Apple Is a Mean, Hot, Devil-Woman at A New Marketing- Ideas on New Marketing from Social Media Consultant Matt J McDonald

Apple Is a Mean, Hot, Devil-Woman

Published

on Mar 3, 2008

You know the kind.Mean, self-centered, maybe even a little bit crazy. But you love what they’ve got so you keep coming back.

That’s Apple for you. I can’t think of any other brand out there that consistently mistreats their customers, yet has a fan base that would lay down on train tracks for them.

Price gouging early adopters? Sure why not. Removable batteries? Keep dreaming. But still, I know people that almost wet their pants waiting for Steve to unveil the MacBook Air.

The big thing for me here is that, apparently, consumers will ignore or forgive a brand’s missteps if their product is exceptional. But how long can this last? Will Apple be able to plow along, doing whatever it pleases and still create new fans? Or will someone else come and deliver a great product AND great customer interaction.

What do you think?

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Nathania Johnson 8 months ago 1 point
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This is so true!

But I think that Apple will remain popular as long as Microsoft is limited and, well, blah. That sounds negative, like we're choosing the worst of two evils.

But where we really need to trend is diversification. I like iPod for a digital music player, but i also like Dell and Vista, for example.

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Matt J McDonald 8 months ago 1 point
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I agree. But why does it just have to be Apple vs. Microsoft? Isn't there another company that can come out nowhere and impress us? Is Apple's formula for success that hard to mimic?

I also don't think that tech categories should be a one-trick pony. And my first mp3 player was actually a Dell.

Always great insights from you Nathania, thanks for reading.

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Greg Hollingsworth 8 months ago 1 point
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The question is why is it Apple v. Microsoft? Aside from the Zune/iPod war, the only place they truly compete is in software.

Why isn't it Apple v. Dell? Or Apple v. HP? Especially given that Apple pc's (that's what they are after all, personal computers) can and do run Microsoft products.

My first mp3 player was an RCA, I have had a Samsung and currently use an Insignia. I don't buy Apple because I refuse to pay more for branding (and I have no need to be able to access the internet via my mp3 player).

Apple has successfully sold itself as more than a tech company, it is a lifestyle brand. They have their walking billboard loyalists who fawn over every new product release, even when they treat them like garbage. They will be allowed to do so as long as they continue to make products that their faithful digirati will champion.

Microsoft is limited because they are a software company (for the time being anyway). They are not going to start selling computers, dvr's, etc... anytime soon. Apple casts themselves as Microsoft rivals more so than the other way around. Steve Jobs managed to convince people to buy into the iLife and until it becomes too hellish a place to exist, those who have opted-in will remain.

Personally, I will opt-out of the iLife. I spend 40+ hours a week in front of a computer, and that's plenty.

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Kelly Rusk 8 months ago 1 point
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Apple's been in the game a long time, but never a mass market leader. However, it's earned a sort of elitist reputation. Which is why it gets away with treating customers badly. As it's popularity grows, I think this will become more and more of a problem until eventually people won't stand for it anymore.

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Matt J McDonald 8 months ago 1 point
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Kelly,

I agree, I feel like it's only a matter of time before there's some real, legitimate backlash to something Apple does. The only question is, when people go running, who will they run to?

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Doug Meacham 7 months ago 1 point
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Great post, Matt. I was never an Apple user until I was given an iPhone as a gift. I love it, but hate that Apple can dictate to AT&T that they cannot offer corporate discounts on iPhone plans and I absolutely despise iTunes. Sure, their products look cool and can be easier to use, the total ownership experience is not that great. I went through three iPhones in four months and a recent service experience with my daughter's DOA Macbook was one of the worst I've ever had anywhere. Their market share is growing. Once the initial infatuation wears off, I suspect that recent Apple converts will not be as tolerant of these total experience irritants as the long-time, loyal kool-aid drinkers.

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Matt J McDonald 7 months ago 1 point
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Doug,

Thanks for reading. I feel that there's a common thread in these comments that points out that Apple won't be able to pull these hijinx for long. At some point the aggravation will hit it's "tipping" point and I think they'll have to deal with some real backlash. Not that it would matter to El Jobso anyway.

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Dimitrios Matsoulis 7 months ago 1 point
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I think Apple is spreading in so many things. It has has success with iPods and iPhones but not with Internet TV for example. So there is limits to what it can do. Being a software company is a good thing provided that Microsoft can do a lot more on the web, taht's why it is looking into buying Yahoo. If this does not work out it has to find another way. Coming back to Apple, its blind fan base and high prices have kept me away.
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