Apple’s ‘rejection’ of the practices pundits “always say you should do to succeed in the Internet economy” isn’t unique, but it does make for interesting reading:
Apple doesn’t blog; it doesn’t Tweet; it does little on Facebook; it doesn’t engage with its customer base. It doesn’t ask the “community” for feedback or rapidly iterate based on any such feedback or even respond to criticism.
It doesn’t give anything away for free, thank you very much—in fact, the company charges premium prices for just about everything. Its customer service is perfunctory. It engages in terribly consumer-unfriendly practices like making you buy a whole new device when the battery dies.
And marketing? […] For the most part, Apple advertising is old media all the way.
There are some important lessons for entrepreneurs in this strategy, says Jonathan Weber:
- It’s the product, stupid! (“If in doubt, focus on the product.”)
- Brand marketing still matters—a lot.
- Engaging with your customers via the real-time Web is not, in fact, mandatory. (Don’t become influenced by “what the zeitgeist of the moment says you should be doing”.)
- Continuously consider opportunity costs.
via @alexjmann