Five lessons for marketing and public relations executives from the work of Steve Jobs:
  1. Hone your instinct (part one):  You must be able to know with certitude whether a new product or service will succeed in a big way among your customer base — moments after hearing about it for the first time.
  2. Hone your instinct (part two): Similarly, you must know (without tests or focus groups) if marketing language or PR outreach will resonate with its intended audience. Instinct comes from a mix experience, awareness and confidence. Hone these three elements, and you’ll develop a sharp instinct.
  3. Micromanage: Worry about getting the product and the marketing right, not about offending your team, or stepping on toes.
  4. Don’t be first to market: History shows that it’s almost impossible to be first in a new product category and be successful with a critical mass of customers. None of the iPod, iPad, Mac, or iPhone were first in their product category.
  5. Instead, perfect categories without a dominant player: Mainstream success is very diffcult once there’s a dominant player. It’s why HP got out of tablets recently six months after getting in. So don’t pave the path in a new product category, but do try to put forth the perfect product in a category before somebody else does.

These pieces are called “Minutes” because they will always be short enough to read in about 60 seconds

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