by Ariella Brown
Aim high or low
One marketing approach is based on mass distribution to get people to sample your offering for free while adding to the hype about it. The other is based on loyalty to a strong brand that has won over fans willing to pay a premium price.
Which one you choose depends on what kind of product you are offering and what your brand position is. As loyalty is only earned over time and through people’s positive experience with products, Apple’s marketing is not usually going to work for a new kid on the block.
ChatGPT takes the low road to success
Understanding that, OpenAI took the tactic of mass distribution on a scale we have not seen before. It launched ChatGPT on November 30, 2022 and attracted over a million users in the first five days.
In just two months, it hit 100 million monthly active users, which made it “the fastest-growing consumer application in history,” Reuters reported. It now boasts of 1.8 billion visits a month, and many of those visitors are happy to pay the $20 a month subscription for ChatGPTplus, which was introduced in February.
What made ChatGPT take off so rapidly was the build-up of hype that continued to grow as a result of people being able to gain access to generative AI on their own devices simply by registering and logging in. Remove any barriers to entry – like cost or the need for specialized equipment — and you get to enjoy rates of PLG (product-led growth).
Apple takes the high road
In contrast to OpenAI, Apple already has a well-established customer base eager to experience its new offerings. Accordingly, it doesn’t have to offer free access and can seriously expect people to pay $3499 for the Apple Vision Pro that is to become available for sale only in 2024.
Why unveil something a half a year before you can even preorder it? To heighten the anticipation and the satisfaction the early adopters will feel when they are among the first to obtain the latest offering from a brand they love.
Even at this stage, they are all reading the tweets, viewing the videos, and asking questions that show a high level of interest. That level of engagement combined with the reviews from all the tech journalists who got to play with the headset create a type of hype that is more rarified than that surrounding ChatGPT but just as impactful.
Would you buy it?
Apple can price its headset that the average consumer can’t afford because it has millions of fans already who know and love its products. Within those millions are tens of thousands who would not consider the price tag too high for the bragging rights that come with being among the first to have this new offering.
Sure, there will be imitators putting out cheaper versions of the headset. But that’s always been the case for Apple devices. True fans insist that you get what you pay for and you shouldn’t settle for second-best.
On the other hand, OpenAI had the difficult job of rousing interest in something intangible that couldn't be photographed or shown to advantage on video. You could have accounts of individual user experiences, but those don't generally generate the response of "Want!" the way videos do.
What do you do when you’re offering something people haven’t had before from a brand that has yet to establish its reputation? You offer free samples, and that’s just what OpenAI did – very successfully. Once it had enough people hooked and even boasting about making it integral part of their businesses, it rolled out the premium version that most people could afford to pay.
Which are you?
"Know thyself" is the basis of determining your course of action in life and in business. If you’ve established yourself as a premium brand that can trade on exclusivity, you can offer high end products to your fan base. But if you’re an unknown quantity, you have to win over the masses to at least give your offering a try to build up a loyal following.
What’s the tell? How many followers identify themselves as such is one indicator. Notice that even in its current heyday, OpenAI’s 2.3 million Twitter follower are dwarfed by Apple’s CEO’s 14.1 million. (No doubt, Steve Jobs’ numbers would be even higher if he were still alive today).
Most businesses will never attain Apple’s superstar status, but they can still follow the high road of marketing after establishing their brand as a leader in the market. And for those whose offering is not suited for premium pricing, OpenAI’s incredible rate of adoption proves that it is also possible to go from zero to millions in just a few months.
So long as you know what you're about and who makes up your target market, you can adopt the right strategy and follow the high, low, or middle marketing road to success.
For help determining with marketing path to take and what type of content can help you get there visit WriteWayPro and book a free consultation call.
Related: https://writewaypro.blogspot.com/2023/05/did-open-ai-open-pandoras-box.html
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