Hello everyone,
The thought of writing on this particular topic came to me after reading ‘The Steve Jobs Way’ a little while ago (Simply a MUST read) & from my fascination with personal branding in today’s day and age.
As some of you may know, the visionary Mr.Jobs was known to be a ‘product czar’ during his lifetime. This is simply due to the fact that the man always focused and believed on the concept of creating the best product in the market. He knew right from the word go that apple’s existence was not to create any standardized product to be sold in the marketplace to make small amounts of profit. His idea was to give consumers truly what they wanted i.e. a product that could not only solve their problem but give them a feel of using something extremely valuable, of a high prestige and whose presence in the market ‘would truly change the world’ as he called it.
At the time of creating iMacs, iPhones and and iPads, his intent was not only to focus on how consumers truly benefited from using his product but also to make sure that the product was ‘revolutionary’ i.e. something that would be a game changer for generations to come. As we all know, he was definitely not a man who would be content with ‘par for the course’ product.
By having a vision so huge and the dedication and focus so strong to commit to the creation of the products, he knew ‘competition’ was something he did not have to focus on, or be deterred from as his vision for apple was not restricted to bringing a competitive product in to the marketplace.
Now the question arises as to why did he focus so much on the product being the best not only in terms of quality but more importantly towards the perception people left with while or after using the product i.e. the experience or feel of overall product??
Any ideas???
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Still thinking… 🙂
Mr. Jobs believed that customers are willing to buy what you offer and more importantly retain themselves with your brand if it matches or surpasses the experience they expect from the product. Lets face it, why do majority of people crave Apple products compared to other brands like Samsung, HTC etc?
For one, it provides them with a trendy, luxurious and a high quality experience. Secondly, to match the image ‘Apple’ has created about themselves. Lastly, to showcase a particular lifestyle in the minds of others.
Lets take several other examples: Why do people wear watches of a particular brand? Clothing of a particular brand? Shoes of a particular brand?
Now you may argue, part of the reason being is the quality. Fair enough… However, would that be the strongest & the only reason for one to go for the brand itself? I firmly believe, more than the quality itself, its more about the whole experience or the internal emotion or the feel that we obtain or derive out of using that product/service which pushes us to go for it.
As I was thinking about this ‘experience or feel’ being the X-factor in driving the business, I had an interesting thought to myself. My mind got me to think: Well Jai, think about it, isn’t it the same when meeting people?
Why do we love interacting with someone or wish to be around someone’s company and not so much with somebody else? The answer is simple. Its the experience created or the feeling we get when talking to someone. In other words, its the overall energy we get from conversing with a person which makes it or breaks it.
Next time you talk to someone, think about this strongly: What sort of experience is the person deriving when talking to you. In other words, are you giving people the similar experience or feel which they get from possessing a product category by Apple or Lamborghini or Louis Vuitton or are you just giving the experience similar to having any other standardized product.
I kindly request you to not take this analogy negatively, but the whole idea is to understand how this analogy can help us better ourselves when it comes to leaving behind a lasting impression in the minds of people, we communicate with. It amazes me to think the amount of difference we can make by just being conscious about ‘the feel or experience we give off to a person.’ .
Let me summarize few of the things that you can do to give off the quality and high standard experience to people.
1) Offer something of value: People get attracted to people who offer value and help them grow in the process. It could be a piece of information you’ve read about or a personal experience or something that’s most significant to you.
2) Share your story: As its commonly known ‘facts tell, stories sell’. Stories have a huge impact in providing quality experience to the person you meet, for they are are emotionally evocative and bring about a ‘personal connection.’
3) Focus on ‘Them’: The spotlight of the conversation should be mostly on the person you’re talking to and a little bit on you. People tend to get a a positive impact from people who possess sound listening ability and talk a little about themselves.
4) Be Yourself: I can’t stress enough the importance of this aspect. By being your authentic true self, you allow the world to experience the real you. The talents you bring, the strengths you possess and the energy you create tends to leave people with a very strong impression of you.
With this in mind, let’s all take a conscious effort on effectively branding ourselves as personalities stronger and powerful than ever before.
Have left you guys with a fantastic commercial by ‘Apple’ on ‘Being different.’- Check it out!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rwsuXHA7RA
Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
