core sector communique

The gospel, according to Steve Jobs

I f Apple is such a cool brand today, it is because its products combine the best of design and technology. Steve Jobs once explained that great products are a triumph of taste, and in the product categories he addressed, taste was always a delightful combination of art and functionality. Look at any of the products he developed and marketed — the iPod or iPhone, for instance — and you will always admire the sleek Zen-like designs as much as you will enjoy using their mind-blowing features. In the apt words of Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google: “Steve Jobs uniquely combined an artist's touch and an engineer's vision.” This combination of right and left brains, of art and science, is an essential quality that all marketers should attempt to develop.

Build entire ecosystems, not products alone

A key consumer insight that Jobs used in developing his offerings was that people seek rich and full experiences, not products alone. He therefore carefully integrated his products with a diverse range of software and value-added services, and these ecosystems engaged consumers superbly, offering them a delectable range of wares. The iTunes online content store, combined with the iPod, is one such ecosystem which I have used extensively, and it has enriched my experience of music most wonderfully. The iPod without the iTunes, or vice versa, would have been a good but somewhat dreary product; together, they create magic, and they also provide excellent continuing business to Apple. As good marketers, we should search hard for relevant and involving ecosystems we can build in our respective product categories.

When a journalist once asked Steve Jobs what market research went into the iPad, Jobs famously replied - “None. It's not the consumers' job to know what they want.” On the other hand, his own decisions, whether they concerned product features or design, were shaped by his own deep study and understanding of two very different worlds: popular culture and technology. Popular culture gave him hints and glimpses of unmet consumer needs which he could possibly fulfil, and his grasp over existing and unfolding technology told him what solutions were on offer to meet these needs. These, then, were the strong foundations on which his marketers' intuition was perched. His lesson to marketers: don't use market research as a crutch, because it primarily reveals what is already in consumers' minds. If you wish to shape markets of the future, study consumers' lives and societies for insights, and then try to imagine what they may actually want.

I f there has ever been a Zen Master of marketing in our times, it is undoubtedly Steve Jobs, who stepped down last week as CEO of Apple. (He will remain Chairman on the company's Board.) In virtually every discussion or seminar centred on new product innovation, brand building, shaping consumer lifestyles or marketing strategy, Jobs and the brand he has created, Apple, repeatedly emerge as constant benchmarks to be studied, admired and emulated. A living saint who is worshipped by legions of believers, he has unveiled amazing new frontiers which have virtually defined a new gospel for students of marketing. Here is our version of the marketing gospel according to Steve Jobs.

Create products consumers lust for

Steve Jobs has taught us that to win big time, an unbeatable formula is the creation of dazzling new products and services which capture the imagination of consumers and transform their markets. In 1998, he launched Apple's iMac, which brought vivid colours and a remarkably simple graphic user interface into the boring grey-and-black world of personal computers. The iBook followed in 1999, setting the pace for a new generation of notebook computers. Then, he launched the iPod in 2001 and iTunes in 2003, transforming the music industry forever. He didn't stop there. A few years later, the iPhone stormed mobile telephony. In 2010, the iPad made its appearance, and is perhaps the most sought after popular technology device in the world today. Steve Jobs dedicated most of his time at the helm of Apple thinking about and leading the creation of these dazzling products. A simple but powerful lesson for all marketers who aspire to stardom and success.

Focus on the few big bets

Jobs did not create hundreds of new products or designs at Apple, he focused on a few big bets. In the past decade, Apple launched just five new products: the iPod, the iTunes phone, the iPhone, Apple TV and the iPad. Each of these products also flaunted essentially the same minimalist design. On an average, therefore, he launched a new product only once in two years. By focusing his team's ample resources on just a few big projects, he ensured brilliant products with highly appealing features, thereby maximising their probability of success. Charles Golvin of Forrester, a global research firm, is quoted in The Economist as saying that one of Jobs' greatest skills has been to decide which projects Apple should not undertake. He made these choices very well, and this is clearly a discipline and a well honed art of great marketers.

Take risks, be open to failures

We are in awe of hugely successful Apple products such as the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. In the same breath, we should also reflect on the fact that, over 20 years, Steve Jobs also launched seven products which failed completely, either commercially or functionally. They include the Apple III computer, a computer called Lisa, the NeXT computer, the Puck Mouse used on the iMac, the Cube, the iTunes phone and, most recently, Apple TV. He took risks and went ahead with these products, primarily because his conviction in them was strong. Even as he did so, he remained equally open to failure, and not once did he permit these damp squibs to disrupt his vision for shaping new markets of the future.

Finally, Jobs has taught us that good marketing is the victory of passion, focus, persistence and intellect coming together in a beautiful waltz. Like he has always done over the past three decades, a marketer has to radiate conviction about his offerings, champion them, and evangelise them. He has to follow his heart and instinct, “stay hungry and stay foolish”. Thus spoke Steve Jobs. Amen.

- Umesh Shanmugam