Marketing Lessons From Apples iPod

Apple Computer just announced that their earnings from the last quarter more than quadrupled mainly due to robust holiday sales of the iPod digital music player. More than 10 million iPods have been sold since it was introduced in 2001.

There are some important marketing lessons to be learned from all this. First of all, Apple has created a product for a hungry market that has the financial means to purchase it even with the relatively high price point. If you find a hot and hungry market, create a product for it and you are almost guaranteed to succeed.

Lesson #1: Find a hot and hungry market

Ever since the introduction of the MP3 file format, we have seen the popularity of converting songs from a CD so that they can be stored on the computer. Even the Napster episode showed us that there is a huge market for a device like the iPod.

Here's the summary of the first lesson - don't sell shovels to fishermen and fishing poles to gold miners. Rather, sell the shovels to gold miners and the fishing poles to fishermen. Create a product that already has an existing market.

Lesson #2: Create different versions

Now Apple just announced the introduction of the iPod Shuffle - a lower-priced version of the iPod with flash memory instead of hard drive storage.

This strategy is called versioning.

First create a product that sells. Then create another version of the product for a different market segment. In this case, Apple first came up with a more expensive product and followed it up with a cheaper product.

Lesson #3: Create the halo effect

The halo effect is essentially this: increasing sales of one popular product will generate more sales for your other existing products. In this case, the tremendous popularity of the iPod has created enough buzz that more people are buying Macs.

In the past, Macs have made inroads only to a small segment of the market. But now, we're likely to see Apple increase its market share of personal computers in the months to come.

So whatever you are selling, there are definitely some general marketing lessons to be learned from the success of the iPod. Think about it the next time you use your iPod.

Hock Ng is the editor of The Marketing Tools Review, an online newsletter highlighting the latest marketing tools and strategies, especially for internet marketers. To find out more, visit: http://www.marketing-tools-review.com

---

Data Map Charting for Mobile Businesses

As we study the demographic regional variations for small service... Read More

Two Steps to Improving Your Marketing Success

Since the human brain seems to be able to focus... Read More

The Advantage to Buying Promotional Products Online

Buying your promotional products and corporate apparel online provides five... Read More

Mortgage Broker Marketing - Sell Problems, Not Solutions

Are your marketing messages to Realtors® guilty of these promises?-... Read More

Cause-Related Marketing

Altruism. Corporate responsibility. Philanthropy. These are often used to describe... Read More

Practical Advice to Generate Successful Campaigns Using Merged Lists

You could end up with poor results when designing a... Read More

Guide to a Profitable Marketing Mix

You may have heard the term Marketing Mix used in... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Hurricane

I step outside my back door and look at some... Read More

What Your Customers Want

Your customers don't know what they want. And to assume... Read More

Do You Get Attention With Your 30-Second Introduction?

I went to a networking event the other day where... Read More

The Illusion of Print Mail Services

If ever there was a lazy way to easy profits... Read More

Fundraising Letter Envelopes: How To Make Them Irresistible

Readers spend only a few seconds deciding the fate of... Read More

Professional Marketing

Have you looked for marketing advice on the internet recently?... Read More

Marketing Hat for Graphic Designers or Wannabe?s

Many people think that the quality of any graphic design... Read More

Using a Marketing Calendar Template

Owning a small business isn't easy, especially if you are... Read More

Mortgage Originator Marketing ? Differentiate or Die

One of the best ways to attract more clients is... Read More

Marketing Yourself and Your Business to Thriving!

We all watch the commercials on TV. We hear them... Read More

2 Little Words That Work Marketing Magic

In his classic best-seller, "How To Win Friends And Influence... Read More

4 Alternative Ways To Gain Lifetime Customers

You will always have more people that turn down your... Read More

The Death of Product Packaging as We Know It.

It used to be you that if you had a... Read More

Viral Marketing

Viral marketing involves the use of surf-exchanges, and if you... Read More

6 Article Marketing Smarts: How To Get More Reprints And Exposure

Article marketing is the latest buzzword for marketers... Read More

How to Put Law & Order into Marketing Your Legal Practice

First in a series of three articlesRegardless of your law... Read More

Build Your Business Through Networking

Here's one of the most important success principles you'll ever... Read More

How to Take Your Law Firm to the Next Level

How to Take Your Law Firm to the Next Level... Read More

7 Marketing Lessons I Learned From the Muscleheads at Golds Gym

Can I share a secret with you?I love working out.... Read More

Full Color Postcard Marketing: 7 Reasons Why They?ve Become the New Direct Mail

The most crucial aspect of having a high response rate... Read More

Marketing Strategy - Whats Your System?

Where Do Most of Your Clients Come From?Is it from... Read More

Using Alternative Media to Generate More Customers

Last week I received a very nice thank you gift... Read More

Direct Mail Marketing Done Correctly, Cannot Fail

So how do you do it?Direct mail marketing. When it... Read More

Consider Consumer Psychology

In your marketing efforts, be they on or offline, it's... Read More

Mail Can Make You Money

Are you still waiting for business to turn around before... Read More

Trade Show Promotions That Are Memorable

If you have been to expos and trade shows as... Read More