John Klingelhoets

Being an apple geek, and having an iPad, iPod, iPhone and Macbook Pro – I love apple gadgets.  I’ve noticed a few things apple does with marketing that in my option are done very well.

1) Apple does not change product names. With Dell – when they release new computers they continue to change tons of numbers and product names, when they are all desktop computers.  Apple takes a more simple approach and creates a computer called “iMac” – not Optiplex 745, Optiplex 755, etc.  Its always the “iMac.”

2) People have confidence in products that stay around. When Dell or HP play their part number and naming games, people feel that their computers are old and obsolete.  Apple takes a different approach, all though they update the product lines frequently – the product names for the most part stay the same.  It really gives people confidence that their Apple products are staying around.

3) Apple Charges a Premium. Yes, they do – but if you’ve ever used apple products they really feel like they are well built.  I had a Macbook Pro and a old Toshiba Laptop, both of which I purchased at the same time.  Three years after I purchased both, the Toshiba laptop was falling apart – while the unibody MacBook was holding up well.  Feet weren’t falling off the bottom, the case was still in excellent shape – everything about it was great.  The Toshiba laptop I had was plastic, and all falling apart, feet were missing, plastic was chipped, it was scuffed up.  My mac all though it had  few dents looked like a million bucks compared to that laptop.  While I was proofreading this paragraph, I realizing it I referred to it as “old Toshiba” earlier in this post, but not my Macbook Pro as old.

4) Resale Value stays high.  Like any computers the resale value drops a ton after its old – but macs retain their value much better.  Not that it matters, but even 6 years after a mac was purchased new, you can still sell it on ebay for about 1/3 to 1/2 of new purchase price!  That has a lot to say about it!

5) Macs just work.  Like they made fun of PC’s in all those old commercials – macs really do just work.  Even the most techie people prefer to be able to just use their computer without having weird errors or having to deal with problems.  Macs (all though not problem-less) – have a lot more problems than PC’s.  Whats even better is there is probably a mac store within driving distance where in many cases they will help you for free with fixing any issues you have.  Apple really stands behind their products.

Apple has done a great job with Steve Jobs behind the helm.  I can only hope that Apple computers stays innovative and continues to function as well without him!