When people talk about the Apple brand, they often say that it makes products that people don't know they need, but this is not the case. Apple has made products that people need every day. Even more than other product companies, Apple manufactures products based on people's basic needs. As advertised when Apple Watch was launched not long ago, it is having a profound cultural impact.
When we think of needs and products, we often think of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, which is a universal theory that human needs are expressed in a specific order, from basic survival to the peak of self-realization. Marketers have spent decades figuring out which level of Maslow hierarchy their customers stay at, and then providing products and marketing to meet this demand. Think about the "mm-hmm" movement at one end of Campbell and the "relentless pursuit of perfection" at the other end of Lexus. If Maslow is right, does the brand need to aim at a single demand? When you're satisfied, you're done.
When we talk about people's needs in life, we often think of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, that is, the different needs of human beings at each stage, from the lowest basic survival needs to the highest self-realization needs. For many years, marketers have been studying the demand level of consumers and providing people with what they need. Think about how Campbell Canning's marketing campaign with the slogan "Yes" and Lexus Automobile Company's marketing campaign with the goal of "unremitting pursuit of perfection" are constantly pursuing to meet the needs of consumers. If Maslow's theory is realistic, then those famous brands need to reposition themselves, set goals from the basic needs of people, and achieve perfection.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, also known as the basic hierarchy of needs theory. They are the needs of physiology, safety, emotion and belonging, respect, self-realization and self-transcendence.
Everywhere, adjectives: everywhere; Everywhere. This refers to Maslow's six-level theory of needs, which is the universal need of human beings.
Peak, top, pole.
Campbell: Campbell Canning Company
Lexus: Lexus, a luxury car brand owned by Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan.
But it turns out that Maslow is not completely correct. My own research in Forrester Research focuses on a more complete and empirical description of people's basic needs based on the research of psychology, economics and neuroscience. When we talk about human needs, we use four categories:
However, it is found that Maslow's theory does not seem to conform to the current social situation. The author conducted a study in Forrester Research Company, focusing on establishing a more complete and convincing theoretical description of human needs, including knowledge of psychology, economics and neuroscience. When we talk about human needs, there are four aspects to consider:
relationship
be related
comfortable
comfortable
Uniqueness
Personalized
diversification
change
Crucially, we know that these requirements are not hierarchical. Think about yourself: you don't wake up in the morning thinking only about food, then worry about making money, and then consider higher pursuits. Your day or your life doesn't unfold like that. Is it messier? Because of our adaptability and clever biology. Our hormones, neurotransmitters and even intestinal bacteria make us consider basic needs such as survival and higher-level needs such as personal realization at the same time. In fact, they compete with each other in order to attract our attention. With the change of environment, we will prioritize and re-prioritize them dynamically.
It should be noted that we have long understood that these needs are not the most important. Please consider your own situation: when we get up in the morning, we are not worried about not having food or making money to support our families, so we are thinking about higher-level needs. Our daily life will not start with such worries, and it is more complicated than this, because we have the innate adaptability and wisdom of human beings. Our hormones, neurotransmitters and even intestinal bacteria will make us think about our basic needs at the same time, such as survival needs and higher-level needs, in order to achieve our own satisfaction. In fact, they are using our attention to compete with each other Just like different situations change, we constantly change their priorities many times.
Lofty; Advanced. The higher pursuit and higher-level demand here refer to the spiritual pursuit.
Neurotransmitters? rotr？ nzm？ t？ ], n.: neurotransmitter
Apple's understanding of this is why it stands out when it introduces products that change the market, including the newly released Apple Watch. Apple will not lock in a demand at the level (Tang Na? Satisfy hunger, or the perfect luxury car), but make and sell products that are related to the four human needs that we have been trying to solve. Let's take Apple Watch as an example:
According to its understanding of human needs, Apple separates the two concepts when promoting products including Apple Watch in a changing market. Apple is not limited to giving priority to a certain demand (material demand or spiritual demand). On the contrary, it manufactures and promotes new products that meet people's four major needs. Let's take Apple Watch as an example to analyze how Apple became the leader.
relationship
be related
Text, finger-drawn facial expressions, even gimmicks that some people think are hopeless, and heartbeat sharing are the core of the device that keeps you in touch.
Short messages, handwritten words, and even any funny and cunning elements and emotional sharing are all media for you to contact with the outside world.
Comfort:
comfortable
Connecting with loved ones is a comfortable part, as is the built-in health and fitness tracking, which makes the device a coach in your quest to improve yourself.
Contact with relatives can make you feel very comfortable, so the health tracking function of the machine belt can also meet this demand and provide you with timely and intimate fitness reminders.
Uniqueness
Personalized
A box convenient for apple inspection. Although many people were surprised by the traditional appearance of Apple Watch (experts immediately announced that it was wise), Apple actually adopted the traditional clockwork crown of the watch and used it to create a unique user interface and UX, making it a tool to zoom in and out of maps or menus. The same applies to Apple's original touch interface, which can distinguish between tapping and pressing, doubling the utility of the small screen.
