I could write a lot of things about Apple. I own an Apple MacBook, two iPod Touches, an Airport Express. Been to two Apple WWDCs and the Leopard Tech Talk. But today I’m just going to talk about why Apple succeeded.
The first Apple I owned was a Macintosh Classic, then it was the LC630, somewhere in between there was the first black-and-white PowerBook, and then there was the first two inch thick but revolutionary colored PowerBook. Those were the wonderful days. Of course then, the dark side of wonderful games interfered, and I moved to the Microsoft side.
So, during those dark days sans no-Steve-Jobs, Apple languished and could have died ten times in the last twenty years. In fact, in a day where big blundering corporations are “not-so-cool” and small little start-ups with a possible fantastic IPOs are the “new-cool”, so how did Apple do it? Apple IS a big corporation. And no, I don’t think its about great marketing. It’s a contributing factor, but do you think the “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” ads actually stuck until recently?
Ten years ago, if you mentioned Apple to anyone. The thought in the mind would be “Overpriced. Nothing works. Incompatible.” Now when you mention Apple to the average layman, the thought is “Cool. Simple. In.” and so on so forth.
So why now? Here’s what I think:
1. Correct market introduction. Apple failed. They had technology way before their time. Remember the Newton? The bulky handheld with amazing handwriting recognition? Remember the PowerBooks? Which was so expensive but could survive in Everest? Would the App Store have succeeded if it was released ten years ago when Apple had only 2% of the market? They learnt from their mistakes and moved on.
2. Apple Evangelists. You just need a few people. Crazy people. Insane people possible. To infect the herd. People always talked about it. And its true. I went back to Apple with an iBook in 2005 because Linux was irritating me. It also so happened that three months later I got a scholarship to go to the WWDC2005. Then I remembered how much I used to love the Apple. Now, almost all my friends use the Apple. I’ve also sold a ton of Apple Computers to during roadshows in a short skirt.
3. Streamlining the crap. So, before Steve Jobs actually rejoined Apple. Apple was producing everything from Newtons, to educational software, to whatsoever you could ever possibly think about. During that time, he literally asked people to come to pitch their product, and then decided if it would be cut, or not. When your funds are low, don’t think of producing computers with flowers on them. You can do that when you are the greatest company in the world, then you can throw out a few flower computers. So focus on things which really matter.
4. KISS -Keep it simple stupid. Almost every single company in the world right now is trying to keep it simple. They’ve taken a leaf out of Apple’s book in creating wonderfully simple to use and clean products. Consumer products have gone through a revamp, and they are trying to recreate the same kind of user experience which Apple has spoilt us with. I think its nice. But I also think that if it is done without thinking you become more like a white sheep following the black sheep. And if you live your life following somebody else’s rules, nobody is really going to remember you.
5. See the need, and fill it. If you are sitting in a helicopter, and looking down, there have been many things which was obvious from the very start. The music industry was crapped up because of Napster and what had you, and they were trying to sue your grandmother to the dog next door to dead people for stealing music. There was a need. And everyone else was trying to fill that need with expensive subscriptions and what have you. Why should a consumer buy something when they could get it for free? Answer, if you offered it to them very cheap. And if you made it easy for the consumers to get it. When the iPod was introduced, it was introduced to a small community of Apple followers. Nobody expected it to be a crazy success. The songs were sold at 99cents a piece and Apple only got 10cents per song. But… as Steve was grinning and showing his iPod, “We are selling iPods!!!”
6. Make your disadvantage your advantage. Or just stick to your guns. People hate it I know. You are locked into this Apple-ecosystem when you buy an iPod or a MacBook or whatsoever. Because Apple manufactures both the hardware and the software. It could have been a disadvantage, of course, but Apple chose to be the black sheep and even withdrew all the Apple Clones. But, because of the same reason Apple controls everything, you know the person to find when your system fails. You also won’t have to handle a whole ton of compatibility issues and so on so forth.
7. Steve Jobs. Need I say more? His health is being constantly checked due to his bout with cancer. You know how scary pancreatic cancer is? It is like a death sentence, it is like if you were diagnosed with cancer that is the last thing you really want to get because at all stages from 1 to 4 it is almost fatal. Steve Jobs is a special person, and I admit, not everybody can be him. He is reality distorted, and he is the face of Apple. He is also a marketing guy, and Bill Gates thought he wasn’t much use because he couldn’t actually program. But what I think is, Steve Jobs is a marketing guy, but he is also a visionary and a technology driven guy. He has crazy great presentation skills, a sense of humor, and an aura which makes people respect him. And thats the problem with people or companies who never got into the mentality and think it is okay to inject a ton of marketing dollars into their company. Apple in essence is a very technology driven company with insanely great programmers, and thats the reason why geeks and technologists are going there, and not because it is a marketing company.
So now, suddenly everyone wants to be the black sheep. I could write more than 7, but I like 7, and I don’t think people can remember more than 7 things in a single post anyway.
One more link for you: Without Steve Jobs
