The Power Of Slow In Business Separates You From The Crowd
How Samsung was first, and how Apple outrun the competitor by going slow with the digital watch
Hello out there - in a rushed world looking for some sanity and serenity!
Here is some input for getting clarity and confidence to pursue the power of slow and to smile wearily at the absurdity of rushing.
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The Power Of Slow In Business Separates You From The Crowd
How Apple outrun Samsung by going slow with the digital watch
If you believe in the power of slow, you believe that doing business is not a transaction but a relationship. At least, if you see and approach it this way, you are in the business of building a loyal customer base, or even a fan base. First, get attention and connect. Have the patience to build excitement, an understanding of your new offer, and your customer’s desire for it. Then you ship. Going slow, meaning long-term thinking, gives you the power to create your own market.
One common piece of business advice today is to act fast and bring your ideas, products, or services quickly to market. It doesn’t have to be perfect or finished. This is not wrong and can certainly have its advantages. Sometimes, it might make sense to take a different approach. As in, being different from the others and taking it a step slower. You can observe the market, or more precisely, your market, when it is ready for your offer.
You are worried that the competitor is rushing ahead of you, being first in the market, and beating you in reaching the customers? Why would the customers come to you when you are running like everyone else? What makes you different from the others? Perhaps you are not shouting like everyone else, or not racing, or not competing with the price!
Going slow separates you from the crowd. You can dare to be different and to be better.
You can create your own advantages by serving those who follow you and who want to buy from you, because of you.
Take this example as inspiration
In 2014, rumors were that Apple would release a digital watch. Samsung figured they'd beat them. They rushed to develop and announce their new product, a digital watch, two weeks before the Apple new product release event. Three months later, Samsung had produced, shipped, and stuffed the shelves, ready for Christmas, with a digital watch. On top of it, they were very proud to have beaten the competitor. So they thought.
Apple observed this and decided to slow down. They held back to show at their September 2014 announcement event the new digital watch. Instead, they postponed their production and shipment, realizing the market was not really ready yet for this kind of product. They slowly began to build a hype around their digital watch development, and then, seven months later, they started with pre-registration for the watch. And only another six months later, they produced and delivered in 2015. Meanwhile, speculations went viral about whether Apple could transform the digital watch category from a fad into must-have tech.
By the time Apple finally had the watches ready to go, Samsung had sold some hundred thousand watches from their 800,000-produced pieces. They experienced product returns, they desperately discounted the prices, and they ended up desperate with unsold merchandise in stock. Apple, on the other hand, went on to sell 4 million digital watches in the first year to an eagerly awaiting fan base who had slowly gotten prepared for this new device by their favorite brand. Apple continued to sell 40 million watches in the five years after their release in 2015.
Slowing down, building relationships and the patience to build desire for your offers and fans for you and your work will pay off in the long run.
Interesting INSIGHTS I found
Curated articles/links on the topic of slowing down and living better.
An Offline-Club encourages people with a digital detox day to take control of downtime
I can’t believe that people are “surprised” about how some hours offline “made them feel so much less stressed and more connected to themselves and to others”. In my opinion, that should be normal and not come as a surprise. But I guess, especially for the generations that grew up with digital devices and without the experience of just playing as children for endless hours outside on the streets or in the woods or getting lost in a book, being “offline” is “a thing” to cultivate and not anymore a normal part of life.
Here is a piece about how three Dutch friends started the Offline Club in Amsterdam to encourage people to live without their phones (or any digital screen time) for some hours or a day and re-discover the benefits for themselves and for social interaction.
The Offline Club had a global event with tips on how to be phone-free for 24 hours every week, and the Club held its first in-person “digital detox hangout” in Amsterdam in February 2024. Since then, the company has already expanded into Paris, Dubai and London. In these hangouts, phones are locked away for a few hours, and those attending are encouraged to read or interact with each other. One of the founders thinks the digital detox movement is just getting started. “We would like to see phone-free spaces in cities and maybe phone-free holidays”, he explains.
One of the participants said he wants “more face-to-face interaction and more going outside”. “A full day without relying on navigation apps to get from A to B or staying in constant touch with friends and family will be challenging, but he was excited to take part.”
An Offline Club - I love it!