Introduction
One of the things I realised as a surgical trainee was how important psychological perception, framing and context were to people's experiences.
The striking thing was that they didn't just apply to people's mental experiences but were equally important to blatantly "physical" experiences such as a traumatic injury or an acute abdomen.
That is what encouraged me to pursue the study of psychology and psychiatry in a more serious manner.
The importance of such psychological considerations doesn't just apply to medicine though.
It extends to virtually all areas of life, including business and marketing and these are two areas of life I have become progressively more interested in.
I have been an Apple user for over ten years now and during the Steve Jobs years I was always impressed by how expertly they used psychology and it's application in their marketing.
Have things changed though?
Context, Framing and the Power of Perception
Recently one of our well known bloggers, Andrew Levine / 
made a video that was discussing the new wireless Apple Airpods (you can find that post here).
This was the first time I had seen them demonstrated properly and it literally changed my perception of them.
Framed in the right way and presented in the right context I suddenly realised how amazing and revolutionary the Airpods were!
That is all the more extraordinary coming from someone like me who is a self confessed Audiophile (who would only normally buy expensive electrostatic headphones and valve amplifiers).
Why had Apple not done something similar when they presented them?
Don't Tell Me Numbers, Tell Me How It Changes My Life
The most important thing about the aforementioned video was that it was not a conventional technology review.
He didn't do the usual thing that technology reviews do of concentrating on the specifications.
There wasn't a long list of facts and figures - we are bombarded with those through advertising and reviews on a daily basis.
He focussed on design and usability. How do these things change your life?
He showed how by getting to use them, the Airpods actually enhanced his life.
He even started envisioning all sorts of ways he could use them that he had previously not even considered - e.g. an always on personal assistant.
In doing so he brought to mind how I suspect Steve Jobs would have demonstrated them.
The problem is most people won't get to do that before buying a comparatively expensive product like the Airpods.
They Took Our Jobs?
Image Source
It might seem that the real problem is the loss of Steve Jobs. There is certainly a degree of truth to this.
Jobs was not just a great technology evangelist, visionary and showman, to many people he WAS Apple.
People like Steve Jobs are very rare and it is unlikely that Apple will find a direct replacement for him.
Is that really the problem though? If it is, it shouldn't be.
The "Aha" Moment
Remember the "Aha" moment when Jobs brought out the first Macbook Air in a Manilla envelope?
Jobs didn't just sell the product, he sold us a better life and that is not an exaggeration.
He summed up in a single image why you would want that device in your life.
In doing so he kicked off a whole new type of laptop and paved the way for the widespread adoption of tablets.
Image Source
The Airpod announcement was by contrast like a business presentation.
It wasn't bad but there was nothing to distinguish it from a whole host of other manufacturer product presentations.
There was no "Aha" moment where it "clicked". People saw it as a gimmick and frivolity that would cause inconvenience and extra cost.
There was a lot of "how" but not so much "why".
The contrast to the Steve Jobs era was very clear.
When Steve Jobs was alive Apple presentations used to be "events".
Now they are just mundane adverts with the added negative impact of being presented by businessmen who are not even comfortable being on stage.
Apple Forgot That It Is Not A Technology Company
I think Apple still has revolutionary products.
The Airpods, Macbook Touchbars and even the cylindrical Mac Pro are examples of the same design genius and attention to detail.
In most areas the marketing (as shown in the images I have used here) is still head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.
So the innovation, design, attention to detail and artistry are all still there.
That makes sense. Contrary to what people like to believe Steve Jobs did not single handedly run Apple and everything has not simply stopped since his death.
No, the real problem as I see it is that they just don't sell them the right way any more.
You may think that Apple was a technology company but I would argue that under Steve Jobs they were a life enhancement company.
Framed as a life enhancement company they were unique in their field.
Technology vs Life Enhancement
They may still be making the same kind of products but they are now framing themselves as a technology company.
By doing that they no longer stand out in the same way. They are just one amongst many.
Further the way that Apple rely on using other manufacturers to make their components means that they are unlikely to beat companies like Samsung in the tech specs race.
Apple was never about raw technical specifications before because they realised that they couldn't really win that race.
They also seemed to realise that most contemporary technology was good enough and the average user is unimpressed by raws specs alone.
Conclusion: So What Can They Do?
The single biggest thing they can do is to shift back to showing people how their products enhance their lives:
They need to demonstrate, demonstrate and demonstrate again!
If something is just about tech specs or ticking an extra box on a list to beat the latest Samsung or LG device then it is a mistake.
Unless it enhances the life of the average buyer in a demonstrable way they should drop it or at least move the focus away to the things that do.
In summary Apple needs to go back to being a life enhancement company and let others fight for the technology market.
Thank you for reading
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