It's simple. Think small. Although many people are surprised by the traditional shape of Apple Watch (smart as advertised by the wise), the designer adopts the traditional ring crown shape in the design process and designs a unique user interface and user experience, which can help users enlarge and narrow the options for viewing maps and menus. Similarly, Apple's original traditional touch screen can recognize clicks and long presses and provide twice the zoom function of the screen.
User interface user interface
UX: User Experience User Experience
diversification
change
Design plays an important role here through interchangeable watchbands. We have recently seen such an example even in Apple's own marketing. Although the products are very consistent, customers are celebrating uniqueness. Think of the advertisements that flashed on the covers of dozens of MacBooks, each decorated with its own clever sticker, which actually wrapped the company's brand logo. Diversity can of course also come from the application suite on your watch.
Design is the trump card that watch brands can constantly change. We can find from the recent watch conference that different brands of watches have their own unique design marks, including the launch of Apple Watch to celebrate their personalization. Think about how business chains are connected. Judging from the slider of Macbooks, each product has its own unique smart sticker, that is, the company trademark is displayed directly on the product. Of course, various mobile phone applications can also adapt to different brands of clients.
But can't other smart watch entrants do the same thing? Forrester's survey data shows that before the appearance of Apple Watch, people's interest in wearing wrist-based computing or sensing devices has increased from 28% on April 38, 1965 to 42% in April 1965. But if you ask an ordinary person if he knows about Pebble, Samsung Gear products or the new Moto 360, you will get a blank look. They may know Nike Fuel Band or Fit Bit.
Then, can't other emerging smart watch manufacturers promote it as usual? According to the data of Forrester Research, people's interest in carrying smart watches increased from 28% in 20 13 to 42% in 20 14, all because of the appearance of Apple Watch. But by interviewing passers-by and asking them if they know a Samsung smart watch called Pebble or the latest moto 360 watch, the answer is no, maybe they only know Nike's sports wristband or Fit Bit smart wristband.
I don't think any of these devices can completely or conveniently meet our four needs like Apple. For example, although Pebble aims to meet all four needs, it uses inconvenient technologies to meet these needs-admirable as an early entrant, but not enough at this stage of the market. On the other hand, Samsun g has created a device that is expected to fully meet these four requirements, but as a company, it does not have the market power to attract other application manufacturers into the environment as quickly as Apple, so Apple has the advantage of application diversity from the first day of sale-as proved by the announcement of mobile payment system. In the eyes of potential buyers, Samsung and other companies have suffered in front of Apple? Because no one can provide a guarantee-this is a comfort in itself-because the company behind it has done this before. [/en
I dare to assert that no similar electronic product seller can meet the four major needs of consumers like Apple. For example, even though Pebble aims to meet people's four major needs, the technology it uses is relatively complex-it can attract consumers when it was first released, but it can't meet the market demand for a long time. As for Samsung, it has created a device advertised to meet the four major needs, but Samsung cannot create its own brand-specific application market like Apple, which gives Apple enough space to sell its application products and operate as a mobile payment system. At the same time, in the eyes of potential consumers, the direct confrontation between brands such as Samsung and Apple will only be disastrous, because they cannot guarantee the comfort of their products, which is also the concept advocated by the company before.
[en] This is another secret of Apple's dominance. Once it becomes a company that can meet these needs, people tend to trust the brand more-perhaps more than it deserves, but certainly more than other entrants-which gives it an advantage, and other brands need to work hard to make people listen; This is why so many competing companies use Apple in their marketing, comparing their own products and functions with those that seem to attract all the attention. Apple seems to be in control of this conversation. Other highly regarded smart watches already exist, but now people are talking about the definition of smart watches proposed by Apple.
In addition, there is another reason why Apple can lead the way. When the company establishes its own brand image, people will believe in the brand-perhaps the brand effect is not that important, but it is an advantage compared with other emerging peers. Brand advantage can make consumers willing to pay attention to its dynamics, which is why so many competitive companies regard Apple as a market model and constantly compare and test whether their products can attract "fruit powder". It seems that Apple has its say in the meantime. On the other hand, smart watches that have attracted much attention have already appeared, but now people are only talking about Apple's smart watches.
This is exactly the strategy that Apple uses to sell the iPad, showing commercial advertisements without dialogue, and only depicting the magical things that the iPad can do for you. This makes some people buy iPad, while others know what they will want when they finally get tablets from another manufacturer. In either case, Apple dominates by controlling users' expectations of what the iPad can meet.
This is Apple's sales strategy to sell the iPad. There is no business model of dialogue, so let iPad provide you with unexpected help. This makes many people want to own the iPad, and others will want to know what they get from other manufacturers. In any case, Apple leads the fashion because it can meet the needs of users.
To be sure, the watch experience will be more difficult to describe than the iPad, but I doubt that Apple has created this experience yet. Smart watches are the pioneers of a wider wearable experience, consisting of phones, watches, headphones, health monitors and more things that you know you need in your heart.
The sales process of watches will be more difficult to summarize than the sales process of iPad. Seriously, I doubt whether Apple has completed this process. Smart watches are the standard to measure their durability. Can be used as mobile phones, watches, headphones, health monitoring, and more functions you need.