It’s out there for everyone to see: Apple has a problem.  Maybe lots of them.

This week, Apple again showed why investors think that the company is a perennial performer.  By creating a brilliant smoke screen for investors, Apple bought time at its annual Product Unveiling to, well, actually do something innovative somewhere down the road.

This is the oldest trick in the Book of Sales as written by John Q. Huckster. When profit projections show consumers are getting over you and doubting your future, you hide it from investors with flash and slight of hand.  True, your developers have no new ideas. True, you lack the secrecy and security required for The Big Buzz to support you.  True, you are struggling over the loss of the operational and sales heart and soul of your organization.  So, you need one little pill that hides those symptoms when you face the public.

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Customer Service is alive and well and she lives in Arizona. Customer Service’s name is Ellen and she works for American Express Platinum Travel Services.

 

As you may imagine, as president of four international service companies, I travel a lot and my most basic requirement is that I have backup on those occasions when I might run into a problem while far from home.

 

My path crossed with Ellen’s four years ago. I had called Amex to make a business air and hotel reservation. While the agent was nice enough and was very helpful the first time I used her, she simply was unresponsive to my calls and emails the next two times I called. After leaving four or five messages, on the next go around, I simply pushed “0” for “an agent who is available to assist you.”

 

That agent was Ellen. (more…)

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It’s easy to claim your product, service or program is the best. I’m also sure you can prove it. But what if your target doesn’t care about how well you do your job?

In my opinion, the best approach is to create a link between what your brand stands for and the positive emotions of the target. Instead of overstating your greatness, find out who uses your work of art, where they use it, and why.

It sounds easy, but it’s quite challenging. Before you identify those emotions, equip yourself with correct data and always conduct proper research.

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