Apple has been crowned the most admired company in terms of its customer experience, in a survey of global business leaders.
The 53 international business leaders and experts were selected and interviewed as part of the Global Customer Experience Management Survey conducted by customer-experience experts Beyond Philosophy. The survey looked at the risk that re-branding and other initiatives could have on customer experience for a company, but also at which brands the surveyed individuals most admired. The results of the full survey can be found on Beyond Philosophy’s website.
The majority of those surveyed believed that Apple has the strongest brand, followed by online retailer Amazon. Other companies in the top ten included Starbucks, Disney, Virgin Atlantic, and Vodaphone. Apple’s popularity among those surveyed was attributed to the company’s ”innovative branding” and products, as well as its status as an industry leader—perhaps best exemplified by creating category-defining products such as the iPad.
Beyond Philosophy spokesperson Scott Merritt told Macworld that “Apple is clearly an innovative brand, which is why it is so globally recognized. The stores seem to have a ‘magic touch’ to them too. It’s cool for customers to own an Apple product […] and it’s also the way Apple executes the coolness which separates them from other stores.”
Apple has also topped the American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)’s 2011 ranking of personal computer makers, based on a survey of 70,000 consumers. According to ACSI, this is largely due to the prevalence of the iPad, as demand for traditional PCs has declined in the face of tablets’ increasing popularity. This is Apple’s eighth year at the top of the ACSI’s ranking of PC manufacturers.