| Crucial Cog | Management 521 | | | 6/5/2014 |
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In 1997, what is now arguably the most recognized brand name, was caught in a downward spiral further fueled by a rapidly maturing rival. In an effort to stem the hemorrhaging, the flailing company had cycled through one Chief Executive Officer to the next, but yet continued to lose market share and profitability. It was not until the return of a high-profile alumnus did said company reverse course and ascend to technological supremacy, drastically altering the consumer culture landscape along the way. Steve Jobs, in assuming Apple’s reins in 1997, armed with vision, a new strategy, and an implementation plan, shepherded the fabled technological turnaround of the
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While savvy marketing and a targeted sales pitch may lure customers, it is how a company relates and responds to customers’ needs and concerns that determine successful customer retention. In the current social media age, consumers have a multitude of platforms, to include Facebook, Twitter, or Yelp, through which they voice their satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction with a particular company’s policies, practices, or products. Such feedback is not only instantaneous, but far-reaching as the social media explosion allows for mass promulgation of unfiltered comments, concerns, and reviews. Thus, the need for exemplary customer service practices is more pronounced today than ever before. Sound customer service can include many different services and activities, and can vary from company to company, depending on the sector and size of the organization. The onus is upon managers to formulate effective policies and attainable goals through which customer service is enhanced for their respective company, thereby improving supplier-customer interaction. (Tucker, 1994, pp.32-40)
As quickly as a gifted manager can right the proverbial ship, an inept manager can sink a wayward one in an even faster fashion. Unlike the aforementioned Apple case, Sears and JC Penney are often cited as companies where poor management expedited the demise of formerly solid institutions of the American retail industry. Eddie Lampert of
In 1996, Apple was a struggling company that had lost more than 70% of its market capitalization in the past decade. Apple’s sales had fell dramatically and their new personal computers weren’t particularly popular with consumers. The return of Steve Jobs to the company was a turning point for Apple and initiated a new era for the firm. With the launch of innovative products such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, Apple became the biggest brand in the world. Now it remained to be seen if Tim Cook would be able to continue to develop new products and maintain Apple’s success.
When someone thinks about Apple, they realize that it is the biggest company in the world. This is because it has more than $700 billion in market capitalization, more than twice the second company. The immense appeal of the company is based on the fact that is has really embraced this concept of spirituality in the workplace. This is done through this philosophy of design and customer oriented focus. Through these two principles, they have innovated and developed some of the most popular devices people use today. In fact, they have created an almost cult-like following where people are very loyal to the brand and it is clear that it takes its position as seriously by encouraging creativity and being bold in their
One of the major challenges facing Apple was to get the appropriate replacement of the company’s visionary Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Jobs who died on October 2011. The CEO was responsible for turning Apple into what it is today. Apple is in this case challenged to purse the strategies employed by Steve, that propelled the company to new heights, and which saw the company become a
At first, technology is the most crucial element that shaping the brand of Apple and it operations. There are three components in this element are innovation, convenience and internal development. Firstly, let talk about innovation, one of the components that fabricated the success of Apple. Years ago, Nokia and Motorola were companies that dominated the mobile phone and software market. Therefore, in order to survive, prospect and remain competitive, Apple applied the philosophy of innovation by creating new products with unique design and function (Nonaka & Kenny, .n.d.). The circumstance forced Steve Jobs to become not only creative, but also demanding, strict and persuasive executive to motivate employee in the process of creating new mobile phone device and software, which led to the creation of the IOS system, iphone and Mac software. In every operation, he is extremely strict and even autocratic in setting goal and strategy and reward based on employee’s performance with the standard of excellent result and has no qualm in berating
Customer satisfaction is the customer’s evaluation of a good or service in terms of whether it has met their needs and expectations (Vander Schee, 2016). The culture of the organization is to focus on delighting customers rather than on selling products (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2017). An example of a highly satisfied customer would be Nicole Snow, who owns a small business in Maine. One day she reached out to FedEx on social networks and asked for help in getting her supply chain set up. The team responded immediately and helped her solve the problem (“FedEx,” 2015). Here customer satisfaction is greatly shown the customers’ needs and expectations have been met by
The observation companies in this paper would be Verizon Wireless and Time Warner Cable. Both of the companies are in the similar industry, both of them are telecommunication providers. I am currently a customer of Verizon Wireless and Time Warner Cable for four and three years respectively. The customer service is a critical part of any business operation that involves customer as they need to keep customer’s satisfaction to ensure that they are able to make revenue. The observation of customer service in this paper is based on the experience with dealing both of the company’s customer service over the phone, and over the social media. The customer service through the social media is popular in the past few years. The paper will discuss
Our world agrees. Jason DeMers, a contributor to Forbes magazine, noted that 88% of customers are influenced by online reviews regarding their overall experience with a particular company. The decision process that leads to a sale is not always as rational as we assume. Researchers have estimated that roughly half of customer satisfaction is a result of the type of emotions a vendor induces when interacting with the consumer.
