8 Lessons You Need To Learn From Apple NPS To Boost Your Customer Loyalty

Did you know that Apple generated a quarterly revenue of $90.75 billion in Q2 2024?

I am sure you either use or have people around who use Apple products exclusively. But how do you think  Apple created such a huge fan following worldwide? So much so that 2.2 BILLION people use Apple products WORLDWIDE! 

Well, it is because Apple prioritizes customer satisfaction and focuses exclusively on creating positive customer experience. Even its founder Steve Jobs once said – You have got to start with the customer experience and work backward toward the technology; not the other way around. 

But in today’s competitive market, isn’t everyone focusing on improving their customer experience? Then what is Apple doing differently that is resonating with so many people across the globe? Let’s find out!

But before that let’s discover the NPS score of Apple and how it compares against its competitors.

What is the Apple NPS Score?

In 2023, Apple NPS score was 61. [However, as Apple doesn’t release this data by themselves there is no way to verify if the data is accurate.]

Is Apple NPS Score Good?

Well, according to the creators of NPS (Bain & Company), a good NPS score is anything above 0, however, a score above 50 is considered to be an excellent NPS score. Now, according to this Apple’s NPS score can be considered good. 

But what about the industry average? For the Technology and Service industry, the industry average is 61 which is also Apple’s NPS score, so it is a good NPS score. 

But what about its competitors?

Benchmarking Apple NPS Score Against Competitors

1. Apple NPS score across its 6 product lines

• Apple’s iPhone NPS score = 51
• Apple’s Airpods NPS score = 75
• Apple’s MacbookNPS score = 62
• Apple’s iTunes NPS score = 30
• Apple Music NPS score = 55
• Apple iPad NPS score = 60

2. Apple NPS score compared to its 9 competitors

• Amazon NPS score = 69
• Huawei NPS score = 49
• Hewlett-Packard NPS score = 48
• Samsung NPS score = 47
• Cisco NPS score = 38
• Microsoft NPS score = 34 
• IBM NPS score = 27
• Dell NPS score = 24
• SAP NPS score = 19

Now that you have done a detailed analysis of Apple NPS score, let’s now understand how Apple is achieving such a feat.

8 Drivers Behind Apple’s High NPS Score

Here are the key drivers behind Apple NPS score.

1. Listening to the Voice of the Customer

Did you know that Apple is actually the first proponent of NPS? Yes, in his book, The Ultimate Question, Fred Reichheld explains how Apple has used NPS to listen to the voice of its customers and take action based on their feedback.

Apple constantly remains in touch with its customers. For example, they send NPS surveys immediately after their product purchase or store visit in order to understand their satisfaction with the recent purchase or visit. Because of this quick intervention, customers share their honest and authentic sentiments with Apple, enabling them to get a better understanding of the customer’s experience.Sign up today with SurveySensum and launch effective surveys across different industries to gather feedback and listen to the voices of your customers.

2. Superior Products

Why do you think people wait hours in line to buy Apple products as soon as they hit the market? If you are saying it because of the brand name, then you are only half right. The other half of the truth is simply because they make the best products.

Apple has constantly pushed the boundaries of innovation. We all know how secure and safe the iPhone is, how Apple watches track your health and send alerts to the nearest emergency services in case of any mishaps, and how Apple AirPods give you the best noise-canceling experience when you listen to music. Not only that it also gives other innovative products like AirTag to keep tag of your personal items like headphones, or Apple MagSafe battery that provides for faster and more efficient charging.

It is because of the constant push of innovation that customers stay loyal and keep coming back to Apple.

3. Strong Brand Loyalty

Did you know that Apple customer loyalty sits at 93%, while Android sits at 80%?

Once people buy Apple products, they never look back, in fact, they keep on upgrading and adding new products and create an Apple ecosystem for themselves. Customers may jump ships from Android to Apple very often but Apple to Android – very rare. Not only do these customers buy Apple products but they also spread the good word about the products and become brand ambassadors willingly. 

