Saturday, March 27, 2010

What other companies should learn from Apple and Google

Those two seem to have got everything perfectly correct.....happy customers, great cash flow, great brands, pretty decent future, etc. So what do they do differently?

  • Understand what the customer wants, before the customer understands it
    • This is similar to the idea generally conveyed, when people talk about visionary product, market research, being ahead of the market, being ahead of the technology curve, etc
    • This comes by taking a long hard look at how people behave and use products.. thats it
  • Provide what the customer wants in a no-nonsense manner
    • Google.com does not have a help link for a very important reason... it is not needed
    • Ensure that using your new product does not require the customer to climb a steep learning curve
  • Tell a consistent and simple story for the product
    • Remember those Mac Vs PC ads.... Mac is cool, Mac is simple.. that is the story
  • Great product does not guarantee great money
    • Even great products have to be marketed correctly, priced correctly , sold correctly and phased out correctly
  • Deliver on your promises
    • Classic example of how not to do it is Windows Vista... delayed launch, stripped away features, and a bad product too
    • In the current environment, when you delay a launch, you not only lose market share, buzz, etc but also the WOW effect. Your prized features end up being common when you eventually release.

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