I learned that Apple is a juggernaut when it comes to their technological products and marketing goals. Apple focuses on the needs of customer’s light years ahead of their competition and even before most consumers have realized they want Apple’s products. Through their innovative marketing involving social media, word of mouth, Apple Stores they have convinced consumers about the high value of their product even lending to the formation of a “Mac cult” for its diehard fans. The way ahead for Apple is not to lose sight of its brand loyalty and continue to service the customers and entice them with the brand’s prestige. Even with the death of Steve Jobs, I believe Apple forge ahead to differentiate itself from the markets they are in.
As you may know customer service plays a key role in running a successful business and as a Lead Cashier and Trainer for seven years at Coastal Farm I had the privilege of gaining a variety of experiences both internally and externally. As the Lead Cashier and Trainer I strived to express the importance of customer service and provide my team with the proper knowledge and tools to ensure we were going above and beyond for our customers. Whether I left a sticky note on their desktops with a phrase such as “be the reason someone smiles today,” or asked them if they have ever had a bad experience at a business and what they learned from that experience to keep that in mind while serving their customers, my end goal was for my team to recognize
Customer relational management is an essential aspect to maintaining a company’s competitiveness and longevity since loyal customers are, “reluctant to patronize [competitive] firms” (textbook citation). SHOP.CA struggles within this aspect due to the lack of communication between customer service and the customer, and lack of stock available and uncompetitive prices.
Jeffrey Young and William Simon provide new perspectives on the legendary creation of Apple, detail Jobs’s meteoric rise, and the devastating plunge that left him not only out of Apple, but out of the computer-making business entirely.The authors examine the takeover and Jobs’s reinvention of the company with the popular iMac and his transformation of the industry with the revolutionary iPod. iCon is must reading for anyone who wants to understand how the modern digital age has been formed, shaped, and refined by the most influential figure of the
Improving customer service, offering them the best selection, quality, and value (Company History, n.d.) is at the core of the business. The company is committed to the customer’s experience and tailors the business “through the eyes of our customers” as “listening to the customer has never been more important” (Annual Reports, 2014). Additionally, the company offers a variety of brands and services to serve
In 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple as an advisory and with the purposes of reshaping the product line. The changes made by Jobs resulted in increased sales and $309 million in profits. Job changed the mindset of Apples management and development team. He encourage them to have the “think different” management style that promotes the development of products that are ahead of the technology and design curve, and a creative retail strategy. It is this strategy that would eventually make Apple the best-selling company in the PC industry.
With the recent passing of Steve Jobs, there has been an intense spotlight focused on both the man and the company he built. Most of the attention has rightfully been focused on Jobs’ passion and creativity, as well as the remarkable period of innovation he preside. As a symbolic leader, the man not only once saving the company from bankruptcy but also building up a well-known brand that had integrate with our daily life – Apple.
Apple has always been something of a trendsetter in the tech space. Its product history since Steve Jobs’s return in 1997 gives us a solid list of examples to choose from, from its very first iPod, to Apple’s PowerBook (and later MacBook) lines, to the iPhone and the iPad. Apple’s history is dominated by products that existed before Apple had a crack at them - but it was Apple who simplified them, made them appealing on a much wider scale, and ultimately made them objects of desire for the masses.