Does the fact that Jobs could tell the story so well reflect why they built things we love?
How Apple tells the story gives us some insight into how they think – and we can learn more than just how to tell our story. Because
Mattr is focused on giving you the ammo to craft a great story I looked at the original iPhone and Blackberry Z product launches.The differences were startling.
The 3 ingredients of a Steve Jobs story
His outline was the one that has worked since..forever: Life was bad, then we came along, then it was super. Repeat.
Except that he does it feature-by-feature, a roller coaster that’s a blast to ride – if you’re not a competitor. If you’re Blackberry, watching a launch must have made their stomachs heave.
1. He talked to his market
Jobs addressed everyone who could use a smartphone. Thorsten Heins addressed Blackberry’s employees. For Blackberry, customers came after employees, developers, carriers, and retailers.
Jobs also talked to you like he’s in your kitchen sharing a bottle of wine:
Jobs: “Styluses? Yuck! You don’t know where to put them, they get lost…”
As opposed to Thorsten Heins, who must have read from the Powerpoint slide in his head:
Heins: “This device aggregates information for me intuitively.”
2. He reminded us of Apple’s enormous success
Jobs took you back to the Macintosh, the iPod, even the first laptop. Then he reminded you how many they sold. You see they were very successful. Blackberry, even at the time of this launch in January, was still being used by a huge percentage of some segments. They basically invented the first commercial smartphone. Blackberry has cred, but didn’t remind us.
3. He skipped the features and focused on the benefits
Rather than listing out the processing capability of the device, or the screen size, or specs of the touchscreen technology, Jobs took the shortcut to benefits. Compare:
See what I mean? Jobs’ features aren’t really features; they’re the benefits. They also happen to be the things we had been complaining about smartphones.
To Sum it up
Zeroing in on your market is pretty easy but takes discipline. Reminding your listeners or readers of your success can be a bit harder, but focus on the part where you shine. And to shortcut to the benefits takes some practice but you can do it.
When you’re composing in your head as you speak, or on paper, keep asking yourself this question from the point of view of your customer:
Your customer: “But what can I do with this feature?”
About Mattr
Segment your audience in hours – not weeks or months – all without asking questions. Craft campaigns and products that appeal to their personalities and unique interests.