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JULY 8, 2004
By Alex Salkever A Six-Step Plan for Apple [Page 2 of 2] 4) Sell that soap Sometimes it's good to take a page out of a competitor's playbook. Dell (DELL ) had an interesting marketing ploy with its offer to pay a $100 bounty for any iPod brought in by a customer buying Dell's own digital music player, the DJ. Steve, you can top that. Offer a $200 bounty on a PC exchanged for a new iMac or iBook. Buyers get the $200 discount only if they bring a PC that's two years old or less. And they must have a valid receipt. Why not offer that discount on a million Macs? That could cost Apple up to $200 million -- hardly chump change. But the marketing outlay would barely dent Apple's $4.8 billion hoard of cash and short-term investments. What's more, you would be more likely to attract true switchers seeking entry-level devices rather than geeks who play both sides of the fence and hanker for PowerBooks or G5 PowerMacs. Think of the news coverage such an offer might generate. You can't pay for that kind of buzz. 5) Sell that soap II Why not offer all Mac buyers a try-and-buy program much like what some Apple resellers are offering to purchasers of high-end Xserve units. The geeks who fork over $3,000 or so for the Xserve can have a couple of weeks to test-drive these babies, depending on the vendor. If they aren't satisfied, they can return them and get a full refund. That's unheard of in the computer business. I believe such a tactic with iMacs and iBooks would play well, too. Show Joe Schmo's ma, who wants to use the PC only to see pictures of her grandson, how much you care about her. Show her how much confidence you have in your products. And aren't they way better looking than a Dell? Everyone already knows what a Mac is, as evidenced by Apple's consistently sky-high brand-recognition ratings. Take it to the next level. 6) Sell security I have yet to see an Apple ad campaign playing up the fact that Macs remain largely virus-free. As each week brings us yet another Microsoft (MSFT ) critical alert, the computing masses have grown weary of updating, updating, and updating again their operating systems, browsers, and any other software vulnerable to hackers. Most don't want to have to think about their computers being violated, let alone navigate the arcana of security software, firewalls, and antivirus systems. The latest round of attacks on Microsoft software is terrifying. If using a Mac means servers in Russia are less likely to harvest my passwords and offer my identity to the highest bidder, I think that's an offer I'd like to hear more about. So there you have it. I can't say my prescription is guaranteed to flip the switch. But I might suggest you enact my plan at around the same time you launch your much anticipated new iMac line. If you want me to head your marketing department or even do a guest consulting gig in exchange for some autographed T-shirts, you know where to find me. In the meantime, I'll just keep writing columns.
 Salkever is Technology editor for BusinessWeek Online. Follow his Byte of the Apple column, only on BW Online Edited by Douglas Harbrecht
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