Marketing Strategies from the Master
Apple’s fierce following is what’s kept them afloat during the worst economy in decades. Can you create the same thing?
Apple has a cult following. Their marketing has embraced the powers of scarcity (they only serve “their’ people) and social proof (“Their” people rave about them). It started nearly 30 years ago and is stronger than ever.
Apple forced people to leave the comfort zone and to look at alternatives. They pioneered a mind-set.
I’m an decidedly pro Mac, but this article is about thinking about ‘marketing’ differently and how you can build an Apple-like marketing vehicle that’s fueled on intelligence, innovation and inventiveness. You, too, can create fanatics out of followers. People who market YOU because they truly believe you’re the answer. Here’s how:
First: Communicate from the Inside Out
Martin Luther King, the Wright Brothers and other innovative and creative people followed a different communicating process than the typical canned hype that we’re used to hearing from salesmen.
Without the huge budgets, the network of people, or even the sheer brilliance of the greatest minds money can buy, Solo Pros can have the same influence by reversing the way they share their message with others.
The Golden Apple
Most marketing messages go something like this:
- Companies know WHAT they do
- Some know HOW they do it
- Very few know WHY they do what they do
Why do you do what you do? Until you identify your core belief and message, you’ll continue to struggle to communicate your marketing message.
Examples and some suggestions…
The Old Marketing Method
Your typical marketing process used by most companies starts with “What” and ends with “Why.
The What: “I do great ‘X’ and my clients get ‘xy&z’”
The How: “I do this and that”
The Why: “Higher me and your customers will think you’re cool.”
(that’s a lame why)
The “Golden Circle” Marketing Method (used by Apple)
The marketing message starts with “Why”: the core belief of why they do what they do.
A powerful core belief system is what attracts the cult following. Once Apple established its powerful core message, they were able to appeal to others that shared that same passion or core ‘Why’. By starting with your passion then building your message outward – you’ll have a much easier time finding your ‘True Niche Target’ and you’ll start off resonating with them as you communicate your services.
Second: Preach to the Choir
Trying to marketing to everyone is more than a waste of time – it drains your credibility.
Apple has made it their mission to enchant the Technology Enthusiasts and Visionaries, who could then act as banner-carriers to the rest of the market. They do this on every possible front – from personalized engravings on your iPhone to equipping elementary schools with iPads.
Customizing your marketing message to your clearly defined niche target group takes the passion you already share and infuses it with the marketing message for your services. Because you are speaking directly to them, in their language, and coming from a place of harmony – they’ll be more receptive of your message – and more willing to pass it on.
If you’re a passionate about local organic farms and farmers’ markets, take your services to them with a personalize twist. Let’s say you’re a copywriter, tell them how passionate you are to get their message out (you’re on the same team). You’ll be the only copywriter catering to them and they’ll flock to you. They’ll share your name with all the others in the community and then to adjacent communities. You’re different from all the other copywriters out there. You’re one of them.
Third: Stand Apart While You Understand
This isn’t to say that Apple didn’t encounter resistance – and that you won’t either. In fact, until the last decade, owning an Apple product was a bit of a challenge. Most coders wouldn’t touch it. Today, programmers embrace the Mac because it’s clean and unbuggy code. But the real difference is in how Apple understands what its market wants:
- In the late 1990s, with the emergence of the iMac, rather than the stale, boring grey or beige, iMacs came in several bright, eye-catching colors.
- The iMac’s biggest selling point was how easy it was to get onto the internet. Just plug in your phone line and go.
- The original iPod was designed to hold around 5 GB or 1,000 songs – far more than any other mp3 player at the time.
- The release of the iTunes store, people could download just the songs they wanted for a lower fee than buying the entire CD.
- The fact that you could connect your iPod to a PC and easily download iTunes meant millions of PC users could now organize and listen to their music without the need for a Mac. (the word spread from the passionate community to others)
Fourth: Make it Easy
Sometimes, even when your service offerings are significantly better to an others’, people just won’t hire you. Change is hard. Make it as easy as possible for them to change. Here are a few things to try:
- Make it really easy to do business with you. Have clear steps you take clients through with predictable results and time frame. Spell out as much as possible clearly (you site will go live in 30 days. . .)
- Have a cost-effective entry-level package of services with a fairly short time frame.
- Think of how you can alley the fear of change and up their level of trust with you (a guarantee? a checklist of completion?)
The Bottom Line
Get clear on your own core ‘Why’ first. Then spell out the “How’ and the “What”. Define your core target niche market and speak directly to them. Don’t worry about those that aren’t in that group – you don’t serve them. Trying to be everything to everyone drains your energy and credibility.
Apple doesn’t try to be what it’s not. They are unashamedly who they are and they speak directly to the people who share their core “Why”.
You’re welcome to use this article, I just ask that you be sure to keep the author’s info with it and please link to our website.
Author Info: Barbara Saunders is a publication designer and has run a successful solo pro business for more than a decade. She is the Solo Pro Success Coach and the Director of the International Association of Self-Employed Communication Professionals and the Solo Pro Academy. She also hosts the Solo Pro Radio show everyday at 10am Pacific and 1pm Eastern It’s our mission to build community and help creative solo pros build and run successful businesses by providing support, innovation, tools, and strategies. Our goal is to liberate our members from the feast and famine cycle.
