Apple Inc. Introduction Apple Inc. is a technology company that was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak. The company was originally established to serve the purpose of selling Apple 1 computer kits but through a series of changes, today, the company designs, develops and sells electronics; software’s and offers online services. Over one billion people use Apple products and services which has made the company the largest information technology worldwide in terms of revenues and assets. Apple is valued over 700 billion US dollars. Apple Inc. sells I phones, Mac books, I pads, Apple watches and Apple TVs. Some of apple’s latest products are I phone 7 introduced to the market in September 2016 , I pad pro introduced in 2015 and Apple watch series 1 and 2 which were both introduced in 2016. The company develops operating systems and offers online 1Cloud services. Apple through 1Cloud provides storage for calendars, documents, emails, photos and offers device backup. Apple products are designed to primarily appeal to young people who are usually very enthusiastic about technology. Apple TV, Mac book pro, Apple watches and I phones mostly appeal to people below the age of 40 while I pads are more likely to be purchase by people over the age of 40. According to a research carried out in the United States, older adults who are over 65 years spend more on apple products compared to younger people (King, 2015). The good customer services make it easy for new customers to buy their products because their customer care addresses issues that any technology user might have. Therefore there is so much to learn from Apple especially on how to listen, understand and resolve customer needs and concerns. Conclusion Apple Inc. is an information technology company that designs its products mainly to the young people. Apple has a broad understanding of the power of customer service and quality customer service is one of the main reasons for the company’s success. The company understands the customer support required especially in ensuring success of a newly launched product. Recourses King, H. (2015, October 29). Who is buying Apple products? Old men. Retrieved from Cable News Network: http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/29/technology/apple-customers/ Apple Inc. Introduction Today, most businesses use technology in order to bring their customers closer and make them feel like they are part of the business. Businesses are using online chats, mostly on social media to respond to customers. Businesses are also offering help online for customers visiting their websites. Customer service call centers have also been embraced by most of the businesses today. Technology has given customers easier ways for contacting companies and companies can easily reach out to their customers. How Apple uses technology to meet customer needs. Apple which is one of the leading technology multinationals worldwide mainly attributes its success to being able to provide quality customer services. To them selling is a science which requires approaching a customer, probing them, presenting to them what they are able to offer, listening to the customer’s response and finally ending with sales and support (Instant Customer Care). Customers who have apple related problems can reach the company’s customer service agents through a chat or email support. The customer can also get voice instructions from the apple customer service team. Apple which has not been very active on social media in the past is slowly embracing social media customer service platforms. The company uses the platforms, mostly Twitter, to illustrate different products and respond to customer needs. Recently, Twitter named Apple as the best customer provider on the platform. The company was awarded because CUSTOMER SERVICE 2 of its engagement with customers by quickly responding to customer requests (Juli Clover, 2016). Apple’s twitter account The importance of customer experience has grown over time and social media is one of the most growing avenues for companies to interact with their customers especially in resolving their complaints. Answering customers’ complaints has a great impact on loyalty and advocacy. In early 2016, Apple opened a twitter account (@AppleSupport ) which is the company’s most active social media page so far. The account was opened in order to give customers tips and tutorials on how to use apple products. The company also uses the account to reach out to customers by answering their questions. Apple’s head of retail described the account as a wonderful support system for their customers. This is one of the many strategies that have made the company earn a reputation for always listening to customer’s complaints and being customer centered (Claveria, 2016). Apple’s web site Apple is one of the biggest multinational companies in the world. It is therefore expected that the company will have a well-designed website that meets modern day customer standards. For a technology company, their website would also be expected to be very responsive. http://www.apple.com is simple, clean and modern. This makes their different brands the primary focus and customers can easily see the different products (Johnson, 2010). On every displayed item, there is a purchase option. The shopping instructions are easy and thorough hence a customer can easily shop online. This is the reason why apple store is CUSTOMER SERVICE 3 ranked as one of the best e-retail stores. It provides customers with, graphic and heavy shopping experience because the customers can easily navigate through the process. Strengths and weaknesses of Apple’s website on customer service The website does not have too much unnecessary information but instead uses minimized icons and black and white design so that the main focus can be on their product photographs which look very new and slick something that every customer craves for. The unique and rare colors used make the website easily identifiable. Because the company has a small range of products, all its products are listed at the top of the homepage without making it look crowded. This is good approach for product visibility. The company logo is hardly noticeable and is at the left side. This creates more space which can be utilized in display of their products. Even though the company’s status is known globally, it would be good to include an icon on who they are instead of only focusing on advertising and selling their products. There may be a need to have a more visible logo so that customers can easily identify the company. Conclusion Customer service technologies are effective and popular ways of connecting with customers in order to increase business sales. Connecting with customers requires a lot of time especially the non-automated ones. Social media marketing requires time and commitment. Even though most companies may not be willing to invest the time required in connecting and responding to customers, it’s important to note that customers usually respond to companies that give regular responses and solutions. CUSTOMER SERVICE 4 References Claveria, K. (2016, March 8). Apple’s latest social media move focuses on customer experience. Retrieved from VisionCritical: Apple’s latest social media move focuses on customer experience Instant Customer Care. (n.d.). Apple Customer Service Number for Customer Needs. Retrieved from Instant Customer Care: http://www.instantcustomercare.com/apple-customerservice Johnson, J. (2010, February 4). 15 Design Tips to Learn From Apple. Retrieved from Design Shack: https://designshack.net/articles/graphics/15-design-tips-to-learn-from-apple/ Juli Clover. (2016, November 10). Apple Wins 'Gold' Customer Service Award From Twitter. Retrieved from MacRumors: http://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/10/apple-twitter-goldcustomer-service-award/
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