Test Drive a new iMac...
I was introduced to the Macintosh by the test drive program. I remember my dad bringing one home for a week, and then saving for some time (the Macintosh was about $5000 back then).
I think Apple needs to reintroduce this program. It would be a surefire way to hook a good chunk of the other 95%. With their new iMac, perhaps a little program that walks new users through all they can do - burn CDs, DVDs. They could bundle it with digital camera/videocam rentals, show iPhoto in action.
Since they've only got about 25 stores now, they would need to extend this to their VAR partners, etc. I would wait until June/July. Ramp up production on the new iMacs, so they have about 250,000 or extra in the channel. At 1 week each, they could introduce about 1,000,000 people a month to the iMac. Doing it before the school season would allow them to capitalize on parents/etc, who are considering purchases for school. They could do a similar thing with the iBook.
By Oct/Nov, it would be in full swing, hitting right for the Christmas buying cycle. By the end of the year, some 5-6 million new people would have had a weeks experience with the iMac.
I couldn't find another topic on this, what do people think? Is the timing right for Apple to launch a new Test Drive program?
I think Apple needs to reintroduce this program. It would be a surefire way to hook a good chunk of the other 95%. With their new iMac, perhaps a little program that walks new users through all they can do - burn CDs, DVDs. They could bundle it with digital camera/videocam rentals, show iPhoto in action.
Since they've only got about 25 stores now, they would need to extend this to their VAR partners, etc. I would wait until June/July. Ramp up production on the new iMacs, so they have about 250,000 or extra in the channel. At 1 week each, they could introduce about 1,000,000 people a month to the iMac. Doing it before the school season would allow them to capitalize on parents/etc, who are considering purchases for school. They could do a similar thing with the iBook.
By Oct/Nov, it would be in full swing, hitting right for the Christmas buying cycle. By the end of the year, some 5-6 million new people would have had a weeks experience with the iMac.
I couldn't find another topic on this, what do people think? Is the timing right for Apple to launch a new Test Drive program?
Comments
The biggest challenge I see with this program is that AAPL will have to take a moderate sized inventory hit to make it happen. It'll probably cost them about $250 million (that's a lot of dineros) to run the program for a year. But I don't think the iMac will be updated any time soon, and if they even get a 10% take rate it will increase their sales by 500,000 units this year.
I think with proper qualification, follow up sales calls, etc., they could get a 25-50% take rate. This would mean an additional 2-3 million units this year. Think about what that would mean to the bottom line.
They needed to do this with the original Mac because it was so new, so different, people needed to be shown it to believe it.
I think that if people are shown the new iMac, get to play with it (and a camera, videocam, etc) for a week (maybe two?) they will take to it like crazy.
Whaddya think, we should start a petition?
<strong>Whaddya think, we should start a petition? </strong><hr></blockquote>
Please don't, it'll most certainly fail like all the petitions do, if you take that route. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
Long story short, it was a horrible failure. Featured in the "blunders" section of Apple Confidential, it says that the returned units had to be sold as open box units for less than the proper price, few people bought Macs, and many were damaged in the process. Not good...works for sugar water, not for computers.
I'm interested in knowing how this was considered a failure. The Lisa was a failure, nobody knew about it, it had very little grassroots support.
The original Mac, which this program promoted, went on to be a huge success. The pure street level awareness it created was huge. I guess the only thing is awareness isn't a huge issue for Apple these days, but overcoming PC conformism is. Most PC users (see ZDNet David Coursey as a prime example) who actually use a Mac for a decent period of time, switch. I think we just need to get them using them...
Apple Stores?
Some people think that if the stores only manage to break even, that alone makes a better advertisment for macs that the traditional print/media ads.
Try before you buy. Apple stores seem to have a LOT of room. They could probably throw together a cyber-cafe where you could sit down at a machine for an hour or two and actually do some real work. No sales pressure, just software demos and tech help, and maybe even 'how to' seminars on things ranging from iMovie to Maya. I guess mac stores are kinda like this -- gee, I wish there was one here in Toronto for me to visit, hmmm, Steve, you listening?
Perhaps schools could be offered better deals in iMacs and iBooks? The Henrico County plan seems like a good way to sneak a mac into the household where maybe mom and dad will give a try when junior isn't surfing porn?
Seems like the spirit of Test Drive is alive, but it is now better concieved than before.