ROTFLMAO!
You do know you are trying to tell an ex-CEO about basic management techniques. . . without knowing what you are talking about, don't you?
No, it isn't ever easy to predict demand for a new physical product. "404 testing" might be an OK approach for an online website, it will not prove anything for sales of a product.
It certainly would be a failure for Apple. 404 testing is junk when you are talking about people buying a physical product from a company such as Apple which generates clicks for anything. You really don't know what you are talking about. People come to Apple doing Looky-loo on anything that just mentions Apple.
More information on a potential Apple Watch would not provide a damn clue about how many would actually plunk down $350, $1000, much less $10,0000 for any product. This again shows you are ignorant about physical Apple product sales. . . Apple has never polled the public on any future product sales.
Again, when you or Wayne Williams have managed a product roll out anywhere near the scale of any Apple product, or any product roll out for that matter, then you can start throwing brickbats. Since neither of you have ever done such a thing, you don't have a clue what you are talking about.
And once again, you are assuming facts not in evidence. . . that the product roll out has failed. I do not see any such thing. EVERY Apple roll out has resulted in delayed delivery of products because of very high demand for those products. The iPhone 6 and 6 plus went two to three months on some variations after launch day because of huge demand. . . and the Apple Watch has not even reached launch day yet. This is nothing new.
You have no idea in the world what Apple is doing. None whatsoever. Zip! Nada! None. In this instance, neither do I because it is an entire different beat of a product. But you are building a castle in the air on absolutely no foundation except this article written be a guy with no business acumen at all. . . but who has a reputation of writing FUD about Apple.
Look at BetaNews primary focus and it might give you a hint they are Windows and Android centered:
BetaNews Hot Topics:
Do you see Apple anywhere on that list? Or Economics or business management? I don't. Wayne Williams biography lists Windows PC magazines and Gamer magazines. . . not one thing about Apple. Why do you believe anything Williams writes about Apple products? I've looked back on his previous articles and he has found nothing he likes about Apple.
Now your paragon of Apple information, Wayne Williams, has come up with this gem of mis-information in his latest anti-Apple screed on the Apple Watch release date (emphasis mine):
"Apple always limits the availability of new products at launch, so it can create an inflated illusion of popularity. The more popular something appears to be, the more people will want it. The harder it is to get, the more desirable it becomes, and so on."— SOURCE: Apple Watch is coming… but when? [Update: not any time soon] —Wayne Williams — April 17, 2015, BetaNews
Let's examine that load of false BS that Williams just unloaded on his readers.
When the iPhone 4 was sold, Apple sold and delivered THREE AND A HALF MILLION in the three days (Friday through Sunday), which was a world record for any consumer product in history. One year later, with the release of the iPhone 4, Apple broke its own world record by selling and delivering FIVE MILLION phones. On the release of the iPhone 5 and 5C, a year later, over NINE MILLION were sold and delivered to end users during the first three days . . . plus some that were sold for later delivery. Where was the illusion of popularity??? Nine million sales in 3 days is not illusory When the iPhone 6 and 6 plus were released, sales and DELIVERIES to end users topped TEN MILLION in the first three days. . . again breaking the world record. Apple went on sell 75 million of this model in just one quarter.
Again, where is this mythical attempt to "create illusory popularity" and hence demand. The demand is already there. Apple doesn't have to work hard to create a non-existent "illusion of popularity." You don't have to create an illusion of popularity when iOS products have already SOLD over 1.1 BILLION units in various versions to a user base that has a 98% customer satisfaction rating according to J.D. Powers. The popularity already exists.
Wayne Williams has no evidence for such an absurd claim. It simply is not true. He is obviously is one of those suffering from Apple Derangement Syndrome and makes these claims up out of his navel, and believes they just have to be true, because he cannot grasp why anyone would possibly like any Apple product. Wayne is pouring out FUD as fast as he can dance.
He does provide this information from a leaked internal memo from Apple:
Update: According to a leaked internal memo from Apple’s retail chief, Angela Ahrendts, Apple Watch won’t be available to purchase in-store for a good while to come. Here’s what she said:This is probably something you would not have included in your prior “analysis” of Windows insults vs Apple insults. I would.Team,On behalf of Tim and the rest of the executive team, I want to thank you very much for making last Friday’s debut of Apple Watch unforgettable. The Previews going on in our stores and support from our Contact Centers are unlike anything we have done before.
