Ok, that is a bit exaggerated. Apple is not the king of the tech world but no one can refute the fact that the company is a dominant player in the technology market. What makes Apple a successful company? As entrepreneurs what can we learn from Apple? In this post I try to answer these questions by identifying some of the key characteristics that set Apple apart from other tech companies.
1. Market Creators
Apple under Steve Jobs has had tremendous success in creating new markets. In the past decade alone the company has created many new products and ventured into markets that never existed before. The iMac, the iPod, and the new iPad are perfect examples of such products. While others try to capture market share, Apple succeeds in creating new markets!.
2. Innovation
From its inception, Apple has been a very innovative company. Apple has provided cutting edge technology well in advance than it competitors. For example, when iPhone was launched 3 years back, there was no other product in the market that matched its capabilities. Apple invests a lot in research and development.
3. Simplicity and Usability
Apple products are highly user friendly. Apple doesn’t complicate things. For example, take the iPod shuffle, it has few buttons or controls. Most of the consumers want simple and easy to use devices that provide few choices. When a device provides too many choices it becomes harder to use the device. Simplicity and usability are key to the success of a product.
4. High Profit Margins
Apple makes few computers than many PC manufacturers. But unlike PC manufactures where the profit margin is very low, Apple’s profit margin is very high. This allows Apple to keep its profits high even though Apple sells fewer units than its competitors.
The next 3 points provide the reasons why Apple is able to maintain high profit margins.
5. Quality & Consumer Focus
Apple has a reputation for providing quality products and services to its customers. Apple no longer wants to indentify itself as a computer company rather it wants to be a consumer company. When you sell for the corporate market it is easier to fix a defect in a product. For example, you can roll out a service pack to fix a software problem. But this is not possible in the consumer market. If the product does not work as expected the consumer will return it for a full refund. Apple knows this very well and provides the best quality products for its consumers.
6. Value Added Services
Apple products provide a full user experience. For example, Apple doesn’t simply sell iPods. They have value added services such as iTunes Store to compliment the iPod. The iTunes Stores is a great source for recurring revenue.
7. Followership
From the 80s Apple has a huge followership due to a very strong brand. These mac fan boys and girls will always buy Apple products. Mac fans pride from the fact that they are NOT PC users. They religiously buy Apple products all the time. Not all companies have built such religious followers.
I hope that you find the above points useful. These points can be easily incorporated to your online projects and business initiatives.
Photo Credit: kevinthoule’s photostream
Absolutely agree with your points there Aaron.
I use both Microsoft and Apple products and I believe that if anything could ever beat Microsoft at it’s own game (OS field), it would not be Google or any other software biggie, but Apple.
Often people accuse Steve Jobs of having a quasi-hypnotic ability to convince Apple fans about a newly launched Apple product. I say, whats wrong in it as long as Apple is providing value to their customers?
Ten years ago, I had to use Apple computers for about six months. It drove me crazy because you have to think backwards when you are used to a PC. I have avoided Apple products ever since.
Apple amazes me. It’s truly unbelievable what they have accomplished and what they continue to accomplish.
Apple sure is the best! If im right.. they are the best for graphic designing!