💸 Apple's Brilliant Marketing Strategies
Issue 28 - Technology
Tech companies are known to have tremendous value, especially in recent years with all the hype going around, but think about a company that’s worth more than the GDP of some countries. In this article, we won’t be talking about a company, but the company Apple worth a staggering 2.4 trillion dollars. Though they don’t push as much as other companies on advertising, Apple does have some other ways of getting people to buy their products. So in this article, we’ll take a look at some of Apple’s interesting market strategies. Make sure to like, share, and subscribe! I’m also doing a new monthly giveaway for new and existing subscribers. Prizes will be refreshed every month, and winners will be drawn on the last edition of the month! More details in the promo below!
MacBooks in Apple Stores
Have you ever noticed that when you walk into an Apple Store, MacBook screens are always placed at the same inconvenient angle? Well, it turns out that this isn’t an accident– it’s been happening since 2015! Apple instructs their employees to angle the computer’s screens between 70 and 76 degrees every morning. This is because our brains love multisensory interactions (this is basically where your senses interact with each other to form a perception of something). Apple cleverly leverages this concept and places laptop screens in an inconvenient position, forcing you to adjust them. Once we touch the computer to adjust it, we’re more likely to feel a sense of ownership and connection towards the product. As a result of this, there is a higher chance of us buying the product.
Status Aspect
When you look at any Android phone manufacturer, whether that be Samsung, Google, Xiamoi, or OPPO, they all have broad pricing ranges which include a budget-friendly option priced under $200. Apple’s cheapest phone starts at $430, creating the illusion that iPhones have more value than Android phones. As iPhones are more inaccessible than Samsung phones due to their higher price, iPhones feel like an aspirational product. This isn’t as common in the United States since it’s a well-developed country, and a large portion of the population can afford iPhones. However, in countries like India, most people have Androids. In these sorts of countries, owning an iPhone indicates a “higher” status.
Ecosystem
The Apple ecosystem is the family of Apple products which work well together, because of the software that Apple has added over the years. This is something that is catered specifically to people who are existing Apple users, but it also lures people who aren’t. Apple presents its ecosystem as a very simple, seamless, and easy-to-use platform. Products include Airdrop, Shareplay, casting music to the Homepod, Airtags, etc. This translates into customers buying more Apple products as opposed to others because Apple’s products work so well together. Data shows that iPhone users are relatively wealthier according to The Healthy Journal (link). This opens up room for 3rd party manufacturers to make accessories that work well with iPhones, enticing customers to invest their money in these products.
By the way, if you are enjoying this article, please be sure to share and subscribe. I have a promotion going on which allows new and existing subscribers to get a 1-month free trial to Skillshare (the best place to learn any new skill). You’ll also be entered into a monthly giveaway. This month we have free custom coasters, free Starbucks coffee/tea, a free mini tea box, and a 50% off coupon for an Xbox Series S! Winners will be drawn on the last edition in March!
Messaging Services
iMessage is another way that Apple gains market share, and takes some away from Android. (I’ve written a more in-depth article about this, which you can find here.) The main point is that when someone with an Android is sending messaging to an iPhone, the iPhone user sees green text bubbles. Apple has used this to its advantage and created a sense of “loneliness” from the Android users’ point of view. Without directly stating it, Apple can suggest that the only solution is to join iPhone users and become a “blue text bubble” rather than a “green text bubble”.
Competition with Each Other
Android companies make their phones in all sorts of different form factors. Some are foldable, normal, rollable, etc. In a way, all the Android companies compete to make the best Android phone. Back when smartphones were still starting to become popular, people were always wanting the new, “cool” smartphone with “that one cool trick”. Nowadays, people just want a phone that will let them do the same things more efficiently. People aren’t as willing to switch to a different operating system as they were before, because they just want to do the same things such as consuming content, browsing the web, or productivity-related tasks. The whole competition thing comes into play again when we talk about features on an Android phone. Androids were the first to get dual cameras on a phone, wireless charging, and a lot more. The problem is that Apple users are extremely loyal. Apple is well aware that they don’t need to ship out these features at the same rate as other manufacturers, so instead, they just do it the “Apple Way,” which is usually a more refined version of how other companies use the same feature.
Thanks for reading this week’s article! I hoped you learned something new about how Apple markets its products and how they use them to their advantage. I’ll talk to you next week!
—Luke Rapaka
Acknowledgments: Thank you to my friend Sharvi Shah for helping me edit this article! (LinkedIn Profile)
Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. And you point out how Apple “helps” its users to place value on products and features that previously were unknown.