The feedback from customers is overwhelmingly positive. They are excited about Apple Watch, and your teams are creating fantastic experiences for them. Customers who pre-ordered will start receiving deliveries next Friday as planned, and I know you will do a great job helping them get set up.
Many of you have been getting questions asking if we will have the watch available in stores on April 24 for walk-in purchases. As we announced last week, due to high global interest combined with our initial supply, we are only taking orders online right now. I’ll have more updates as we get closer to in-store availability, but we expect this to continue through the month of May. It has not been an easy decision, and I want to share with you the thinking behind it.
It’s important to remember that Apple Watch is not just a new product but an entirely new category for us. There’s never been anything quite like it. To deliver the kind of service our customers have come to expect -- and that we expect from ourselves -- we designed a completely new approach. That’s why, for the first time, we are previewing a new product in our stores before it has started shipping.
Apple Watch is also our most personal product yet, with multiple case and band options because it’s an object of self-expression. Given the high interest and initial supply at launch, we will be able to get customers the model they want earlier and faster by taking orders online.
I know this is a different experience for our customers, and a change for you as well. Are we going to launch every product this way from now on? No. We all love those blockbuster Apple product launch days -- and there will be many more to come. They’re the moments where you, our teams, shine. And our customers love them as well!
Apple Watch is an exciting new product and we are at the start of a very exciting time at Apple. You’re the best team on earth and you are doing an amazing job.
For customers who want to buy a watch, please continue to help them place their order online. Also make sure they know that, wherever they buy, Apple will provide them with a great Personal Setup experience -- either online or in our stores. This includes syncing their Apple Watch with their iPhone and teaching them about all the incredible features of their new Apple Watch.
Thank you very much again, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
No, I would and did. . . as a mild insult and attack. It is a mild rebuke. Yes, you have garnered that as you and one other are the only ones on this thread who are continuing to beat this dead horse. . . without any evidence that Apple has mis-managed a completely new product release which has a new product offering paradigm, when it has not even happened yet, and when you have nothing better to offer.
You don't use the products, you don't shop at the stores, you don't own the stock, and so far, I have seen you offer nothing positive in any Apple thread.. I refer you back to dayglored's list of why people who meet those criteria come on Apple threads for the reason you must be here, bolobaby. Everything I've seen you post about Apple on these threads has been negative or assuming the worst.
Wow... so... way too much to read there, so my response is based on not reading the entire book presented.
Again, though, you take an example I gave to show innovative ways to predict demand and make the ridiculous assumption that I would recommend that for the iWatch. *It was an example.* I’m sorry you failed to grasp that. You do make it sound, however, like the vaunted Apple has NO techniques in their quiver for properly forecasting demand.
So, according to you, we have the most successful company in the history of the world, with more money on hand than they can possibly count, but they can’t hire the right product and analytics people to figure out demand for a product?
Oooookay.
I did go back and skim through most of it, but, you wrote...
“You don’t use the products, you don’t shop at the stores, you don’t own the stock, and so far, I have seen you offer nothing positive in any Apple thread...”
Herein lies the problem. You’ve somehow lumped me into some group of people that I’m not.
I have repeatedly stated that we actually DO have at least two Apple products still in the house. I have repeatedly stated that I actually HAVE owned and used an iPhone in the past, but now prefer my Samsung. I have stated on a couple of occasions that I HAVE owned Apple stock in the past (but do not currently own). And while it is true that I’ve never been in an Apple store, I also don’t go shopping that much at all.
Also, my comments on this thread ALONE contradict your statement that I have nothing positive to offer about Apple. In this thread I have openly acknowledged that Apple is usually spectacular at product launches. I also indicated that their launches usually are accompanied by great logistics and optics. Hint: Those are compliments on the way they usually conduct business.
By comparison, despite me asking multiple times, “Has Apple ever done anything wrong?” you never deviate from the pro-Apple line, not even to acknowledge a single fault. They are the Jesus Christ of corporations according to your posts.
Now - for the sake of sanity, I give up, now and forever. I do not think you will ever stop long enough to realize that *I am not the enemy*. I am *not an Apple hater*. I am NOT any of the things you assume I am, despite my frequent corrections. I am simply someone who like to analyze things without Baghdad Bob glasses on.
I give up.