What is brand loyalty at Apple?
The ordinary Apple consumer is known for showing a lot of devotion and loyalty for the brand. This is not a phenomenon that has been develop
ed on Apples late years, but was seen in the early years of the company’s history. Many say that you can divide people in two different categories: the ones that believe Apple is not only a company but also as cause, and the ones that believe Apple is just a company and not a cause. Its hard to argue with these two sides since neither are wrong.
Apple is like a myth
It’s alright to want to understand more about this phenomenon (who doesn’t want to understand the base of this grand company?) and the answer isn’t really that hard: the company has some
qualities of a myth, it is the American Dream coming alive. Just imagine selling the dream of two young peers working in their garage and wanting to construct a product and later becoming a multinational company and one of the top leaders of the market. Two ordinary guys, wanting to make a difference and becoming a billion-dollar organization. The “two-guys-story” sells and makes an ordinary consumer want to buy that specific product. Everyone can relate with the history and shows huge admiration for what it has become.
The consumer has a personal relationship with Apple
During 2008 until 2012 Apple was named the most admired company within the US and the world. The consumer today has a very personal relationship with Apple products and a new launch can attract thousands of people to the stores where they will wait in line for days to get their hands on new products. Some people even fly in from other countries just to be the first ones to have a new Apple product in their hands. Some fans of the brand have even made wedding proposals in these huge lines and masses of people, to make the engagement moment more special and memorable. Of course there is also another side to the story, where the brand and its fans have been criticized and ridiculed for this devotion. Some even say that Apple is not a technology company – it’s a marketing company! But even though the fans (and regular consumer) have been mocked, the brand remains strong.