ahead of Samsung, OnePlus in product innovation always, but they successfully hide the technical terms behind the thrilling features that their customers are indeed after. They only talk about what people would be able to understand & consume not the other way.
Unmatched customer experience
If you have ever visited an Apple showroom, you must have experienced the premium feel that the brand has created for consumers beyond products. This comprehensive experience is a result of multiple factors like — (i) the large store with a lot of breathing space, (ii) the well-thought space design, (iii) the bunch of tech-savvy, non-intruding, well trained Apple geniuses on duty to guide visitors through queries & device issues as efficiently as possible and of course (iv) their tone of voice. However, the Apple experience goes beyond the store itself. Every step along the buying journey becomes part of the process, including those keynote speeches. That signifies the experience starts much before even prospecting funnel of a sales cycle. Even unboxing of the device feels undeniably on-brand. There are hundreds of online videos exist that demonstrates the fans’ excitement when they bring out the new sleek device out of an uncluttered, white box where the new device was embedded perfectly. Look at their service philosophy as well where they replace the device in case the condition is non-repairable, at the service centre. Their attention to detail from store to product to service to events to even packaging mimics Apple’s brand aesthetics & commitment of creating an excellent experience for the customers.
It’s not only the product or process, not only the purchase or service steps, not only the innovation or technology; it’s the overall Brand Experience that made them one of the most valuable & most profitable company in the world. These well-crafted experiences are reasons why they became ‘coolest brand’ again & again; for the admirers, for the customers & also for their shareholders.
Are you on the right path to establish a similar differentiating Brand Experience for your brand across all touch-points? CALL ME to know more such interesting stories and to discuss how can we create & establish such awesome brand experience for your brand.
