Page 24 - The Apple Experience

which he captivated the audience for more than two hours. When Brooks
walked on stage, he told the audience that for them to really understand his

music, he would have to start from the beginning. Brooks explained that his

musical career did not begin with his first single. Instead his inspiration

started in the 1960s, when his parents would bring home new albums in both

country and contemporary styles. If Brooks had played only his hits during

the Wynn performance, it would have been a richly satisfying experience for

Garth fans. But by taking his audience on a journey through the music that
inspired him, Brooks created an unmatched and memorable experience for

everyone in his audience, country and noncountry fans alike. So let’s steal a

page from the Garth Brooks songbook and start from the real beginning of

the Apple experience.

If every retail store had customer service like Apple, the world would be a better
place. —Michael M.

The One Question That Unleashed Apple’s Success

When the Apple Store celebrated its ten-year anniversary on May 19, 2011,

the media focused on the growth story: one billion visitors, 325 stores, $10

billion in sales, and so on. The numbers were and continue to be astonishing:

$6 billion in quarterly revenue, $4,700 in sales per square foot, and 22,000
weekly visitors in a typical store. But numbers alone won’t teach you

anything. It’s the story behind the numbers where you’ll learn how to turn

your business into an experience so thrilling that your customers will become

true advocates for your brand.

The story of the Apple experience did not begin with the opening of the

first Apple Store at Tysons Corner, Virginia, in 2001. It began forty years

earlier with the founding of another brand that would be credited with