On September 12, Apple made the announcement heard around the world – the iPhone 5 was on its way. Not only that, but Apple planned this to be their fastest product launch from announcement-to-availability ever. “Hooray!” shouted millions of potential customers of this great new technology. “Hooray?” shouted Apple’s wireless carrier partners, who had about the same amount of notice as the general public and were immediately handling customer inquiries about the just-announced product release.
This sort of commando release has unintended consequences to the customer experience. It seems ideal to have a fast and well-coordinated product launch to show it can be done. However, consider that Apple’s Steve Jobs was a notorious planner and very careful about every aspect of a product’s impact on the customer. He famously took weeks to decide on the right color for Mac computer’s shell and obsessed with the original iPhone’s packaging. A shorted product release timeline combined with covert product features would definitely put the wireless carriers in a difficult position.
As a result, all customer touch points were appropriately staffed for the days of the Apple announcements, as well as around product availability. Product information was rapidly shared to front-line team members via FAQs, Job Aids and rapid training sessions. Upgrade options were available, although they may appear to be punitive (per Apple policy), but still give customers an option to purchase the latest technology. And companies ensured all channels were working in concert to deliver a consistent message on product availability, pricing, and general phone support.
In the end, customers continue as raving fans for yet another Apple product. And this must be true, as have you seen a loyal IBM customer put a logo-sticker on their car?
Brian Powers
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