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Apple Clients are an Untapped Market for You
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Apple Clients are an Untapped Market for You
Apple hardware and software probably aren’t a core part of your business. That doesn’t mean you can keep ignoring this platform. It’s time to move with the market and include Apple products as part of your support services. You might be a die-hard PC person, but I hope your desire to make money exceeds your potential disdain for Apple products.
Apple Is Your Biggest Competitor
Before there were Apple Retail stores, the field was wide open for repairs. Users could call Apple and get phone support. If they wanted hardware repairs, they could either ship it in or take it to an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP). If it was out of warranty, they paid for the repair, and they paid through the nose!
Fast forward to today and Apple Retail stores are everywhere. They give away tech support, even to out of warranty items. It’s hard to compete with free. When a client buys AppleCare, they get three years of phone support along with the hardware warranty support. Apple phone support uses North American call centers. They’re customer-centric and empowered to take care of the customer. That’s a far cry from most PC manufacturers. When I’ve called Apple for my personal computer problems, they’re always helpful. One time after a complaint about a botched repair, they offered me a $100 gift card each
And That’s A Good Thing
Apple focuses on consistency with everything. There is always the “Apple Way” of doing something. Apple focuses more on the liability of customer interactions then solving their problems. Let’s face it. They are a huge corporation with deep pockets. Apple doesn’t have a strong incentive to repair customer equipment. After all, they’re selling the product so why not just replace it? If the product is old enough, Apple will simply refuse to work on it. After five years they consider it either vintage or obsolete. The Apple Store isn’t supposed to work on them, though they make exceptions.
For our clients, the Apple experience can be great … until something goes wrong. Even though the support people are usually good over the phone, they tend to toe the corporate line too much. If Apple knows about the issue and doesn’t have an approved fix, they leave the customer hanging. When users visit an Apple store, they need to make an appointment. Depending on the Apple store, they have to wait several days or even a week to get in. Then repairs can take up to seven days.
If the problem isn’t with an Apple product, Apple won’t assist or will just suggest an Apple alternative. You can’t get your Chrome to access a website? No problem: just use Safari. Your Android phone won’t sync with your Mac? The Apple solution is to get an iPhone.
Businesses that rely on their Apple products despise going to an Apple store. They’re always located in high traffic areas, so parking is a premium. Part of Apple’s experience it to make their stores lively and full of energy. That philosophy also makes it noisy and they give people no personal space. I’ve had older clients unable to hear the concierge over the traffic. The repair “appointments” are more like reservations. Apple employees can move or bump service calls based on demand and resources.
The exception to all these experiences is the Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP). They’re authorized by Apple to get repair parts and warranty reimbursements. These locations are closing, the latest victim being Simply Mac. These shops aren’t allowed to do PC work, though a few have found some loopholes.
Keeping Your Clients From Going to a Competitor
When your client has a problem with an Apple product, they might go to Apple first. If they have a great experience, they’re more inclined to get more Apple products. That’s the halo effect that the iPhone has on the entire Apple ecosystem. The macOS experience is designed to mimic iOS. If you fail to give your clients Apple support, then Apple will convince them to move away from the PC market. Then they’ll be Apple’s clients rather than yours. They’ll read stories about Apple’s Total Cost of Ownership being less than PCs. Some of these may be myths, but if clients believe the stories you’re in an uphill battle to counter it.
If the client doesn’t use the Apple store, they’ll go to a computer support company that has multi-platform experience. Apple has enough market-share that even the most hard-core PC shop probably has a few iPhones among the staff. A key employee might have a Mac at home and rave about the experience. Once your clients start considering Macs, they’ll start considering other support options. Apple’s PR machine is powerful. They’re always pushing out stories of Apple’s reliability and customer satisfaction. Whether you agree or not, clients hear that message. They’ll look at how much they spend with you and how much they could save with Apple.
If you’re pitching to a new client, your Mac support capabilities can tip the scale in your favor. Again, every company knows about Apple and has considered their products. When comparing proposals, all things being equal, wouldn’t you go with the company that provides you the most options?
Supporting Apple products keeps your clients, it’s that simple.
Mac Clients Have More Value and Loyalty
Apple products are expensive, and their customers need to be able to afford the stuff. You only see Apple Retail stores in the best parts of town. Apple is strategic about these locations because they know where their customers shop.
In my break-fix business, the Apple clients are the least price conscious. They’re always willing to pay extra for quality. They appreciate the service I provide compared to the typical Apple retail experience. We’re always faster in getting to the client and getting the repair done. We don’t limit ourselves to Apple-only solutions.
Apple’s customer loyalty is truly legendary. You don’t have to agree about the quality of Apple’s products to see that impact. Don’t we all want fiercely loyal customers like Apple has? That brand loyalty can have a halo effect on your company as well. Competing on quality is easier than competing on price. Apple customers lean in that direction.
Apple Customers are Seeking You Out
All computers break. It could be a failed mechanical hard drive, a liquid spill or a laptop drop. Again, one glaring exception in Apple’s support is non-Apple products. If clients use Pages or Keynote, Apple will help with any problems. Since more businesses use Microsoft products (especially cross-platform firms), they’re caught in Apple’s blind spot. As I mentioned earlier, if it ain’t Apple, Apple won’t touch it.
For example, a client may need to connect to an Exchange email account. Apple’s going to tell your client to use Apple’s Mail, Contacts, and Calendar. They’ll leave it to Microsoft to support Microsoft’s products. Imagine a client’s frustration from getting caught between these two companies.
That’s where you come in. Clients want companies that can solve computer problems. They don’t like being told what products to use – after all that’s why they picked Apple. If they want to use Outlook, they want someone to help them set it up. You’re already providing support on PCs and hopefully have a good reputation. Extending that reputation to provide an alternative to Apple is much easier. Your town probably has dozens of PC support companies. How many Apple support companies are there?
Getting Started With Apple Support
Although some of our articles are out of date, I’d suggest starting with our article about Nine Things You Need to Know to Do Apple Repair. Bryce’s article on the different certifications programs still has some value, but you don’t need certification to work on Apple products. Those certifications still matter for other reasons.
Next, for historical value, read Resources for Repairing Apple Macs and Apple Technician’s Toolkit. You’re unlikely to find systems compatible with these software and hardware tools today. Check it out though. You don’t want to turn away clients with older systems either. Apple turns away those clients. Look for updated articles on Apple hardware and software repair tools as well as the typical problems you’ll encounter.
In the meantime, I recommend getting a Mac and getting familiar with the system. Nobody says you have to like a Mac; you’re just in the repair business. I recommend finding a laptop with a cracked screen. Your goal is to learn the system, so a cracked screen won’t be too bad. Just hook the laptop up to an external monitor. I see broken Macs go for about $150 to $200 online. I don’t recommend attempting to install macOS on a traditional PC aka a Hackintosh. Your support experience will be very different and you’re unlikely to see these type of systems in the field.
Focus on your familiarity with the product along with the extra income you’ll make supporting Macs.
Written by Dave Greenbaum
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Nice blog! I liked it..
Great article. I’ve found this to be true myself. We mostly do point of sale stuff, but occasionally I’ll do some computer repair work on the side. I get work from Apple customers because they don’t want to deal with the Apple lines at the stores. And the users are less trouble because they understand the value of our work and they know they’ll pay premium at Apple anyway. My PC customers tend to be more price-conscious because it should be “easy” to remove thousands of Spyware bugs, right? I’ll take an Apple customer over PC any day. Anyway, you’re right on the money.
How do you let people know you work on Apple stuff?