Devoted to branding and building and protecting brands

It’s a question without an answer, really, but it’s never a boring debate.  Does the cheaper PC have the “value” edge over Apple at a time when more people may be more value conscious?  As always, it depends on whom you ask.  There are PC-philes out there who just don’t like Apple or anything about it.  There are Apple fans that wouldn’t be seen in the same cubicle with a PC.  There are people in the middle who just want a computer to do the stuff most of us do with a computer, but who still think Apple is a brand that promises more than a fashion statement.  

Here’s my two cents (and how about THAT for value?):  From a manufacturer’s point of view, it’s all about the way you’ve identified your target.  Apple knows everything about its target and exactly what that buyer will spend to get the benefits of using a Mac.  Apple designs and sells a product impeccably suited to this buyer and no one else.  It’s comparable to what the pricier brands in some other categories do and they don’t necessarily suffer in an economic downturn anymore than the budget-conscious brands.  

BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc., are selling fewer cars today, yes. But so are Ford, Chevy and Hyundai.  BMW drivers want to own and drive a BMW, not a Buick (sorry, Tiger).  They’ll spend a lot more money to do so.  Does Apple aim the Mac at budget-minded parents sending kids off to college?  Nope.  And it doesn’t waste a lot of energy promoting to the hardcore PC legions.  To Mac users, buying a PC running Windows/Vista is money that could have been put toward a new Mac/OSX.  Apple sets prices according to our own value-proposition formula, BTW: it can quantify and validate the value of a Mac’s benefit according to the people who buy it, then it drives adoption costs to practically zero.  And then it sets the price point accordingly.