Even Apple – a $700 Billion Company – Can Benefit From Starting A Subscription Program
So just how important are memberships and subscriptions? I read this article from marketwatch.com, which is a web site published by Dow Jones, and tracks the financial markets and apparently has more than 16 million visitors per month. And I’ll link to this article in the show notes – http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apples-iphone-payment-plan-could-upgrade-the-stock-2015-09-16
So here’s what it says – and I’m quoting verbatim here…
Headline: Apple’s iPhone payment program could upgrade the stock
Sub-headline: Upgrade program, launching with iPhone 6S, could drive Apple shares above $200
So let me give you the context. Recently, with Apple’s iPhone 6s and 6sPlus launch, they announced that they would offer new iPhones on a payment plan, and people can get a 1 year payment plan or a 2 year plan directly from Apple, and not worry about extending their phone contracts. So you basically pay the cost of the phone directly to Apple, and in return you can get a new phone from Apple every year, or 2, depending on the payment plan. And apparently, Apple in turn also gives you some premium support and service.
So back to quoting from the article: It says… Apple Inc.’s new iPhone upgrade program isn’t going to just benefit users who want to get their hands on a new phone every year, it could also give a boost to Apple investors.
“By encouraging customers to upgrade more frequently, the program — which takes effect later this month with the launch of iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus sales — could produce more sustainable iPhone revenues, driving earnings per share higher and producing a better stock multiple.”
Ok, now pay attention to this next part: “Analysts at UBS, who have a buy rating and $150 price target on the stock, said this week that the installment plan “could be a big deal” for Apple and drive its shares higher than $200. “The iPhone begins to look more like an annuity and less like a hits business,” UBS analyst Steven Milunovich wrote in a note to clients this week. End quote.
Now think about that for a minute. To give you some perspective, Apple is the world’s most profitable company not in the world, not just right now, but in the history of the world! Apple is the largest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization, and Apple last year became the first U.S. company to be valued at over US$700 billion. Yes, that is 700 BILLION – with a B! A monthly payment plan is nothing but essentially a subscription, and this is really Apple’s first big subscription-based product – of course, I’m not including the underwhelming launch of Apple Music. And people in general are agreeing that Apple adding essentially a subscription-based product to its offering, is going to make it look even better, and make its shares become even more valuable!
Even A $700 Billion company can do better by adding a recurring subscription model to its business. I hope that right there makes you seriously consider adding such a subscription model to your business.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to figure it all out by yourself. I will help you get there – all you have to do is to just keep listening to this show.
One more thing… I started talking about the show format last episode, and I kind of got distracted and talked about something else. So let me get back that real quick. I’m going to try and mix it up a bit here with this show. It won’t be all me all the time. And it won’t be all guests all the time. There will be a bit of both. I also plan on doing a top-10 segment – this is a tribute to the great David Letterman, who recently ended his Late Show on CBS. It might not always be 10, but I do have a top-10 list coming up in this very episode. So as you listen to the show, let me know what you think on the show’s facebook page that you can reach, by going to subscribeme.fm/facebook.
Have you seen the hit TV show Sharktank?
Imagine you are on Shark Tank. Now for those who haven’t watched shark tank, real quick, it’s one of the most amazing reality shows, my 12 year old son Rohan is a huge fan, and he got me and Veena into the show, and now we record and watch every single episode. On sharktank, they have 5 mega-successful business people on a panel – think of them as venture capitalists. They are referred to as sharks. And entrepreneurs who have a product and are looking for money or connections, walk in front of this panel of sharks, and pitch their product or service. And ask for a certain amount of funding in return for equity in the company. And if the sharks like the product, they will negotiate and invest in the company. But if your product or idea is bad, or your business sense is not good, or the upside isn’t there, you’re certain to get ripped to shreds on national TV, and also probably being watched by millions worldwide as well.
Now there was a huge launch recently by a big-name marketer. I won’t give you the name, but the idea was this: Do one big launch, create fake scarcity by saying you are going to shut down sales of the product for the rest of the year. Now, one other trick commonly used, is to basically re-open the cart after 2 weeks, using the excuse of refunds and chargebacks, claim that a few spots have opened up, and then blast your list a few more times. Go buy now, closing tonight, closing in 4 hours, closing in 1 hour, and on and on. And you get these emails not just from the seller, but also fro 17 different affiliates, all essentially smashing your inbox with emails about the impending apocalypse that will ensue if you don’t purchase their product. Anyway, not something that I’m a fan of, and sometimes I wonder if these are the kind of tactics that have given the internet marketing industry a bad name.
Anyway, now imagine going on the shark tank, and one of the sharks asks you… So, Ravi, what was your sales last quarter? Well Mr. Wonderful, we did 4 million in sales. Ok, Ravi, what are your sales this quarter?
…listen to the show to hear the rest of that awesome role playing by yours truly 😉
Cheers!
Ravi Jayagopal