4. They Close the Loop

Companies that close their feedback loop in time experience a retention rate of 10%

Closing the feedback loop with customers not only helps you resolve customer complaints but also fosters a sense of value and loyalty in the hearts of your customers. And Apple understands this well. As soon they receive any type of negative feedback, the manager personally reaches out to the customer and resolves the issue within 24 hours. Even Fred Riechheld, the creator of NPS, has reported that detractors who have been contacted by Apple have purchased more from Apple.

Close the loop with your customers in time. Sign up today with SurveySensum to leverage a real-time ticketing system to get alerts and take action in real-time.

5. Attention to Detail

If you google “Apple attention to detail” you will see tons of examples of how Apple is creating superior products with fanatical attention to detail.

For example, the Apple Pencil Pro casts a shadow on the screen that looks like the shadow of a real pen, and the appearance changes based on the virtual tool you are using. Also, all Apple Notebooks have a slight indentation in the area right below the trackpad to make it easier for the user to open the tab with one hand.

These examples and many more of them, sets Apple apart from its competitors. It shows that Apple does dedicate a lot of time to actually resolving customers’ pain points and creating a streamlined and hassle-free experience for them.

6. Pays Attention to eNPS

Did you know that happy and satisfied customers are 13% more productive than unhappy and dissatisfied customers?

Apple understands this well as it is one of the first companies to adopt eNPS. It surveys its customers every four months to understand their satisfaction level and how likely they are to recommend Apple as a place to work. This continuous feedback mechanism helped Apple to become the top 10 best places to work in 2023. 

At Apple, employees can use an array of Apple products regularly at discounted prices or even for free. The employee’s contribution is not measured by how many years they have worked but by how many projects they have worked on. Also, employees can get raises without getting promotions or change roles if they are not happy with the current one.

Pay attention to your employee satisfaction. Sign up today to create and launch effective eNPS surveys.

7. Power of Simplicity

Apple focuses exclusively on creating simpler products – because sometimes being simple is more complex. This can be seen in different aspects of their products and services.

For example, most Apple services support a single sign-on feature, you can use your Apple ID to access all services hosted by Apple – creating a streamlined experience across all channels. You can also start your work on your iPad and later resume it on your Macbook, again creating a hassle-free streamlined experience.

8. Exceptional Customer Service

Employees at the Apple stores go by the vision of the APPLE way:

• A = Approach the person with a personalized welcome: Enter any Apple store and you will be received with a warm and personalized greeting to make you feel welcome and valued.
• P = Probe to understand customer’s needs: There are tons of products in an Apple store with varied features and settings, Apple employees probe politely to understand your needs and expectations in order to fulfill them.
• P = Present a helpful solution to the customer: Apple salespeople are not particularly “pushy”, instead their main goal is to help customers and to educate them about the product which creates a more meaningful experience for customers.
• L = Listen to the customer and resolve any issue the customer has: This means that you speak less and listen more. When a customer is explaining their issue, Apple employees are trained not to pitch products but to actually listen and resolve their issues.
• E = End the conversation with a fond farewell: All’s well that ends well. Even if customers don’t buy anything at the Apple store, they are not less valuable than any other customer. They are still treated as any other customer, provided feedback forms, invitations to free classes hosted by Apple on its products, etc. 

Conclusion

The success that Apple has achieved in terms of customer loyalty is commendable. Its consistently high NPS score reflects the company’s dedication to not only meeting customers’ expectations but exceeding them by a huge margin. Even at the pinnacle of success they still don’t stop at creating the best experience for their customers, creating superior and innovative products, and listening to the voice of their customers. 

Now for those who have felt inspired by Apple’s NPS journey and want to improve their own score, you need a robust NPS software like SurveySensum to analyze, measure, and take action effectively. The software creates a streamlined feedback mechanism, enabling you to extract actionable insights, identify key drivers, and take prioritized action that will impact your bottom line.