Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) Macintosh holds a 3% share of the personal computer market. The rest is dominated by Windows-based personal computers. I read an interesting article this week from the New York Times that questioned whether Apple could ever steal market share for the Mac from the dominant PC.
Interestingly, the author, Randall Stross, mentioned that Apple probably missed its best opportunity when Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) released its criticized Vista platform. At the time Microsoft released new PCs using Vista, Apple was already making strides in generating word-of-mouth advertising for the Macintosh. Apple had revamped the Mac to run Windows-based applications easily, and their ads comparing the problems associated with PCs versus the ease-of-use of Macs were popular and created a new buzz about Macs that hadn't been heard in a long time.
Stross suggests that this would have been a perfect time for Apple to leverage Microsoft's mistake by acquiring shelf space in retail outlets (where Macs are practically nonexistent) and making a strong push to steal market share from the PC.
Is it too late for Apple to take advantage of the negative publicity related to Vista? It certainly seems like the company missed a golden opportunity. In fact, it's been speculated that Apple has lost more market share since Vista was released, as impossible as that might sound. What can Apple do to steal market share for the Mac?
You can read more about Microsoft Vista from the Know More Media network of business blogs on ITechTips here and here.
If I was Apple, I'd start by making the Macs compatible with Windows Vista (i.e. make dual-boot simple) so that Windows users can continue with their favourite software and sample Mac OS at the same time.
The move to Intel processors was good but a 2-button mouse would be better.
Once the user base increases to a significant enough number, get existing companies to create more Mac-compatible software.
Posted by: Internet Marketing Blog | September 18, 2007 5:49 PM | Permalink to Comment