Last week I wrote an unusual article about revolutionary marketing: how to create an untapped market for your business. In it, I laid out the rationale for this kind of marketing which basically means going against the market.

Rather than compete by focusing on meeting the needs of today, carve out a new market for yourself by focusing on meeting the needs of tomorrow. If you haven’t yet, make sure you read it, click here.

In continuing this series on revolutionary marketing, I present to you the blueprint for going against the market profitably.

 

Revolutionary Marketing: Why Going AGAINST The Market Is PROFITABLE

If I were asked to state the very essence of entrepreneurship in its most basic form, I would say its delivering change [innovation]. The task of entrepreneurs is to move humanity forward. The world could continue as it has always been but for the existence of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are creative trouble makers; they make change happen whether the world wants it or not!

Revolutionary marketing is exactly what it is; causing profitable trouble in the market. The classy title for this is innovation. But let’s just call it as it is because anything that is against the norm is big trouble for the existing competition. And in the history of today’s business, perhaps one company stands tall as the biggest trouble maker; Apple.

Apple is riding high by causing trouble in the market. The company sold 67 million iPads in the first two years, whereas it took three years to sell that many iPhones, five years to sell that many iPods and 24 years to sell that many Macs. They seem to have mastered the art of profitably causing trouble in every industry they enter; from the music industry [iPod and iTunes], to the movie industry [Pixar], the computing industry [iMac, iPad, MacPro], the mobile industry [iPhone], and now the television industry [iTV].

How To Market Innovation Like Apple

 

• Define WHY You Exist [Purpose]

All companies are in business, but not all companies know why they are in business.  For some the why is the money, the majority of companies belong to this category. And for a few, the why is the gap they want to fill in the world/market, the change they want to deliver, the contribution they want to make, the problem they want to solve.

Apple has great vision and focus. They know exactly why they exist. The company creates products that solve a problem, and they do what needs to be done to solve that problem and nothing more. The creation of products to solve simple everyday problems is a significant part of Apple’s success story. Every single Apple product complements and completes each other.

Get an iPod, and you can download content via iTunes and access them though iCloud and use that to move content to iPad or other devices. They sort of control over the entire user experience or process, from hardware to software, and this strengthens customer loyalty and provide lock-in. You cannot leave Apple once you’re in!

 

• Stand For Something [Values]

There’s no way you will ever succeed in business if your strategy revolves around being like others. To win in business, you’ve got to be prepared to go against the market and going against the market demands innovation. Standing for something is how you develop the required guts market your innovation.

According to Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook, the company’s business philosophy is summarized below;

• We believe that we’re on the face of the Earth to make great products.

• We believe in the simple, not the complex.

• We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.

• We participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.

• We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.

• We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.

• We don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change.

 

 

• Think Different [Strategy]

“Here’s To The Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world – are the ones who DO!”

Here’s the video clip of “Think Different” as narrated by Steve Jobs himself in 1997, make sure you watch it!

Apple has defied what is normally expected of businesses as expressed through their core philosophy, which is; that the user doesn’t always know what they want. According to legendary founder Steve Jobs; “it’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

They looked at the technology industry, they saw which direction everyone was going, and they ran the opposite direction, without looking back. The production of the Mac is based on a vertical integration model in that Apple facilitates all aspects of its hardware and creates its own operating system [software] that is pre-installed on all Mac computers.

This is in contrast to most IBM PC compatibles, where multiple sellers create and integrate hardware intended to run another company’s operating software. Where others focus on one aspect of the equation, Apple focuses on the entire product, and it shows. Today, one single look at Apple’s stock price will tell you that going against the market is a profitable decision to make!

 

• Create Your Own Tribe [Community]

You don’t need a crowd [everyone] to start a revolution; all you need is a tribe [community]. No revolution was ever started by the majority; all revolution begins with a minority.

So if you are going to revolutionize the market, you can’t start with everyone. Everyone is not going to get the change you are trying to make, so don’t even bother. Rather, focus on raising your own tribe, a community of like minds.

You see, in every market, the majority are the masses, they don’t lead change because they don’t have a mind of their own, they are followers. The minority are the early adopters, they don’t follow, they lead change because they have a mind of their own. Start your revolution with them!

Apple has been doing this from their early years in business; they have never tried to please everyone. In 1984, in the first advert for the Macintosh computer, to announce to the world that they are not for everyone, they boldly declared; on January 24^th, Apple computer will introduce the Macintosh. And you will see why 1984, won’t be like “1984”!

 

Watch the Video, truly revolutionary!

The introduction of every Apple product has always been first to the tribe in a strictly by invitation press conference. This has become the mother of all product launches because of the element of secrecy adopted by Apple. The mere fact that not everyone gets to see their new products drives the whole market crazy. And guess what? The demand skyrockets because the masses want to keep up with the early adopters.

Over to you!

Here’s the reality, if you are not causing a market revolution, then be prepared for a market extinction!

So, how are you revolutionizing your market? What change are you delivering? What trouble are you profitably causing?

What other ways besides those listed above can one adopt in marketing innovation?

 

What specific lessons did you acquire from reading this and what specific ways do you intend to apply the lesson in your business?

 

Can’t wait to hear from you!