Steve Jobs - NeXT marketing strategy video 1991

TL;DR

Steve Jobs discusses the target customer, competition, and distribution channels for professional workstations, highlighting the growth potential in the market.

Transcript

hi for those of you that don't know me my name's steve jobs and this is the first of one of many chalk talks we're going to have this year together uh the subject of this one is really important which is who is our target customer why are they selecting our products over our competitions and what distribution channels are we going to use to reach t... Read More

Key Insights

• 🚨 The professional workstation market consists of two halves: science and engineering, and the emerging professional segment in various industries.
• 🥹 Sun currently holds an 80% market share in the professional workstation market, but there is room for competition.
• 👤 The growth of the professional workstation market is driven by professionals upgrading from PCs and Macs, as well as users of terminal emulators seeking better development environments and user interfaces.
• 😀 Next's competitive advantages over Sun are its superior development environment, a comprehensive productivity app suite, and advanced interpersonal computing capabilities.
• 🧘 Next's goal is to educate customers about the benefits of interpersonal computing and position themselves as the preferred choice for professional workstations.
• 🤩 The feedback and information gathered from customers are crucial for refining the definition of the professional workstation market and understanding the key factors important to customers.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why has it been challenging to identify the target customer in the professional workstation market?

The professional workstation market is divided into different segments, including science and engineering and various industries. It has been difficult to determine whether the competition is in the PC or workstation market.

Q: What is driving the growth of the professional workstation market?

The market is expected to grow due to professionals moving from PCs and Macs to workstations for more sophisticated networking and development environments. Additionally, users of terminal emulators are transitioning to desktop workstations for better user interfaces and economic advantages.

Q: What are the primary reasons for customers to upgrade to professional workstations?

The need to develop custom applications, which require a powerful development environment, sophisticated networking capabilities, and database connectivity, is a significant driver for upgrading to professional workstations.

Q: How does Next differentiate itself from Sun in the professional workstation market?

Next has three competitive strengths against Sun: their superior development environment, a productivity app suite that surpasses Sun's offering, and advanced interpersonal computing capabilities.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Steve Jobs emphasizes the importance of identifying the target customer, competition, and distribution channels in the professional workstation market.

• There are two halves to the workstation marketplace: the traditional science and engineering half, and the emerging professional half in various industries.

• Sun currently dominates the professional workstation market, but there is a significant opportunity for growth and potential for competing against Sun.