Apple’s secret ingredient? A large group of very satisfied customers

Apple Store“Pundits often refer to them as ‘zealots’ or ‘fanboys.’ The more polite references include ‘Mac loyalists.’ I am, of course, talking about Apple’s more vocal customers, those who will defend the company and its products in any debate going on around them. What is it that drives their passion for most things Apple? Is it a deluded mind, warped by the Reality Distortion Field that Steve Jobs so successfully wraps every new product in? In short, the answer is no,” Aric Winton writes for Blackfriars’ Marketing.

Winton writes, “The truth behind the scenes is not that Apple has a large group of customers that are too dedicated and passionate about their products, or the company as a whole. The reality is far more simple and obvious: Apple simply has a large group of very satisfied customers — and that’s the secret ingredient left out of nearly every analysis or op-ed piece that mentions these ‘zealots.'”

“The obvious side to Apple’s customer satisfaction lies in their attention to detail in every facet of product development. All their products are designed, at every stage, with the customer clearly in mind and each product is tailored to make it as easy to use as possible for the customer, regardless of how technically savvy or not they may be,” Winton writes.

Winton writes, “The less obvious side involves two keywords: freedom and choice.”

Full article – highly recommended – in which Winton explains that “too much choice” in both hardware and software “leads to less satisfaction” and that Apple understands that idea very well, here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “MacUser” for the heads up.]

Related articles:
Apple again leads Consumer Reports’ survey for notebook, desktop computer tech support, value, more – October 16, 2006
Apple Mac desktops, notebooks top PC Magazine’s Annual Reader Satisfaction survey – again – August 22, 2006
Apple far outscores all other PC makers in Consumer Reports Computer Tech Support Survey – May 05, 2006
Apple Mac desktops, portables top PC Magazine’s 2005 Reader Satisfaction survey – August 24, 2005
Apple Computer products top PC Magazine’s annual ‘Best of the Year’ survey – December 16, 2004
Apple Macs top PC Magazine’s ’17th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey’ – August 10, 2004
Apple leads PC Magazine’s 16th annual Service and Reliability Survey – July 10, 2003

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.