Companies that sell consumer electronics looking to boost sales have had a pretty failsafe way to get the job done: copy Apple. Companies copy each other’s products and strategies all the time, of course — yes, Apple also copies rivals — but copying Apple specifically often leads to bigger and better things. Just ask Samsung. It seems obvious that Apple’s rivals would mimic certain things to better compete, but the latest to copy Apple and see big results isn’t an Apple rival at all — it’s the state of Connecticut.
In an interesting report from last month that was just brought to our attention by a reader, Forbes contributor Carmine Gallo discusses Connecticut’s recent efforts to help residents take advantage of the Affordable Care Act.
After the program launched, Connecticut’s health insurance marketplace, Access Health CT, was having trouble properly educating residents on the various new options available to them. As a result, enrollments were missing targets.
So, Connecticut copied Apple.
“Connecticut opened actual Apple-inspired ‘storefronts’ where residents could walk in and speak to people who are trained to explain the enrollment options,” Gallo wrote. “The storefronts have friendly employees who greet people at the door, clearly explain their health care choices in plain English, and make sure the consumer walks out of the store having made the choice that best fits their needs—much like the goals of the Apple Store.”
How did copying Apple pan out? As of the time of this writing, Connecticut was beating its target enrollment by a staggering 217% according to a real-time health exchange enrollment monitor on The New York Times’ website.
Overall, the country is still short of its enrollment goal, with nationwide enrollments now sitting at just 75% of the total enrollment target.
