Allister Heath’s account Friday in the Telegraph of Tim Cook’s visit to an Apple Store in London reminds me of the free advice Above Avalon’ s Neil Cybart gave last month about how to sell the Apple Watch.
People are overthinking it, he says. This talk about monitoring heart rates or opening car doors — two things Cook mentioned Friday — has its place. But ticking off a list of use cases, says Cybart, is not the marketing message that will sell the thing.
According to Cybart, Apple’s customers will buy the Watch because:
- It’s a cool watch. The Apple Watch is a watch with a customizable digital face and a selection of interchangeable bands.
- It looks nice. The Apple Watch has a clean, fresh, design that strikes a balance between luxury and technology.
- It’s made by Apple. The Apple Watch is designed in California by the same company that is responsible for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
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Over the past few months,” says Cybart, “I’ve learned to change the way I explain Apple Watch to friends and family. Instead of starting out with a list of reasons why they may enjoy an Apple Watch, I now begin with a pretty simply explanation:
“Apple is making a watch with customizable faces and bands.
“I then let that person respond, and depending on their answer, I mention how Apple Watch can serve as a communication device, a health and fitness tracker, or a mobile payment facilitator. As a result, I now get a much more open response from people that want to see and learn more about Apple Watch.”
Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter at @philiped. Read his Apple AAPL coverage at coins2day.com/ped or subscribe via his RSS feed.