If what they say is true that "pride goeth before the fall," then Steve Jobs should have fallen many times in his storied career. But, at least in recent years, he has just been going from strength to strength. That record of success is pretty amazing given the fact that Jobs has more pride (AKA arrogance) bottled up in him than has probably ever before been concentrated in one entrepreneur/business leader.

But, even Jobs’ incredible luck may start to change with his amazingly bone-headed recent move to slash the prices of his flagship iPhone product by a whopping $200, just a few weeks after the global launch of the hotly anticipated new device. What is really amazing is that Jobs and his Apple minions didn’t anticipate the customer and media backlash that happened next. I guess when you are that prideful and arrogant, you just don’t think you can ever do any wrong. That even includes treating your most loyal customers (your true early adopters who kept Apple alive and thriving during the difficult years) like they are chumps. And that is precisely what Jobs did with the big price cut on the brand new iPhones.

Jobs quickly realized he needed to do something so he issued what several observers aptly called a "non apology apology" (you know, that political staple that usually goes something like this: "I am sorry that you misunderstood me…"). He then offered a $100 store credit to assuage the buyers who had paid $200 more for their iPhones just weeks ago. Now, the latest controversy is that Jobs and crew have put limitations on how you can use that $100 credit (like, you can’t use it for music downloads, which likely would have been very popular). The net of all of this is that even though Apple tried to smooth the feathers of its brand loyalists with a giveback of $100, it really did not amount to a real $100 hit to their bottom-line because it’s all in high margin Apple goods. Indeed, I would suspect the real financial "hit’ is probably less than $40 per recipient of the Apple store credit.

By treating its loyal customers so badly, not really apologizing, and then coming up with a pretty weak store credit giveback, Apple has broken every rule in the brand and consumer marketing book. They made a huge mistake, and then compounded it by not acting in the least bit contrite or humble and offering up a sincere gesture to set things right. How do Jobs and Apple get away with this? By having a cult like following for their brand and their products. But, even cult members turn on their leaders if they are given the short end of the stick for too long, and Jobs may have gone too far with his arrogant, take it or leave it response to this recent brand crisis.

There are plenty of marketing observers who think this is just a momentary blip for Apple. I am not so sure. I think they have done some real damage to the Apple brand — and also to the cult of Jobs — that will have far reaching effects. You just cannot treat people so cavalierly and expect them not to react, and especially not remember. Business history is littered with the failures of formerly dominant brands and their companies which took their customers for granted, or, worse, mistreated them. The car company that allows dealers to deeply gouge their customers when they have a hot new model in their lineup, can end up paying the price when consumers retaliate by switching brand allegiance in their next purchase. Reaping short term revenue gains at the expense of your customers always leads to longer term business problems and even losses (you know the old saying, win the battle but lose the war). And, isn’t that exactly what Jobs did by trying to boost holiday sales of the iPhone (and Apple’s quarterly profits) by drastically lowering its cost, just weeks after launching the product?

While Steve Jobs was playing his arrogant master of the digital universe role, another business leader was sharing his sage advice on how to treat consumers in a truly respectful way. In the recent Fortune Magazine, Jim Stengel, the chief marketing officer of P&G, shared his views on consumer marketing today and particularly how he and his team work hard to truly understand the consumers they serve (and that is how P&G views what they do for their consumers — they "serve" them).

In answer to a question about what he sees as the major consumer trends happening today, Stengel offered what I feel is a master class example of why a 61 year old brand like Tide continues to grow strongly (its sales are more than $3 billion a year in North America alone). Here is what Stengel said. Memorize it! Tape it to your computer!

Jim Stengel of P&G: "The biggest thing going on with U.S. consumers is that they want to trust something. They want to be understood, they want to be respected, they want to be listened to. They don’t want to be talked to. It’s trust in the largest sense of the word. People really do care what’s behind the brand, what’s behind the business. They care about the values of a brand and the values of a company. We can never forget that. We can never be complacent about that. This is an enormous phenomenon, enabled by technology in many ways. Businesses and brands that are breaking records are those that inspire trust and affection and loyalty by being authentic, by not being arrogant, and by being empathetic to those they serve."

In that one answer, Stengel provides the welcome counterpoint to Jobs’ iArrogance. I find it incredibly refreshing. And it comes from one of the leading marketers in the world. Steve Jobs, take note! Even you can learn a thing or two about marketing and nurturing brands. In a deceptively simple way, it all just starts with treating your customers/consumers fairly and respectfully.

Unfortunately, to truly embrace that consumer friendly approach to business and marketing would be a major "Think Different" moment for Steve Jobs.

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