Not another iPhone Post
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Ok, I lied. This is totally about the iPhone. As an added bonus I’m also mentioning Seth Godin so reading this will probably fry your computer’s hype circuit.
Apparently Verizon, unnerved by the launch of the iPhone, attempted to spread the word about potential flaws. Godin posted his trademark contrarian opinion that cell phone manufacturers and service providers should view the iPhone’s positives and not the negatives.
The iPhone is a gift for every cell phone marketer in the world. Why? Because it creates a problem where there was none before. Now, a cell phone is not just a phone. Now, a phone is worth spending money on. So, since Apple created that ‘problem’ in my mind, how are you going to solve it?
While I had to quell my inner fanboy who was screaming about my Treo 755p and how it is sooooo much better than the iPhone, I had to agree with him. The iPhone isn’t just a win for Apple, it’s a win for the cell phone industry- and all of us users. I don’t need to fear the iPhone- in the end it will help sell more Treos and push the manufacturer to innovate. It will only help- which brings up a great point:
How do you see your competitors, and how do you feel when they succeed?
Sure there have been PDA/Camera/Music Player/Phone hybrids for years, but who’s using them? For the most part, just geeks like me. At a party, we’re the ones huddled in the corner, having the gadget pissing-contest while everyone else talks about interesting things. No matter how much I see the value in my phone, to most people it’s just way too big, nerdy and costs too much.
Enter the iPhone. Back when the iPod came out, geeks like me were already into the Archos hard drive MP3 player. It held as much data as the iPod, wasn’t restrictive about how many computers you moved your music to, could be used as an external hard drive and could be hacked to add a more feature-rich operating system. We’d been telling people how awesome The iPod didn’t offer anything new- in fact it had less features – BUT it made getting an MP3 player way less intimidating. Simple. Take it out of the hands of the geeks and give it to the regular folks.
The same change is about to hit the hybrid phone industry. When the iPhone drops tomorrow, bazillions of people will stream into stores like zombies (the fast ones from 28 Days Later, not the classic ones) and spread this new perspective like a virus. People who would fall asleep 2 months ago while I extolled the virtues of my Treo will be explaining to everyone at their office how their iPhone can play music, surf the web and cut julienne frys.
And Archos doesn’t seem to have disappeared. They may not have a large piece of the MP3 player pie, but they offer silent praise to Apple every day for making the pie much, much bigger.
The lesson here is that when your competitors get new customers, unless you’re in a mature industry they’re probably making the market larger. As long as you focus on meeting your target customers’ needs you don’t need to stomp around and bad-mouth your competitors. You do your thing and keep telling your story. Innovate. Discover needs you can meet better.
What I hate is when competitiveness turns catty- like Verizon attempting to badmouth the iPhone. It’s obvious to everyone around them and it only hurts their image. Their time would be much better spent making their customers happy- especially the ones who are frustrated that they can’t break their contract and get an iPhone- sell them a Treo!
So how about you? How you talk about your competitors, and how do you feel when they succeed?
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Tags: Search & Marketing, The Web
Posted in Search & Marketing
