The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty Read Online Free Page B

Johnson. “So it was easy. Enriching lives. That’s what Apple had been doing for thirty years.”
    When a company starts with a vision such as “enriching lives,” magical things begin to happen. For Apple, “enriching lives” meant offering one-to-one training and group workshops for people who wanted to release their inner Scorsese, directing and editing their own movies, publishing their family memories, or dreaming of becoming rock stars. Steve Jobs said that people didn’t want to buy computers; they wanted to know what they could do with those computers. Jobs understood that his customers didn’t want to walk out of a store with a box. They wanted to leave with a tool to help them fulfill their dreams.
    After dealing with Apple, you feel it’s not like Apple has the best customer service, but Apple is the only company that has customer service.
    —Rohit A.

The Devil’s in the Details, but Success Comes from Above
     
    Steve Jobs was fanatical about the details of the customer experience. Jobs once called an executive who worked for an Apple partner and asked, “Are you mad at your customers?” The executive had spoken to Jobs before, so he wasn’t surprised that Jobs had called. He was taken aback by the question, however. “We’re not mad at our customers at all,” he replied. “Then why does your disclosure statement sound so angry?” Steve Jobs asked. “You should be more friendly to your customers at every touchpoint.”
    Steve Jobs had reviewed every line of the “terms and conditions” agreement that most customers check or sign, but never read. It mattered to him. The screens of notebook computers in Apple stores are positioned at ninety-degree angles to force customers to reposition the screen to interact with the product. Positions matter. Apple employees wear blue shirts to stand out in crowded stores. Colors matter. Customers are greeted within ten seconds and ten feet of walking through the door. Greetings matter. Nothing about the customer experience is taken for granted. Not one thing. Details mean everything in the Apple experience, and Apple studies everything about the customer interaction to learn, refine, and improve. But while the “devil’s in the details,” an innovative customer experience cannot happen in the absence of a loftier goal, an inspiring vision that attracts evangelists and reveals every ounce of your creativity and potential. Steve Jobs and Ron Johnson had a vision—to enrich lives. What’s yours?
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    1. Find inspiration outside your industry. Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is connecting things.” He meant that creativity comes from connecting ideas from different fields and applying those ideas to your company.
    2. Ask meaningful questions. Steve Jobs asked, “What would the Four Seasons of retail look like?” That’s an intriguing question that sparks creative answers.
    3. Craft a vision statement. Remember, a vision is not a mission statement. A mission statement is about “us”; a vision is about “them.” What are you going to do for your customers? Make sure your vision is bold, specific, concise, and consistently communicated.
     

CHAPTER 2
     

Hire for Smiles
     
    You can dream, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.
     
    —Walt Disney
     
    T he ideal Apple Store candidate knows a little about computers and a lot about people. Read the previous sentence again because it tells you everything you need to know about hiring exceptional people who will exceed the customers’ expectations again and again. One Apple hiring manager told me he would prefer to hire a teacher who doesn’t know computers instead of a computer expert who can’t teach. Hiring the right people allows Apple managers to lead rather than dictate or manage.
    Apple doesn’t hire for technical knowledge. It hires for personality. Apple celebrates the diversity of the world