Apple wheeled out the iPad this weekend in the US , early reports suggest they sold around 700,000 units , not bad in 48 hours.
Apple have got what you might describe as a loyal customer base. And that is down to Steve Jobs vision of understanding some core principles in attracting and more importantly keeping customers.
Principle one-Products don't sell, the experience does. People buy an iPhone, iPod because of the ecosystem behind it. Additionally with the lifecycle of many technology products being so short - around 3 years - renewals by recurring customers are vital to sustain growth. That means as fast as you produce product in parallel you have to build even faster the eco system behind it.
Principle two- Invest heavily in customer service. The satisfactory customer experience is the real market differentiator of any product or service in a competitive industry, products with great service win over products with bad service anytime. Example- Starbucks, dreadful coffee , fanatical following
Principle three- Your customers love innovation, especially when they are involved in the design. One area Apple excels in is innovation , most of which is driven through its customers. Think about the genius bar in iTunes, that was a customer idea from one of Apple's online forums. Establish your own social network site through Twitter, Linked In and open up to your customers with ongoing dialogue, make them feel they are part of your business, because they are the most important part.
The one that pays.
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