iPhone video

Apple, iPhone video. I clicked this iPhone demo video, link below, for the "small" and it loaded just fine. Users are saying it will take about a week or more to get used to it.

Apple expects to sell about 3-million iPhones in the last half 2007 and sell another 10,000,000 in 2008.

Attention: if you've bought an iPhone, or you know anyone who purchased an iPhone, I'd like to interview you for this blog and know your experience and review.

iPhone

Apple iPhone, iTunes - Personal Experience

I don't use an iMac and if you read my post on the iPhone you know I'm not camping out anywhere to buy one. I've never debated Mac vs PC, etc. etc. So I guess I don't use Apple products.

Wait.

iTunes! Yeah, that's right. I started a couple of months ago and I really like the convenience, my ability to make a selection - it puts me in control - and the selection.

Funny how those are the same comments I hear from people who shop at Home Depot stores (except iTunes doesn't have lines).

So Apple had its dip as a corporation. But they've developed customer loyalty through experiences. Here is a quote I found on a longer article titled 10 Things We can Learn from Apple. It was posted by Richard Ziade:

"Understand the total experience . . . Apple is an experience company. Imagine your iPod without iTunes. By ignoring that separation and focusing on solving real problems in a cohesive way, they [Apple] obliterated the portable music market."

Now, let's boil it down to the real world.

Tips and Questions for You

• What is the "experience" or real world problem you're solving through a product or service?
• How will your clients or customers benefit?
• What is in it for them?
• Why would they tell someone else about your product or service?
• What do you say about your product or service?
• If you write a blog or Web site, your product, what "experience" will readers have? What will they take away that benefits them?

What advice do you have in giving customers a memorable experience?

This week, I posted about:

Holdon Log and Actor Track - there's a specific purpose for the products, geared toward a specific market (performers - who don't have lots of discretionary income)

we read about a computer franchise that communicates well with the customers, and prices services competitively.

Real estate agent Chrisia Simkovich, in an earlier post, will help sellers or buyers find a cleaning service, day care, kennel care for pets, in an effort to make their lives easier.

Each one gives the businesses give users a positive experience and solves a problem or need.

I hope these questions allow you to evaluate your effectiveness in what you offer - and ultimately - leads to greater profitability.

Apple iPhone: Motorola, Cingular, Whatever

Businesses have to market really hard to get my attention when it comes to new technology. Odd. I have a master's degree in communication management from USC. I consider myself a "marketer," too.

So why did it take me ignoring post after post on the iPhone before I visited Apple's iPhone Web site?

And, finally, what took me to the site?

Ah-ha! The answer to this one question will answer both.

Answer: I really don't need the iPhone at this point. I spend more time trying to focus on my sales during the day and my content for this blog. Am I focused? How can I improve it graphically? What do I need to drive more traffic to this site?

Do my dogs need water in their dish? And then I yell to my wife and tell the kids to be quiet!

So you see, I don't see the iPhone as relevant for my life - at this point. I have other concerns and I'm not an "early adopter" of new technology. I'm thrilled I've taught myself how to create basic html hyperlinks on the web. My current cell phone is working - sorta, kinda - and I'm not going to camp out like the people in New York waiting for the iphone in order to spend my hard-earned dollars with Apple.

At least not right now.

So this is also a lesson for businesses of all sizes.

Marketing takes work. Building a business is not a short-term proposition.

A few notes from people I've interviewed during the past few weeks.

Real estate agent Juanita Cobb of Keller Williams spends hours a day calling people who are in foreclosure to see if she can help them sell before they have to auction off;

Brian and Kristina of Actor Track have been building a business for six years and they still haven't covered much of their niche market of actors and performers.

And Apple is rolling out a product to good and not-so-good reviews (critics get so jealous, don't they).

And my blog is only a few weeks old since I've tweaked its focus. I'd rest on my laurels, but I don't have any at this stage!

Improve, evaluate, create, improve, evaluate, create . . . it's a cycle that requires a lifetime of dedication for multinational corporations and the home-based business.