Business and Money Tips

When a US$2,000 innovation breaks in your hands, it isn't just the screen that cracks. Trust can crack too. The Story: When Innovation Meets Reality On 23 October 2026, Apple launched its much-anticipated iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone. For Apple enthusiasts, it was an exciting moment.  Imagine owning a beautifully engineered phone that could unfold into a larger screen. After years of waiting, customers finally had the opportunity to experience Apple's vision of the future. Initial online orders sold out within minutes. Then, just days after the launch, something unexpected happened. Some customers reported hearing a crunching sound when unfolding their new phones.  Lines appeared across the inner display. In some cases, the screen cracked after only hours or days of normal use. Imagine spending US$2,000 on a premium phone, proudly showing it to your family, only to discover that its most exciting feature had become its greatest weakness. Apple acknowledged that a smal...

The 3As: Now Is the Time for Love Intelligence Different times call for different kinds of intelligence. In the past, those who mastered machines ruled the factories. Then came the era of IQ: information, data, and analysis. Today, AI can already outthink, outcalculate, and outperform us logically. So what’s left for human beings? Love Intelligence. Love Intelligence is the ability to create, connect, and care at a level no machine can. It is not soft, it is strategic. It turns ordinary organizations into movements, and ordinary products into lifestyles. Let’s look at three giants that mastered this intelligence. Apple — Love in Design and Experience Apple doesn’t just sell devices. It sells delight . Every curve, sound, and touch in an iPhone or MacBook communicates love for the user’s experience. Steve Jobs’ obsession was not with profit, but with beauty and meaning. He famously said, “We’re here to make a dent in the universe.” That is Love Intelligence: the courage t...

From Bloomberg news dated 23 November 2016 (abridged version) Two years ago, Oppo and Vivo couldn’t crack the top five in China’s smartphone market. Now they outrank everyone after elbowing Apple aside, thanks to people like Cheng Xiaoning. Cheng runs a thriving electronics store in the rural town of Miaoxia, tapping into her WeChat social media account to promote the brands that pay the biggest commission, and in her case that’s Oppo and Vivo. While such payments start at about 40 yuan (US$6), they escalate for more expensive handsets and reach almost 200 yuan for Oppo’s high-end smartphones. “That’s why I like to introduce the Oppo R9 Plus to potential customers,” she said. “Business has been perfect, actually never been better.” Cheng and tens of thousands of like-minded boosters form the vanguard of the pair’s  charge  against Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Working with the local stores that dominate sales in China’s far-flung provinces, Oppo...

Apple Inc. has reported the largest quarterly profit ever made by a public company in the world.  Thanks to iPhone 6 huge success, people are now addicted to Apple's products. But as much as 75% of iPhone 6+ (a new product) customers are switching from other phones.  In other words, Apple is not only strong in customer retention but also great in customer acquisition.  And the customers that Apple acquired tend to stick for long.   Apple's strategy is now studied by analysts and is comprised of 4 pillars: Offer a small number of products.  This reduces operations and supply chain complexity and gives Apple greater power when negotiating contracts with suppliers of materials and parts Focus on the High End. Premium products yield premium profits.  Apple focused on customers that are not price sensitive and are inelastic to demand; in short, people who can afford it and willing to pay the high price.  This is because Apple's customers are more i...

This is because Apple's salespeople are its customers.  Not only are Apple's salespeople free-of-charge, they are the best salespeople because nobody can resist word-of-mouth referrals. Apple knows how to people climb up the 7-Step Ladder of Loyalty, from Suspects to Prospects, and finally to Raving Fans. They know that the Ultimate in Customer Service is about turning Complaints into Compliments and turning Customers into Raving Fans that Sell for You. So if you have been thinking of how to increase sales at the lowest cost, now is the time. This seminar, taken from our high level consulting, will leave you miles ahead of your competition. Note: This course qualifies for PIC 60% Grant, i.e. your net investment is only 40%. Hurry! Last seats left!  Register now by calling Ida at 6225-1784 or email to andythecoach@gmail.com CUSTOMERS AS RAVING FANS Date: 12 March 2015 Thursday 2 to 5.30 pm Fee: $149 each (special fee, others $198) Venue: The Plaza 02-348, 7500A Bea...

This small artist monopolised the entire Chinatown.  Yes, micro players can always monopolize the market if they do things differently.  Yes, a micro like You can become the Microsoft of your industry today.  This is because the market is not absolutely homogeneous and is heterogeneous, that is, each segment of the market is actually different.  Many small players do not realize this and make the mistake of following the market leaders blindly.  They end up with no business because customers would rather play safe and go with the leader than an unknown brand. The following are the 7 ways that any small player can monopolize the market easily: Do Things That Nobody Does .  Like NEXT Computer (1986 to 1998), it focused on the education market and avoided the rest of the market dominated by IBM-clones PCs powered by Microsoft's operating system.  In fact NEXT was so successful that Apple had to use up all its available cash to buy it over in 1998 to...

As a boss or entrepreneur, you could be your company's best salesperson as no one understand better than you what you are selling.  That was what the CEO of Apple, Steve Sculley, thought in 1983 when he promoted the Macintosh computer.  But we know that the Macintosh failed miserably, and by 1997, Microsoft and IBM-compatible computers took over 98% of the market share. It seems that the best salesperson can never be from your company or your industry. Unbelievable but true!  That's right, the best salesperson is actually your customer .  When Steve Jobs re-joined Apple as its interim CEO in 1998, he realized this and focused the entire company's operations to nothing but the customer. Not just focus on the customer, but focus on the customer's experience .  Once he does that, Apple's products, from the Macintosh to Macbooks to i-Pod and later i-Phone and i-Pad, sell like hot cakes.  By 2011, Apple has become the world's most valuable company and remain...

By now the whole world realizes that Apple's iPad Air has broken another new record for tablet sales.  Many people wondered what makes Apple successful while others like Samsung and LG are still fighting hard? According to my teacher Andy Ferrari Norman, there are 5 Selling Rules to follow: Non-self. Yes, selling is about not focusing on yourself but on your customers .  You need to find out what customers want and give it to them.  Selling is not about the seller's ego but making customers heros.  Apple has obviously focused on the user's experience and not the brand awareness.  The App Store it created is second to none.    Impermanence : selling is about creating new things every now and then and making things non permanent .  That's why Apple has product upgrades every 12 months or so. Interconnectedness :  As everything changes, everything in this world is connected.  Apple pays attention to the connectivity of things : its...

Mention the word 'branding' and most people will only think of international brands like Facebook, Google and Apple. In reality, we are each a brand, as a brand simply means what you stand for. Today we may be a not-famous brand, but tomorrow we could be reaching out to people we never thought of before, as long as we build our brand in 5 easy ways: Know What We Stand For.  Yes, what we stand for are usually our deepest passion and innate desire to help others.  Like me AndyTheCoach, people know that I stand for coaching and teaching, for I gave up a high-figure Director post in a Japanese MNC 13.5 years ago to go into full-time coaching and training.   Do That Few People Do .  It doesn't need to be something big, all you need is that you don't do what others do and you dare to do what others don't do .  Like Steve Jobs in 1997, when he took over the interim CEO position in Apple Inc, he took just a $1 salary but asked for huge amounts of stock options...