Buying Apple and avoiding Sony

Apple store at the Pacific Centre in Vancouver, December 16, 2012

Sony store at the Pacific Centre in Vancouver, December 16, 2012

I can remember when Sony ruled the consumer electronics industry. (And it is not all that long ago.) Today the brand still has value, but for some reason consumers are not making the connection with Sony that they once did. Sony ruled over all sorts of categories with superior products that consumers clamoured to buy. The Walkman virtually invented portable audio, the CD and DVD (both co-developed by Sony) dramatically changed the consumer electronics landscape.

So how did Sony fall so out of favour? I think that part of the problem has to do with the breadth of Sony's businesses. If the company makes money selling music and movies, the heads of those divisions will fight tooth and nail to prevent the release of any hardware that makes it easy for consumers to listen to music or watch movies without paying. (And Sony's hideous and restrictive adventures with digital audio turned a lot of people off.)

Apple's approach seems to have been focused on making life easy for the consumer. If the consumer has a good experience they will keep coming back.

Happy and loyal customers are your best salespeople.