Thursday, September 22, 2011

Apple Leads In Consumer Satisfaction And Stickiness By Playing With Different Rules (And Probably A Different Game Altogether)


A couple of interesting data shows just where Apple’s iOS devices are headed – up, up, and up.  One of the things you have keep in mind is that Apple’s iOS ecosystem is like no other.  It’s closed without a doubt.  It has its limitations, obviously.  And yet, when it comes to satisfaction and retention, Apple literally has no peer.

Here are some stats that market share does not say.

Apple has lead customer service mojo for the personal computers, meaning the Macs, by 8 points over its closest competitor, HP.  Fluke? Hardly when it comes to eight straight years that Apple has lead in this department. (Macrumors)  http://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/20/apple-tops-u-s-pc-customer-satisfaction-survey-for-eighth-consecutive-time/

Then take this stat:  89% of iPhone stickiness.  By that, I mean 89% of iPhone owners will opt for another iPhone as their upgrade.  That is a 50 point lead over its next closest competitor, HTC.  Last year’s runner up, RIM, had 66% but saw that dropped to 33%, no doubt fueled by its public disgrace stemming from its earnings and Playbook folly.

And in the next 12 months, we can potentially see Apple’s iPhone begin to chip away at Android’s market share.  Hence, Apple is likely to increase its pie of the mobile profit, which is already as a sky high 66%.  That profit lead is, above all, more important than the market share.

Hence, Apple’s stickiness and customer satisfaction is something that has its competitors scrambling to kill projects. Meanwhile, others rush products to the market without figuring out just what is going on and without knowing the rules.  It just seems like device makers are trying to play the mobile game with PC rules.

Unfortunately, for them, a changing of the guards at Apple has not made things better.  Tim Cook, the strategic architect of Apple’s success, is now in command.  And Steve Jobs’ influence is still fresh.

Meanwhile, another stat shows just how potent Apple’s mobile strategy is and just how difficult things are for competitors.  The iPad has 73.4% of the market.  And while many believe that number will go down, including myself, it’ll happen only after someone figures out the market.  Again, they’ll need to figure out Apple’s rules.

And keep in mind of the 73.4% that the iPad supposedly commands.  That data comes from Gartner, which means that they probably go with shipped figures rather than actual sell-through.  That means Gartner’s data is what’s shipped from the factory to the warehouses and in retail outlets, not the actual number that consumers bought.

At the same time, Apple sells out pretty much all of its stock so in terms of actual tablet ownership, the iPad’s market share probably figures to be even bigger.  And that also means bigger profit share for Apple as well.

Source:  ElectronistaAppleinsider.

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