Think Like Apple

How do you think Apple gets millions of people to enthusiastically lay down hundreds of dollars for iPods and iPhones, and thousands for MacBooks?

Marketing. Apple is extraordinarily effective at communicating that their products will meet or exceed the desires, needs and expectations of their target audience.

What is it you want to accomplish? More sales? Greater efficiency at work? A better job? A successful business of your own?

Maybe you can learn a thing or two from Apple.

You have an audience, too -- the person or people you’re hoping will provide whatever it is you want. They also have desires, needs and expectations. And your task is to get them to believe you’ve got the perfect "product" for them.

Apply these same time-tested marketing techniques used by the world’s most successful companies, and your “goal achievement campaign” will be just as powerful and rewarding.

Identify your objective. Before you launch any campaign, you have to be clear about what you want to accomplish. Be as specific as possible. By being crystal clear about your objective, you can measure every step you take against it. Everything you do, every action you take, should always be moving you closer to your objective.

Know your audience. So just who is this person you’re going to convince to “buy” your idea? You had better know more than a name. How old are they? How long have they been in their current job? Are they casual or formal, liberal or conservative? How long have they worked in their industry? Where did they work in the past? Are they on the rise in their career, or on the decline? The more you know about the person or people doing the "buying," the better your chance of making a meaningful connection with them. How do you find out? Ask. Engage them in conversation, or casually ask a few questions of an assistant. Google them. Ask others in the same industry. Become a detective (as we've discussed before), and you just might uncover the clue that will get you one step closer to success.

Understand their needs. One of the great paradoxes of success is, in order to get what you want, you have to give someone else what they want. How can you do that if you don’t know what that is? If you’ve already gained an understanding of the people you’ll be interfacing with, you’re halfway there. Now you have to probe deeper. WWhat are their specific needs? What is their “pain?” In other words, what problems are they trying to solve, and how can you help solve it? The better you understand the needs of your “audience,” the better you can position yourself and the qualities you bring to the table as the answer to their prayers.

Create your campaign. Here’s where it gets fun and interesting, and where all your research pays off. Just as if you were putting together a puzzle, you can now take the information you’ve gathered and craft a meaningful, persuasive, memorable “campaign” to sell your audience on your ideas. Remember, your message begins with your very first communication and continues at every subsequent encounter. Consider carefully what you say, how you say it, how you look, your attitude and tone of voice, your energy level. Every single element should be chosen consciously to be appealing and valuable to your audience, and move you closer to your objective!

Here’s a fact you must always remember: you will never get what you want unless you can convince someone to give it to you.

By carefully choosing each step you take, you will make that all important connection. Then you and your “audience” will come out winners!