Void Your Warranty with STYLE!

I just read an article on Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/09/iphone-mod-apple-logo/) that mentioned a mod, by iPatch, that will light up the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone.  If you check out this picture, it looks pretty cool!  They do mention at the end of the article that it will most definitely void your warranty, and that makes me pause and think:

WHY WOULD YOU EVER DO THIS?!

You spend a lot of money to get an iPhone, and it does so many cool things already, why void the warranty just so the back lights up?  Plus, it only has limited battery life.  This will, of course, drain the battery faster.  Is it worth having your phone die in the middle of a conversation?  For me, the answer is: NO FREAKIN' WAY!

The Marketing Take-away: Legal is always better!
Why would a company waste their time on making unauthorized mods?  Focus on making authorized mods instead.  Working with a company, especially one like Apple, is a huge advantage to your business, and provides much more industry clout than being "that company that makes mods."  I guarantee that iPatch doesn't have as high of a reputation as they might working WITH Apple.

-MJP

Apple Goes Solar

Schematic for one of Apple's filed patents.

Apple recently filed for two patents in the area of solar power, and they have three more in the works (http://gigaom.com/cleantech/how-apple-could-revolutionize-solar/).  If they get these patents, and even if they don't, what could this mean for Apple devices going forward?  All I can say is: WOW!

You already know you can download music DIRECTLY to your iPod, so the only need for the computer is to CHARGE the device and act as a backup for your entire music library.  Imagine if your iPod could be powered by the sun; that would mean no more charging via the computer.

So, other than for backing up your database...wait a minute.  Look at this: http://www.apple.com/icloud/what-is.html.  Well, now that's taken care of, too.  It seems to me that Apple just disconnected me from wires, completely.  How cool is THAT?!

The Marketing Take-away: Unplugged is a HUGE marketing plus!
iCloud and solar power could put Apple's devices in a league all their own, and this super-huge added value is marketing GOLD!  To no longer need a cord at all - to be truly portable - is a strategic advantage that can't currently be matched by anyone.

How Could Customer-focused Marketing Hurt Your Brand?

Click here to go to a BrandAid from Killian Branding.  It brought up interesting downsides to being a customer-focused company.  In an age where customer-centric activities are expected of all businesses, claims of being focused on customers' needs change from competitive advantage to liability.

Unfortunately for many companies, they still tout their love of customers as their main strength.  If you think about it, though, who DOESN'T love their customers?  Buyers of your products are who keep the doors open; without them, you would have no business.  So, of course, you love them to pieces.  It's a give!

On what, then, should companies focus their attentions?  The article states some interesting statistics that help put it in perspective.  For instance, if a company experiences 6% growth each year with it's current customer base, it will double its business in 12 years.  That's not bad, but, especially for companies with high growth potential, that could be increased dramatically by focusing efforts on gaining new loyal customers.  That's right: NEW customers!

Remember the old adage: it's more expensive to gain a new customer that to cultivate an existing one.  Does this new focus mean the adage isn't true anymore?  No, of course not!  It's still cheaper to keep existing clients. That means that less time and energy has to be spent to keep them happy.  Now, what can you do with the extra time?  Get NEW customers!

-MJP

The Death of TechCrunch?

(AKA "Why AOL and Arianna Huffington are anti-social-media idiots!")

This may have changed by the time I post this article, but as of right now, I'm convinced that AOL and Arianna Huffington care more about their own power than in making sound business decisions.  They want to oust Michael Arrington and put in an editor-in-chief of their choosing.

It's another bone-headed move by AOL, in a long history of bone-headed moves, to stake a claim on one of its more successful web properties.  Huffington, I believe, is weighing in on the matter in order to mark her own territory on what she sees as her potential property at AOL, despite having no direct control over what goes on, currently, at TechCrunch.

See the article here: http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/06/the-end/.