Put two cell phones side by side – CP1 and CP2. CP1 is better than CP2 – higher quality camera, faster processor, lighter, longer battery life, greater functionality. Both have access to the same apps (or near enough) and both can be synchronized and backed up in an easy, convenient manner. Size is similar, as is price, as is appearance and structure.
The decision is easy right? You choose the iPhone, regardless of if the iPhone is CP1 or CP2.
Of 100 colleagues, 65 of them said they would choose the iPhone because it is ‘better’. When asked to elaborate on what ‘better’ meant, the majority of those 65 respondents replied with a round-about-way of saying ‘just is’.
They were saying Passion. Logic is out the window and the same passion that drives the love for Manchester United FC, the New York Yankees or Collingwood AFC drives the love for iDevices.
There are two ways you can own followers – be the sole provider of a product or service giving the end user no choice, or, derive such passion that by simply adding another lens to a smart phone camera the world stands and applauds.
I have read some stupid articles about how iFollowers display characteristics of cult followers. There is no trickery, no false hope, no manipulation or mind washing (well, no more than any other consumer brand). It is… love. It is love for success, it is love for sex appeal, it is love for functionality, it is love for simplicity, it is love for reliability. It is love for loyalty.
On May five when the world was advised of Steve Jobs’ passing, the dank mood that is usually reserved for the passing of highly respected world leaders, philanthropists and entertainers settled upon the greater populous. You could argue that he was each of these even if he was in its barest form, merely the brains behind an electronic manufacturer.
He became a stakeholder in our lives. He brought the world a better way to go about our daily grind.
