Posted by This article covers the positioning of Apple
Founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple is currently one of the world’s largest technology company in terms of market value with a market valuation of $1.3 Trillion.
In the last decade and a half, Apple has revolutionized the music industry with the iPod, the mobile phone industry with the iPhone, and the entertainment and media industries with the iPad.
Not just this, Apple has developed over 850,000 kinds of unique App software, and two practical online shops (iTunes Music Store and Apple App Store) and simple operating systems (OS X and iOS) for its customers.
Apple boasts a strong Product line and Product depth. Below is the a view of the strong product line of Apple.
- Iphone
- Ipad
- Mac
- Ipod
- Apple Watch
- Apple TV
- Apple software applications and iOs
The real magic behind the company’s strong valuation is not in Apple’s fancy product line but its the positioning of the brand that has helped apple achieve enviable sales figures and strong customer loyalty.
But what really is this Positioning that Apple has and reaps its benefits till today.
As fancy, the term may sound – The real and simple definition is “IMAGE”, “PERCEPTION” – and it’s not inside-out and mostly outside – in ( what customer feels about a brand).
Let’s see what is the Positioning of Apple
POSITIONING OF APPLE
Lifestyle brand and not a functional brand
Apple has been able to build a lifestyle-brand by making Apple mean “Creative” and “Superior-class” in the sub-conscious minds’ of consumers.
The question remains how was Apple able to create this positioning in the minds of its customers.
There is a popular saying that Simple is stylish
This is what Apple stood by all these years and defined its positioning around three core tenets: Simplicity, Creativity, and Humanity.
Apple communicated this positioning through one of its most successful marketing campaigns till date: Think Different
THINK DIFFERENT
The act of thinking differently represents; smart, innovative, clever, and creative.
The company has lived up to the claim of ‘thinking differently’ by actually ‘acting differently’ by going against the norm – always asking the question; “what’s different about this?”
Its this attitude of thinking diferent, what made Apple one of the most valuable tech companies of today’s time.
But all this strategy wont have been possible without Apple’s razer sharp execution.
Like a famous saying “Vision without execution is a delusion“
Let’s have a look at how Apple has translated “Think Different” into all its brand touch-points.
PRODUCT DESIGN:
“Simple is different” – Apple has always lived by this motto and have never attempted to overdo things in its product design.
From colorful iMac’s to iPods, iPhones, and iPads – Apple has always added elegance to simplicity and this is what has been liked by the customers and has worked wonders for the brand.
INTERFACE DESIGN:
Right from its birth, Apple has laid special emphasis on its interface design. The brand has made sure that its interface is simple and easy for its each and every customer, irrespective of what walk of life he belongs to.
With an aim to improve the customer experience, off late Apple has started following Human Interface, that enables them to make application interfaces more intuitive, learnable, and consistent.
OFFLINE STORES:
Not just the digital touch points, Apple lays special emphasis on its offline stores as well ( considering they are the hubs where customers get to experience Apple products).
Again, Apple does not attempt too hard in designing its stores and prefers to keep it simple and minimalistic. Apples retail stores basically visualizes brings a creative lifestyle to life through a combination of product and retail design.
Products aren’t sorted by type and stocked in shelves in Apple stores, but are rather displayed together on tables for customers to walk through and experience.
PRICE:
If you are paying a premium price, you expect an unmatched product quality.
And this is what is expected from Apple as a brand.
“YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR”
Apple enjoys one of the highest price points in the industry, to the envy of it’s competitors, who all bang on about ‘value for money’.
ROI :
So what’s the value (in monetary tems) that Apple brings in for its customers. Below chart just gives you a glimpse of the stellar performance of Apple over the years.
Apples share price says it all.
This concludes the positioning of Apple.