What Simple Polls Can Tell You

What Simple Polls Can Tell You

Blog

I’m sitting at a Starbucks getting ready to do some client work. I had already picked up my little dried fruit snacks and fruit drink. Ironically no coffee since I don’t want to make it back to back late night, so that’s why I chose the fruit juice instead. Upon signing in I am brought to a quick pop-up window for a poll that I am fairly used to when coming here.

What’s different about this poll among others I’ve participated before was this question that resonated a lot closer to me as an internet creative than others before. This one asked what I craved more, internet or coffee. Normally I’d quickly choose my poll answer and continue about my business. Sometimes I’d check the answers to see how much of a difference in range it could be. This time I was kind of amazed that it was an even draw for the answers.

Over forty-seven thousand people answered this poll and it was even? Really? That’s strange and amazing to me at the same time. I’ve never really thought of one without the other, but clearly people do and both are equally important to many.

I haven’t used a poll for my own gain in my reach or business knowledge yet. There’s a bunch of good sites out there that offer good polls from free to premium like Google Forms and Survey Monkey, but for some reason I haven’t tried. I can’t tell you why I haven’t, but I’ll say it’s mostly due to laziness and lack of priority among other things. Meh, I’m just being honest. However the amount of data that I’d be able to get even if ten people out of 30 participated in my poll.

Questions could be:

  • Do you prefer the ability to make updates to your website on your own, or would you pay a small fee to have a web designer do them for you so you can save time?
  • Do you prefer having professional photos all digital, or would you pay to have some prints as well as have some digital?

I know those are questions I ask potential clients from time to time, but I don’t track it, and I certainly can’t identify a trend. Could be the way I ask or whom I ask I suppose. Still if you could create a poll right now, what would you ask? What would you like to know about your services or product or website that you don’t really know full feedback about? Lets talk about it in the comments below. Oh, and I chose internet!

Apple Gets a Gold Star in Marketing

Blog, Marketing, Product Reviews

IPhone 5cYes it’s here – the apple of everyone’s eye yesterday and today, is Apple’s new iPhone 5S and 5c. And once again, Apple gets an gold star for creating strong marketing buzz and panting anticipation in the mobile device marketplace.  Radio, TV, or Internet – news media outlets across the globe are all busy buzzing around Apples latest technological appendage  and its new iOS7.  Just when you think they’ve outdone themselves with the iPhone 4S operating system and the introduction of Siri, they one up (if not ten) themselves.  So let’s look at the multifaceted dimensions of the Apple’s winning marketing strategies.

Gold StarMarketing the Technology and Software: Apple refuses to be put in a pile of seconds (fruit picking term), knowing their consumer base well and leading this campaign with the technological improvements.  Offering a synchronized and integrated user experience across all features, the new iOS7 takes multitasking to a whole new level!  Techies and mobile junkies are going to love the new A7 64-bit chip, making the device’s CPU and graphics 2x faster than the iPhone 5.  For the snappy Instagram’er, the  iOS 7 is designed with multiple enhancements to take advantage of the best photo ops. They even upgraded Siri – I wonder if she sounds like Beyonce?

Gold StarMarketing the Esthetics –  Apple has gone above and beyond in marketing the beautiful color options, as well as, the structural elements.  Almost all media outlets have spoken about the product and technology, and as well, the beautiful color options and sleek design.  As soon as you log into Apple’s site, you are hit with this on-screen color explosion that causes one to pause.  I did – it was just that engaging!  What you also see is a link to the key-note speaker which after just a few seconds – you can tell that the company is hearing its consumer groups.  Much fun also, is this video, where you get the whole life cycle of the product in a comprehensible, down-to-earth manner.

Gold StarMarketing the Security: Although the Fall may be Macintosh picking season, Apple has seemingly found a solution to its own Apple picking problem and it’s WOW’ing the digital marketplace.  Thievery of its iPhones, commonly referred to as “Apple Picking,” has been a big problem over the years for this mobile technology powerhouse.  So Apple has implemented Touch ID, a new fingerprint authentication feature (also known as biometric coding) into the iPhone 5S, making it less appealing and almost worthless to those with sticky fingers.  They get my thumbs up, knowing that a fingerprint can also approve purchases from iTunes or the App Store.

Gold StarMarketing the Price Points: The bean counters have taken notice and Apple is now marketing to everyone –  siding with consumers who want the product but are limited economically.  Who can beat the 4-inch Retina display, 8-megapixel rear camera (front facing too) and A6 processor with 16GB for only $99?  This is smart marketing for all those on limited budgets and feeling the economic pinch.  As for those who want Gold Member status, you’ll love the sleek gold tone version that’s just a month’s worth of Starbucks runs.  Apple has done a great job marketing both mobile phone options simultaneously, to widen the net for capturing potential and faithful consumers with a strong economical hook.  Thanks Apple for advancing mobile technology once gain and giving us better technology for less.

Gold StarMarketing to the Following: By offering 2 options, Apple captures not only its faithful following who could care less about the price, but also those who haven’t bitten the iPhone apple just yet.  Despite the global recession, historically Apple has made no apologies for their high-end products.  However, offering a cheaper alternative, one could surmise that the time and sales reports may be reflecting an undeniable truth. Build it better, offer it cheaper and more will come.  Kudos to them for acknowledging this and casting a wider net beyond just their faithful following to the soon-to-be’s.

So, as you can see, Apple is strongly considering its consumer’s input and is addressing those needs esthetically and technologically.  It’s obvious that they have the fingers on the pulse of their marketplace and following.  They continue to be pioneers and leaders, again setting a gold standard in strong, strategic planning and successful implementation.