We have heard it before, the customer is King and gets whatever they want. Well, Apple continues to prove that only applies to ‘regular’ brands with their latest uber expensive product reveal called the iPhone X. Normally when a company realizes that their customers love something, they keep giving it to them over and over in different disguises. For example, Mercedes AMG customers love their V8 and V12 engines, Mercedes does not dare downgrade to a six-cylinder or anything smaller than that.They know the consequences could be severe and this fear/respect keeps them making engines that are gas guzzlers no matter how much stop-start technology they want to put in them.
Apple, on the other hand, is like an old-fashioned strict parent. As soon as you love something and get attached to it, bye bye it’s taken away. Do you dare to look at the Samsung S8 at your local phone shop? Ok, let’s take away the aux jack from your phone. Do you like using a fingerprint to open your phone? let’s take that too! The home button you say? convenient you say? yea let’s take that too. Anything you love on your iPhone right now? don’t get attached because the boogie man company will probably take that too.
Ultimately Apple has realized that its customers are hooked like drug addicts. If you have ever lived in a bad neighbourhood then you will see how their own drug dealers treat them; like garbage. Dealers can do this because they know, the addict will be back for more drugs to get their fix. It is this confidence that allows them to behave like that and treat their ‘customers’ that way. Apple is the ultimate dealer it seems as they can take away things people like and then tell you this is what you will like from now on. If that isn’t gangster I don’t know what is.
The question is how long will this last? just like a relationship where one partner just ignores the disrespect for a long time and then one day gets up and leave, this could happen to Apple. The beauty about an open marketplace is that brands(even very big ones) can be humbled. Remember Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Nokia? When last you saw someone with one of their phones? Now I am not saying Apple is going bankrupt anytime soon, I am just saying they have to walk a careful line. Clearly, they are not idiots as they have redefined what it means to be a successful company but I remember when everyone and their pet dog had a Nokia. The thing that separates Apple from those companies is the fact that Apple never stops innovating, a matter of fact it is innovation that got us into this ‘auxless’, home button less situation right now with the iPhone X.
Ultimately time will tell where Apple ends up but for now, we can finally put to bed that the ‘customer is King’ cliche. If your brand is big enough and your customers are loyal enough you can disregard their opinion and tell them what they want. Luxury watchmakers have been doing this for a while, with brands like Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe telling their customers no! you cannot get this now and you cannot get this in that precious metal and guess what? they accept it. If you want someone bad enough you will ignore their bad characteristics and if you want a product bad enough, the same applies.
P.S the new iPhone X starts at $999 US dollars and with options added can easily go over $1200. Click the video above to find out all the cool features on this new phone and then take one month’s rent and buy it hehe
