"WHY...Oh Why Haven't You Called..."

Shesh!

Talk about a honeymoon period and afterglow...

I'm on icloud 9 from drinking Apple's MacBook Pro kool-aid. The entire buying experience, combined with new-owner glow has left me helpless to fend off advances from Apple's marketing department.

Only...there are none.

No phone call. No post card. No follow up of any kind.

To give you some idea of what this bliss I feel is like...

I took my chunck of titanium housed brilliance into the Apple store to ask a few questions. After turning it on, and just as I wondered how much configuring and grief I would have to tolerate while jumping on their network, a window popped up.

'Scuse me for using the word, window. A prompt popped up --a tastefully rendered and unobtrusive thing-- to ask me if I'd like to join their network. So civil. Why...yes, I thought, as I clicked continue and ... joined their network.

The deed was done.

Before I left the store, I bought a year of training for just $99, a pleasing price, and scheduled my first appointment.

After returning home, I checked my email and found a festive confirmation containing a link. I clicked the link which caused my calendar to open and all of the information populated appropriate fields.

Automatically.

And later, on a backup schedule I determine, the calendar synched with my .mac membership server.

But ... no coupons in the mail, no email, no phone call ... no follow-up of any kind. All I need is a nudge of permission for emotional momentum to fling me well over feelings of guilty self-indulgence, back to the store for an iphone. Or for an isomething or other.

Within this afterglow, is the desire to maintain and expand my experience.

And all it would take is a lousy coupon.

But then, I'm a motivated and determined individual...

--Peter

Comments

[Joachim]

Peter, welcome to the Cult of Mac. May I suggest you also sign-up for Apple's "Pro Care" program -- it gets you right into the Genius Bar without an appointment, and head of the line in case you ever need a repair. My MacBook Pro is as delightful as yours, certainly, and I'm even more bedazzled with my Mac Pro for video and audio work. There's so much good stuff available for Macs these days that I'm certain you'll become even more delighted over time. Post a note if you ever have anything you need help with and I'm certain you'll get quick and useful replies.

Take care,

Joachim Klehe

[Peter Stone]

Joachim,

Thank you for welcoming me into the brethren. I'm exploring the seemingly endless video and audio possibilities, now.

Too, I appreciate you closing sentiment and tip on ProCare.

--Peter

[Sean]

Good Morning, Peter.

I'm constantly amazed by uber-successful companies that suddenly appear to drop the marketing ball.

With a company like Apple, I would assume (hope) this lack of follow-up is the result of some serious testing. Perhap they found that "pushing" right after the initial sale reduced the likelihood the buyer enters into The Cult of Mac. Maybe they've found it more advantageous to forgo the initial (short term?) profits and focus instead on locking new users into the cult. Nothing like an empty bank account to sour an otherwise awesome experience.

But, hey, they could have just missed the mark.

I recently purchase a product from a "marketing guru". When I made the purchase, there was no attempt to up-sell or cross sell me. A week went by and the only contact I received from him was the purchase confirmation. No follow-up what-so-ever.

How disappointing. I have no respect for "teachers" who don't practice what they preach.

I unsubscribed from his list and will probably never buy from him again.

A guess my question is:

Should follow-up and up-selling be automatic, or contingent on the attitudes and expectations of the market you're serving?

[Peter Stone]

Sean,

Good morning to you.

Enlightened thinking on your part.

I hope you'll excuse me as I answer your question with a question:

What could Apple do to firm up their bond with me?

--Peter

[Sean]

Okay, let me preface this by saying I have not put a great deal of thought into it, but since you asked, here is my answer:

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but, Apple doesn’t need to do anything else to firm up their bond with you.

Let me explain…

Apple has accomplished several things Microsoft has attempted but will probably never achieve…

1 – Apple has created a WOW! experience from beginning to end. And I mean everything from the OS, to the hardware design, to customer service. This is evident in the glowing review you wrote in this blog post.

2 – The WOW experience Apple has created spawns a great deal of word of mouth advertising. While that’s great, more importantly, it also supports and feeds…

3 – The Cult of Mac. Apple has created a Mac culture, which somewhat ironically gives buyers a sense of both belonging and individualism.

And Apple does a lot to foster the “Mac culture” – both directly and indirectly.

Why?

Because they know, with a small bit of guidance, new Mac owners (or ipod and iphone owners) will gravitate in that direction. Without fail, other Mac owners will help with this transition, as well. Case-in-point: Joachim’s comment above.

Peter, in no time at all - because of the WOW factor, the social proof, the sense of belonging and community, and the sense of identity/individualism - you’ll be an outspoken Mac fanatic. And as such, you’ll help perpetuate the process.

And the most important aspect of all:

You will have labeled yourself as “A Mac Man”.

And, then, as long as Apple doesn’t screw up really, really bad, you’ll continue to buy Apple products and services because… well, that’s what Mac Men do.

The awesome power of the clique.

So, yeah, I don’t think Apple has to do anything to firm up their bond with you… The Cult and Human Nature will do the rest.

[Sean]

By the way, I put the WOW! experience first for a reason... without it the rest isn't possible.

And to give credit where credit is due, WOW! ain't easy to accomplish. Maintaining WOW! for any length of time is even more difficult.

Apple has done just that. All of the word-of-mouth and happy afterglow is well deserved.

So is the fanatical following...

But that doesn't mean the whole thing isn't "by design".

Damn, I wish I owned a MAC.

Sigh.

[Peter Stone]

"Damn, I wish I owned a MAC."

Yes. You do... (-:

Peter

PS. Great thoughts, thanks. In truth, I'm going to get an iphone. But I'm going to wait, because I believe they'll double the memory for the holiday buying season.

--P