Apple finally stops overreaching for ‘switchers’ and goes for ‘adders’ instead
Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 02:16 PM ESTThe following article was originally published on MacDailyNews on April 30, 2003. We found it quite an interesting read, especially knowing what we know (Mac mini) today:
By SteveJack
One thing you can be fairly well assured of when it comes to Apple is that they'll tend to overreach no matter what they're doing. Whether it's eliminating floppy drives in 1998 (or, for that matter, being the first personal computer to introduce the 3.5-inch floppy back in 1984), debuting shaky handwriting recognition too early with the Newton, killing off every CRT display they had, unveiling Mac OS X before their hardware offerings could really handle Aqua's Quartz windowing system, or their latest overreach, the "Switch" campaign.
Apple's "Switch" campaign is a collection of television, print, and web ads designed to get "the other 95%" to switch from Windows PCs to Macintosh. Real people like Janie Porche, who explains how her PowerBook "saved Christmas" when her father's Windows PC failed to import the family's digital photos. Ellen Feiss, famously bleary-eyed while under the influence of sinus medication, describes how the family PC ate half of the paper she was writing amidst a frantic series of unintelligible "beeps." Veterinarian Mark Gibson explains how his frustration with Windows reliability drove him to create a Mac network for his practice. Even Windows LAN Administrator Aaron Adams who tells the world, "I deal with Windows all day, and when I'm tired of fighting with that, I come home to a Macintosh that works." These ads show that Apple is serious about getting people to drop Windows and switch to Mac.
Apple's website very prominently features a "Switch" section (http://www.apple.com/switch/) with pages and pages of QuickTime ads, emails from switchers, a step-by-step guide for switching from a Windows PC to a Mac, and of course, how to buy. The whole idea is tied into Apple's growing network of Apple Retail Stores, located in upscale shopping centers throughout the U.S. (http://www.apple.com/retail/). Launched in May 2001, with the slogan, "5% down, 95% to go," the Apple Stores currently number over 50 stores in 24 U.S. states, with more opening each month.
The concept seems sound; open stores in high-traffic areas, get people inside the clean, museum-like atmosphere, let them touch the sleekly-designed machines, ask questions of a knowledgeable staff, see hundreds of Mac software titles, and show them why a Mac will make their lives easier. After all, it takes a bit longer than a 30-second television ad or a magazine ad to show potential customers why they should want a Mac.
The issue is Apple's overreaching focus on switching. As usual, Apple shoots for the moon, when they could much more easily hit their target by simply asking people to become "Adders," not "Switchers." Why implore computer users to switch, when asking them to add a Mac to their computing arsenal would accomplish exactly the same effect Apple desires; to sell more Macs? Apple's whole "Switch" concept is basically about getting rid of your Windows PC, moving your files to a new Mac, and how your computing life will be wonderful from there on out.
Unfortunately, Apple seems to disregard the learning curve, however slight, and the very real trepidation that switching to a totally new type of computer entails for the average user. Most people using PC's are conditioned from Windows itself to be leery of a computer and pretty scared they might "mess it all up." I call it "The Windows Experience." Apple, of course, is comprised mainly of Mac users; people who are used to installing shareware and freeware apps with abandon and chucking them in the Trash routinely. Mac users aren't really scared of computers because Macs rarely have viruses and never suddenly cease all activity to announce they need xyz123q.dll, demand insertion of the original disk that doesn't exist, or regale them with a beautiful blue screen. Windows users, average people, not geeks, are more scared of their computers than most people, especially Apple's Mac people, seem to realize.
John and Jane Doe would be much more receptive, I think, to being asked to skip a turn in the endless PC upgrade cycle and add an iBook or iMac to their computing lives instead. People are very cautious with computer purchases, still a relatively high-ticket item, and asking them to abandon their Windows PC cold-turkey is asking a bit too much. Why not encourage people to keep the safety blanket of their PC around, while showing them how easily they can connect it to a Mac, exchange Office documents seamlessly, and learn the Mac at their own pace?
Apple should continue pushing their technology forward with innovative ideas, but ratchet that ambition back to attainable levels when it comes to marketing. Asking people to switch is asking too much. Asking them to add a Mac is not. Once Apple gets them to add that Mac, they've won. In a matter of weeks, a month at most, they'll switch on their own.
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer and a regular contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.
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Isn't the Mac mini really for switchers not adders?
I have a dell tower, monitor, keyboard and mouse. I detach the tower, throw it in the garbage and replace it with a mac mini. Voila! I'm a switcher.