4 LESSONS THE FINANCIAL WORLD CAN LEARN FROM THE EVOLUTION OF THE IPAD

Photo Credit: www.apple.com

Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple iPad on January 27, 2010

On this day in 2010, Apple’s late Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Steve Jobs, went on stage at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco to debut the first ever Apple iPad. In an article the day after the device was unveiled, CNN described it as the “missing link” between smartphones and laptops.

Fast forward to March 2, 2011, where the iPad 2 made its way to the marketplace with a nicer design that introduced the magnetic Smart Cover and front and rear cameras. The following March, the 3rd generation iPad was announced. This time, the change was a high-resolution “Retina” display, which was a widely requested feature among consumers. Since then, we have seen the iPad mini 1, 2, 3 & 4, 4th generation iPad, and iPad Air 1 & 2 and iPad Pro (I think I have covered them all!). 

As a tribute to the 6th anniversary of the iPad, we want to share with you some lessons from the evolution of this multi-million dollar generating device:

1. Listen to Your Customers
One of the main goals of gathering customer feedback is to enable communications between your organization and the customer.  Opening that line of communications allows customers to express their thoughts and/or ideas while giving you the opportunity to identify ways to improve the customer experience. Apple accomplishes this with an iPad product feedback webpage, where customers are directed to submit their comments. Financial institutions have the opportunity to promote customer feedback on all business critical documents, whether print or online.
 
2. Implement Changes Based on Customer Feedback
Executives at Apple made adjustments and created different versions of the iPad based on customer feedback. The result? More units sold each time a new version was released. Many financial institutions ask for customer feedback, but implementing changes in response is a whole different ballgame . According to Help Scout, if a company resolves a complaint in the customer's favor, they will do business with that company again 70% of the time. So rather than allowing customer feedback to disappear into a “black hole,” take time to strategize and create ways to improve the customer experience- and watch your revenue grow.
 
3. Brand Consistency is Critical
This goes without saying, but we are going to say it anyway: everyone knows that Apple is the creator of the iPad. Furthermore, all of the iPad product line is labeled as such. While there are other tablet brands on the market, no one mistakes an iPad for a Samsung product. Financial institutions that implement brand consistency across the entire organization offer customers consistency in exploring all products and services offered.
 
4. Quality is Key
Quality in products, services and all business-critical communications goes hand-in-hand with customer feedback and brand consistency.  The iPad product line was the brainchild of Steve Jobs, who was very adamant about putting quality products and services on the market. “When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.” –Steve Jobs. 
Financial institutions that keep this ideal top of mind rather than implementing “quick fixes” will more likely see better retention rates and increased revenue in years to come.

Happy Anniversary, Apple iPad!