[tag-tec]Apple[/tag-tec] is a media darling. For some reason they can do no wrong in the media. Everyone loves Apple's commmercials and advertising. Everyone loves Apple's products. Everyone loves Steve Jobs, who is God to all Mac users. Everyone loves the cool look of every Apple product. What isn't there to love about Apple?
Well, the quality of their first generation of products gives everyone reason to hate them. Look at the awful track record of the [tag-ice]iPod[/tag-ice] when it was released. My kids had so many hardware problems with their iPod. I sent my daughter's back for repair at least 3 times. The battery died, the screen died and the hard drive died. When it broke the 4th time the warranty was expired so we moved on to the newest generation.
Look at the [tag-tec]iPhone[/tag-tec] which had an estimated return rate of 29% by some experts (the real number will never be released by Apple) The battery failed over and over. The screens failed over and over. The first generation of the [tag-self]iPhone[/tag-self] would be considered a failure by any other company.
And finally the [tag-ice]Mac[/tag-ice]. Users are passionate about their Macs even though they cost 2 to 3 times more than a PC and have a very limited selection of software. They are the coolest looking computers but what good is sleek hardware if you can't buy the software for it. This probably explains why Apple has only 5% of the personal computer market according to IDC. With the fantastic advertising and marketing plus the most passionate users in history you would expect a 95% market share.
So with all of these failures why does everyone love Apple? I own an [tag-tec]iPod[/tag-tec] (very old one I must say) but no other Apple products. I like their advertising and their computers are far superior to Dell's but they don't run the software I need for my business. Actually the new Mac's will run Windows-based programs but I don't want to shell out $2500 for a computer when a $600 Dell will do the same for me. But for some reason I like [tag-ice]Apple and Steve Jobs[/tag-ice]. In spite of their awful track record of first generation failures, i still consider Apple a high quality company.
Apple has built a reputation of creating innovative products that meet the consumers desires. People don't need Apple products, they want them. The very best customer to have!! Apple sees a need and fills it. MP3 music became all the rage in the 90's but it could only be played on a computer. Apple filled the need by creating the iPod which is one of the most success products in history. Nobody needs an iPod but everyone wants one.
Nobody needs an iPhone but everyone wants one. Who wants to surf the internet on that tiny screen? Or check email on that tiny screen? My neck and eyes hurt thinking about it. But I want an iPhone because it's cool. It's a status symbol.
How can you create a trust level for your business as deep as Apple has created? It's pretty simple actually. Find a need and fill it. Give your customers what they want and charge at least double what you think it should cost and they'll be begging for more.
Until next time,
Ted
