Marketing Apple: Secrets of the World's Best Marketing Machine

Apple: Do one thing, better.

That is Apple's secret.

And Tim Cook confirms it today. 

When I give my Apple speeches around the world, I spend a lot of time explaining to audiences that the one thing Apple does better than anyone else it they focus on one thing to do better than anyone else.

The iPod made getting music into your pocket dead simple.  The iMac made getting on the Internet dead simple.  The iPhone made putting the Internet, your phone, movies and music in your pocket dead simple.

And that is their secret. 

To make that happen, though, you need to focus.  Today we released a new enhancement of our free web conferencing product called Dimdim myScreen that makes sharing your screen dead simple.  Take it from me, making something hard easy isn't easy. 

Read on to see what Tim thinks about how Apple does it.  Focus is a very good thing.

Tim Cook:

"Yeah, that is a great question. The executive team of the company spends a lot of time thinking and discussing how to retain and recruit the best talent in the world, because at the end of the day—I know it's a cliche—but people are our most important asset by far, and it's people that deliver innovation, which is key to us. And so what else do we do other than that? Well, we are the most focused company that I know of, or have read of, or have any knowledge of. We say no to good ideas every day; we say no to great ideas in order to keep the amount of things we focus on very small in number, so that we can put enormous energy behind the ones we do choose, so that we can deliver the best products in the world. In fact, the table that each of you are sitting at today, you could probably put every product on it that Apple makes, and yet Apple's revenue last year was over $40bn. I think the only other company that could say that is an oil company.

And that is not from just saying "yes" to the right product which gets a lot of focus—it's saying no to many products that are good ideas, but just not nearly as good as the other ones. I think that this is so ingrained in our company that this hubris that you talk about, that happens to companies that are successful but then decide that their sole role in life is to get bigger, and they start adding this and that and this and that, I can tell you the management team of Apple would never let that happen. That's not what we're about. So, focus on people, and ensuring that it's a small list of things to work on and putting all of our wood behind those things, that's the magic behind us."

A view at my keynote deck of my presentations about MarketingApple Live!

Apple Marketing iPad

I've gotten many emails and phone calls about Apple's iPad marketing over the last few weeks all asking about Apple's marketing prowess. One of the tenets of great marketing is what I call "passion over logic." In other words, when your passion dictates you have to have something you reach for your wallet in spite of your better judgment.

Great marketing can help sell you something you really don't need. We've all been victims of great marketing.

Apple somehow takes it to another level. How many companies have customers lining up to buy something they have never held, seen or used before? Apple seemingly hosts a press event, updates their website, posts a few television commercials and waits for the cash register to ring.

Is there something "magical and revolutionary" about their marketing? I think I have an answer, but first a question. Based on everything you know about the iPad, do you intend to purchase one?

Please take this one question survey and we'll all know what others are thinking. Feel free to craft your own answer if Yes and No isn't enough for you ;)

An Open Letter (okay, blog post) to Toyota's James Lentz

Dear Jim,

As President of Toyota Motor Sales US, I know you are dealing with a very difficult situation and I think I may be able to help turn your nightmare into a dream (at least on the PR front.)  I can help provide every Toyota customer with a free browser-based web conferencing account so they can telecommute while their recalled car is being repaired.  

You can turn this crisis around: customers who are scared to drive Toyotas and those who need to bring their car in for repair can use Toyota Web Conferencing to join meetings, attend job interviews, or meet virtually with a teacher.  By proactively providing this service now, millions of Toyota customers (and your competitor’s customers) will instantly be delighted that you have gone beyond their expectations.  They will see that Toyota has their best interests in mind and you will have taken positive steps to enhance the brand loyalty your industry relies on.  Take it from this marketer: long after this crisis is over, your response will be all anyone remembers.  How you handle this adversity will define how you are perceived for years to come.  I want to help.

Jim, feel free to have someone contact me.  I have the ability to help you rapidly deploy this solution in a matter of days.  Even if you view this crisis well in hand today, consider how a web conferencing solution can assist future Toyota service customers from all of your dealerships.

Steve

P.S. "Surprise and Delight" is one of the 5 secrets of Apple marketing you'll find in my free eBook.  I woke up thinking about how this can be applied even in a crisis situation and hence this letter was born.