3 Lessons Siri Can Teach You About Marketing
Never Underestimate the Value of Fun
As is clear from posts like Top 10 Funniest Questions to Ask Siri, consumers love to have fun with Siri, and it’s not like Siri is a lone case. Plenty of other apps and products have little or no usage beyond fun, so it’s not a bad idea to prepare yourself for the reality that people may want to get silly with your product.
The “Pull My Finger” app helps further the point. Initially rejected by Apple for “limited utility,” “Pull My Finger” was approved in 2008 and immediately started raking in the cash – more than 50,000 downloads in one week, according to Wikipedia. And with Apple taking 30% off the top of every sale, it seems like investing in farty fun wasn’t a bad idea after all.
Still skeptical? Here’s another example. Perhaps you’ve heard of Twitter? It’s kind of popular these days, but early on, some people complained that Twitter wasn’t “useful.” Twitter’s response: “Well, neither is ice cream. Should we ban ice cream and all joy?”
Names Matter
If you’re in the know, then you probably realize that Siri was purchased by Apple in 2010 and came ready-made with a name. That said, Apple likely could have renamed their personal helper iAssistant or some other iVariation. But they didn’t, and that was a brilliant choice.
If Apple had released iAssistant, do you think we’d have such widespread media focus on it? Would we have YouTube duets and headlines like “Siri Is One Funny Lady”? When Apple kept Siri’s human name, it subtly told customers how to treat it: like a person, and that’s just what people have done.
A Woman’s Voice Is More Soothing than a Man’s
According to a CNN report, scientific studies have shown that people, on average, find a woman’s voice more pleasing than a man’s. Siri isn’t the first gadget to take advantage of this brain phenomenon, but it’s a nice reminder of it.
This principle of “man versus woman” can be applied to more than just voices. During A/B tests, for example, I’ve found that images of men sometimes outperform images of women even when the core audience is female (and vice versa).
Any more lessons from Siri? Share your ideas below!
Bonus Links!
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I love how you point out to “never underestimate the value of fun.” We place a high value on entertainment and having fun, now it’s available in interactive apps that are only limited by your imagination – how cool is that! I don’t have an iPhone, but I’m considering buying one after reading “The Top 10 Funniest Questions to Ask Siri.”
Rhuan from Marketing Phoenix said this on November 28, 2011 at 8:41 pm |
Glad you enjoyed it!
SFcopywriter said this on November 28, 2011 at 9:22 pm |
Goede informatie, hier kan ik zeker wat mee bedankt!
Thuiswerk said this on November 6, 2011 at 12:46 pm |