Happy iPhone 6 Day!
Yes today is iPhone6day as everyone on any social network is well aware. Living in Arizona the chore of waiting in line overnight is quiet comfortable compared to those back east in heavy coats and rain. This wasn’t my first time waiting for an Apple product as an apple fan and Mac Beta tester as I’ll explain the experience is a geek version of Christmas morning.
Last night as I was camping out or should I say sitting in a camping chair on the concrete, I took the opportunity to survey those in line, as they are a community of fans and a loyal customer demographic that I was hoping to learn from! As I sit here typing this on my iPhone5S counting down the last hour of my wait I wanted to share what I learned prior to getting my iPhone6plus.
Influence comes in all shapes and sizes!
- Talked to a Mom and son in line and the Mom said she got her sons old phone even though she didn’t want it. It wasn’t until her grandchildren started playing with the device did she realize she wanted a new version so she could play along with them.
- One gentlemen said he came into the Apple Store for the first time today and the nice lady in the store explained to him all the features and how much more he could do compared to his current flip phone, so rather than going home he walked outside and jumped in line.
Customer Experience includes wow factor. - I found two people using android devices and asked why they were switching to an Iphone and it was because all their friends have them and they felt left out of the conversation not being able to use the same apps and in their group of friends the iPhone was a status symbol.
- Another Small Business Owner stated that having the latest and greatest Apple device gave him instant credibility as someone who was connected and innovative although he admitted he really only uses it for texting and the Chive App!
Happy current customers become loyal and repeat buyers.
- Of all the people who had an iPhone5 or 5S when asked if they were upgrading because they didn’t like their current phone, not one person said yes, rather the phone worked perfectly fine but they wanted the latest and greatest from Apple.
- Those with iPhones also stated they didn’t even think about switching to a different device as they didn’t know enough about the apps available or the devices other companies had and being able to come to the Apple Store and get face to face customer services couldn’t be matched.
Customers are connected and smarter but not that much smarter?
- 5 hours into camping out, someone realizes the AppleWatch isn’t what we were waiting in line for!
- Quote from a customer in line: “I decided to pay the upgrade fee because I wanted a different color even though I always use a case!”
- Someone posted on Craigslist that they had 12 tickets for sale in the front of the line and put the phone number to call. Apple store manager gave that number a call.
Focus on Creating New & Unique Customer Experiences!
- The unboxing of all Apple products is an exciting experience! Yes unboxing something became an event thanks to the attention to detail and the focus on making the first view of your new product an amazing one not a box full of wrapping or styrofoam peanuts! (Video below courtesy of @ChrisVoss & The Chris Voss Show)
- Product Releases and Developer Conferences are like holiday’s for Apple Customers and they are a time the Apple community comes together to celebrate!
- The idea of camping out with your community of fans overnight so you can give your money to Apple is an experience every Apple Store around the world supports and it doesn’t matter if you think its crazy or not, 300+ people line-up at every store at every product release.
So I don’t care if you like the Apple or not, or if you think I was crazy for camping out for the 4th time. Apple has empowered, invested in and lead a community (some say cult) of fans because they care about the EXPERIENCE just as much as the products and services they provide.
– As you can see in the pictures and video below I upgraded from an iPhone 5S to and iPhone6plus in the hope of it also becoming a true “Phablet” and replacing the iPadmini that I have and love. I will share my thoughts and review of my new gadget I acquired via camping-out next week after having a weekend of testing and tweaking!
