Back in the day, we were pretty pumped about the Jesus phone. Now, along comes Apple's $200 price cut, the early adopters make a fuss, and one day later Steve Jobs pulls a mea culpa with a $100 refund for any iPhone users upset that they may have overpaid in July.
So ... how does a billion-dollar company make such a ginormous refund offer so quickly? With a million iPhones sold, Apple's exposure could be enormous. We think Apple had this scenario planned out far in advance. Just as any media plan or PR strategy needs to forecast consumer response, with multiple scenarios for unexpected returns, so too a good product launch needs to anticipate all outcomes. This price cut, and potential fallout, was probably mapped out last spring. And as planned, Apple came out shining: Jobs hit the 1 MM sales target as promised, the media made more buzz, Apple users got a feel-good refund -- really a $100 store credit -- to drive more demand for sales, and the iPhone is well positioned on price just in time for the holidays.
Nice apology. And very nice planning.
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