Timing Is Important
If you are curious about the latest in home theatre and gadgetry, you have probably been watching the wall-to-wall coverage of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Lots of interesting things being debuted including using your cell phone as a credit card someday. In a rare and ironic scheduling overlap, the Apple focused MacWorld Expo is happening at the same time in San Francisco.
I think this is ironic as the biggest announcement that Apple gave at MacWorld was the debut of the iPhone, a consumer electronics device intended reinvent the phone and sync all of your friends, music, and meds using iTunes.
It looks pretty slick but what I thought was even better was another example of great timing and the impact it can have on a potential buying audience.
Granted, Apple fans and “mac addicts” are a special bunch with deeper loyalties than most would expect. I have certainly become a fan after consolidating my Powerbook and Dell PC into a Parallels enabled MacBook Pro with Windows. But that is another discussion. Isn’t this the goal of all companies? To create loyal fans who love your brand and salivate at the thought of your next product or service?
One aspect of this I think is vital to Apple’s loyal following is timing.
We all love a little drama - especially if we have adolescent kids! We all love a little mystery, a little suspense. Maybe some rumors and even some controversy to liven things up. Apple has all of these things and they use them to their advantage with a quick wit and good timing.
Let’s just take a small example dealing with their web site, www.apple.com. A few days ago, the site home page advertised the standard set of products. Sometime before Steve Job’s keynote address, the home page was changed to include a suspense image with the line “The first 30 years were just the beginning. Welcome to 2007.”
After the keynote, the front page focuses on the new iPhone, the climax of the keynote.
Why do I mention this?
I think this is one link on a clever chain that Apple and others have figured out gets buyer attention. It is simple details like this that communicate excellence, high value, and quality to me. The fact that Apple makes changes within days to their home page presupposes that people like me are coming back within those few days multiple times and rewards me for it with their changes.
What of your business, specifically the most valuable sales and marketing tool you have — your web site, were able to adapt and respond to important events with timing like Apple? For most companies, the resources it would take to get this done outweight the opportunity with potential buyers and things stay the same — for years.
Timing is only one aspect of the strategy but offers valuable benefits on its own.
If you would like to improve your timing and how you communicate to potential buyers, an Enthusiast web solution could be what you are looking for. For a limited time, you can sign up for a free assessment of your current situation. Make 2007 a year of great timing for your business!
–jc
p.s.
Thanks to ‘Kernel Panic’ for the apple.com photoset.
Curt Broskey
I will make this short and sweet. The iPhone is the best thing since the Newton. Ok, draw back Cingular, but being a T-mobile user since 2001, I will go back to Cingular only because of this phone. Maybe with as many people that phone will bring to them the service will get better, if anything the customer support will be better since it’s Apple.
- Curt