Why I Think Apple Needs To Make Some Concessions Friday
Thoughts about what exactly Apple will discuss on Friday run the gamut from a full recall, in store fixes to Apple standing their ground.
I personally think Apple is in the right (this is not a “defect” that requires a full product recall), yet I also feel Apple needs to make some kind of concession to please the increasingly hyperbolic masses.
Why? There was a recent article relating to politics that applies here — it’s rather depressing, but a study found that when people are presented with misinformation, then followed by facts, the facts — even if true — just make the belief in the misinformation stronger.
“…when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds. In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs. Facts, they found, were not curing misinformation. Like an underpowered antibiotic, facts could actually make misinformation even stronger.”
I think you can see how this relates to the iPhone 4. The growing perception is that the iPhone 4 has poor reception due to a poorly designed antenna.
So if Friday’s press conference just has Steve Jobs along with a bunch of Apple engineers presenting a bunch of facts about how the antenna is fine, there’s nothing wrong with the phone; statistically it’s a non-issue: I don’t think it will be effective enough in terms of damage control. The nay-sayers will find a way to spin this as Jobs’ stubborn ego, Apple’s totalitarianism, and someone might find a ridiculous way to relate things back to the the iPhone’s lack of Adobe Flash support.
I wish Apple approached customer relations like Netflix — my absolute favorite company in terms of customer satisfaction. They’re proactive and react to a problems before one even thinks there is one. Apple looking “proactive” could be as simple as “we acknowledge there’s a problem with the antenna. Bumpers are included with all new iPhone 4s. Free to any current owners. Meanwhile, we’re working on a hardware fix.”
Yes, this sucks in terms of hoping the truth will win out, but it’s too late for that. This is more about brand management than being in the right. This is a critical moment for the public perception of both the iPhone 4 and Apple. It would really suck if things go too far.
Nice post Jase. I agree with you. I hope Apple “blows us away” with its response to this situation in the way it blows us away with its product launched. Though I’ll admit that might be wishful thinking.
The more I read about this issue and how the media and blogosphere is handling it, the more it reminds me of political campaign tactics (Apple getting swiftboated?). There’s such a strange mix of truth, half-truth, conjecture and speculation driving the story at this point. The rapidity of the pile-on was also pretty amazing (but that’s the media, Apple’s been around long enough to have gone from media darling to media kicking boy several times already in the past).
I hope Al Gore is getting a few good words with the Apple Board since it seems like the type of PR response and spin Apple needs to muster are in a whole different league now that Apple is no longer the underdog but the 800 pound gorilla.
Yeah — I know Apple’s usual strategy is to deny, but if they broke with that tradition this one time, it would send a message that they’re taking this issue seriously enough to bend their secretive ways.
I agree there’s some mixed motivations going on; above and beyond customers having problems, I’m sure there are many who would love to see Apple fail at something (Microsoft fans, Android supporters) who are fanning the flames…